In 40 years of Earth Day celebrations the Earth is still here

Today marks the 40^th Anniversary of Earth Day. The day that we are suppose to be aware of our non-stewardship of Mother Earth will lead to our downfall. When Earth Day started 40 years ago several predictions were made to help promote the cause. Chris Baker, morning talk show host on 100.3 FM, placed these statements made by Earth Day predictors on his blog today of which he obtained from reason.com:

"We have about five more years at the outside to do something."
• Kenneth Watt, ecologist

"Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind."
• George Wald, Harvard Biologist

"We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation."
• Barry Commoner, Washington University biologist

"Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and possible extinction."
• New York Times editorial, the day after the first Earth Day

"Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years."
• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist

"By…[1975] some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur until the decade of the 1980s."
• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist

"It is already too late to avoid mass starvation."
• Denis Hayes, chief organizer for Earth Day

"Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions….By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine."
• Peter Gunter, professor, North Texas State University

"Scientists have solid experimental and theoretical evidence to support…the following predictions: In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive air pollution…by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half…."
• Life Magazine, January 1970

"At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable."
• Kenneth Watt, Ecologist

"Air pollution…is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few years alone."
• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist

"We are prospecting for the very last of our resources and using up the nonrenewable things many times faster than we are finding new ones."
• Martin Litton, Sierra Club director

"By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate…that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, `Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, `I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"
• Kenneth Watt, Ecologist

"Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institute, believes that in 25 years, somewhere between 75 and 80 percent of all the species of living animals will be extinct."
• Sen. Gaylord Nelson

"The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age."
• Kenneth Watt, Ecologist

Now the scare tactics have been used in recent years to push for tougher gasoline standards, cleaner coal, and the use of alternative fuel sources. Debate has raged over the Al Gore's global warming mantra while hackers attempted to provide evidence of data manipulation. It is interesting to read these statements and compare them to some of the more recent conversation on global warming and man's dire need to curb greenhouse gases. The question is did any of these predictions come true? I do not see people in New York, LA, Chicago or Miami wearing gas masks to walk around. I just filled up my car, paid $2.81 a gallon, yesterday even though Kenneth Watt claimed by 2000 we'd be on the brink of having none; it's 2010.

Don't get me wrong I am not advocating the raping of Mother Earth. It does make sense for us to look for cheaper, cleaner ways of producing energy. If we did not move society forward we'd all be stuck riding horses still to get around. We do need to be good stewards of Mother Earth or she will erupt another volcano and more than likely it will be bigger than the one in Iceland; bye bye California. Take time toward to honor Mother Earth and the bounty she offers us. At the same time be aware of the global warming craze or our children will be looking back in 40 years talking about all the dire predictions as noted above.

DeMint sees DC Snow as Divine Intervention

The Washington D.C. is still digging out from weekend snow as more snow is on its way. The snow is piling up so much that the House of Representatives have postponed all activities for the rest of the week. You ask why I bring this up. Well one Senator is having fun with the recent and pending snow storms. That Senator is Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and he mentioned that, "It's going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries 'uncle'". While the comment is made tongue-in-cheek it does beg the question on if manmade Global Warming is real or is it simply the Earth rolls in cycles. For if the world is experiencing Global Warming due to man's intervention to the point of tipping out of control, why then are we seeing cold and snow? Shouldn't we be experiencing unseasonably warm weather?

Last week President Obama unveiled his budget and part of the change taking place is the role of NASA. If President Obama gets his way, NASA scrap space exploration for whether diagnostics. Why on Earth are we not looking for ways to expand space exploration? If the data is correct and man has created an environment where Mother Earth is pushed to the brink of disaster then would it not make sense to find habitable planets or moons? Again I wonder why we do not have a definitive debate man's intervention on Global Warming versus the Mother Earths natural cycle. Can we finally agree to sit down and discuss Global Warming without a political, social, or ideological agenda and debate the topic on the data that has not been tainted?

Global Warming Real?

Now I have heard it all when it comes to the Global Warming debate. The Swedes are putting labels on food that will indicate the carbon dioxide levels the product required to be produced. Are we serious? The Global Warming debate is baseless as those that argue for Global Warming lack scientific proof. I recall from the 80's that the big push was that the ozone layer was a big problem and deforesting of South America was going to be the end of the world. I also recall from science class that plants eat our carbon dioxide in order to grow. So, why then are we arguing about global warming and when did carbon dioxide become this evil gas?

Governments all around the world are looking at Global Warming as the baseline to expand the powers of the United Nations. Al Gore has pushed his "Inconvenient Truth" to the determent of all. Why does Al Gore not debate those that have debunked the Global Warming myth? A former policy advisor to Margaret Thatcher has been for sometime been breaking down the myth that Al Gore created around Global Warming. Lord Richard Monckton has been more visible as of late and recently presented his work at Bethel University. See his closing comments here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMe5dOgbu40

It is time that we debate this topic on the merits of science and not on a perceived, well funded belief that carbon dioxide is the enemy to human survival. Let's allow the science to speak and set aside the rhetoric before Congress passes Cap and Trade bill.

Media Double Standard; Gore vs. Cheney

Since leaving office Vice President Al Gore has been at the forefront of Global Warming debate. Although Vice President Gore tends to duck real debates on the topic, Vice President Dick Cheney is challenging the current administration on the CIA memos. Why is it that the media is demonizing Vice President Cheney while they have a lovefest with Vice President Gore?

The media, for a large part, has driven the liberal agenda while ignoring the facts of the day. A double standard is firmly established by the media when dealing with issues of conservative or liberal. Put aside the argument of defining torture; let’s demand that all the CIA memos be released to end the debate. President Obama has already made the decision that harsh tactics used are defined as torture and is willing to move forward with prosecution of those that wrote the legal opinions.

Investigative journalism, as I stated yesterday, is dead in America. Americans deserve to know the truth and not pieces of the truth. It is time to remove the double standard and report the truth. To end the debate on the CIA memos is easily done by releasing all the memos surrounding the issue. If people are tired of hearing Vice President Cheney then demand President Obama release all CIA memos that are the topic.

At the same time, it is time for a national debate to take place. It is time for Vice President Gore to debate one-on-one with John Christy.