Vaclav Klaus: No progress in the climate change debate

[reunion503]

The alarmist don't say we should be saving the planet. They are very well aware of the fact, that planet will handle anything we throw at it. It's us and our current way of life we are supposed to be saving. That's what they say anyway.

I prefer when the participants of a debate use facts. What was the point of this poor speech anyway? Or that conference? Is this all the skeptics can offer?

[Ihateyoutoube]

Total skepticism towards global warming is bad for the libertarian movement, if you deny it completely you make a fool out of yourself and libertarianism. Obviously I believe in a free market approach to climate change solutions, but I don't deny scientific consensus.

[samuils]

There is no Consensus, stop the BS, obviously the the planet is warming and cooling, but it has nothing to do with people.

[Ihateyoutoube]

Denying what a majority of scientists have agreed is caused by humanity isn't going to help our cause. There is an unnatural CO2 spike and CO2 has been tied with planetary warming in the past.

[samuils]

No rather the opposite, Its the warming in the past that drew the CO2 up, not the other way. Look at it closely. And I refuse to follow Gore, so he can proffit from his carbon credits, just for the sake of falling behind a party line, when this man made global warming has been proven false. I am against pollution ofcourse, but there re many and better alternatives in the free market, so no need for govt. to dictate my energy source.

[karexmaster]

It is not un-natural at all

CO2 has been over 17X higher in the past.

[karexmaster]

"Over 31,000 scientists have signed a petition denying that man is responsible for Global Warming" - Daily Telegraph.

There isn't even a petition with 500 signitures that states it is human caused

[wolfhybred]

Well said!

[air0lann]

Just a detail - Václav Klaus IS NOT a president of the European Union - there´s no such position. He´s the president of Czech republic and this country is currently holding the EU presidency. :-)

Thank you very much for posting.

[alogmail]

Not since the days of Soviet "psychiatry" and Nazi "eugenics" has science been so abused, twisted and politicized.

Reasonable skeptics are smeared by demagogues in media and politics.

And who are the ones "bought off" as is so often charged? Politicized academics seeking federal grant money.

[farmanntv]

Great!

[willyrobinson]

what bothers me so much is environmentalists focus so much on global warming & abstract concepts like carbon footprints, selling lightbulbs & whatnot. We need to stand fast as CONSERVATIONISTS and work to actually beautify our country, towns, and cities, as well as protect wildlife and the balance of the ecosystem which includes prescribed burnings. We dont need big gov for this, in fact big gov will only harm the earth - look to the USSR, and China, and ANC run South Africa for a few examples.

[freesk8]

Wonderful!

I wish the government schools played this kind of thing right after they play Gore's movie!

[nooniesawir]

What?? Why would environmentalists be trying to "reduce wealth and development in the Third World" by telling everyone to cut their energy consumption? Third World countries are NOT the largest consumers of energy -- it is the wealthy countries who are doing that. I believe the US is the largest, and I know for a fact that they contribute to almost 25% of the total greenhouse gases emitted by humans.

[nooniesawir]

Also - even if the data that environmentalists give is not substantial enough (and by the way, I'm not so sure I agree with this dismissal) if anything, the environmentalists are trying to limit the economic activity of already wealthy countries who are nothing but greedy, greedy, greedy.... and to be honest with you, I don't see what's so wrong with that.

[freesk8]

The problem is that by reducing the wealth and GDP growth of the developed countries, you will retard the growth of the less developed countries.

Why?

Because the key to growth for poor people is trade with rich people. They need to sell their products, and that means export. If the developed nation's growth is crippled by carbon taxes, they will buy fewer goods from poor nations.

A sinking tied lowers all boats, and hurts the poor much more than the rich.

[LuminaryAluminum]

Move over, Chuck Norris. Step aside, Jack Bauer. Make way for Vaclav Klaus!

I think I became pregnant, just from listening to that speech. And I'm not even female.

[47f0]

Well, lesseee here. When the intro starts off non-too-subtly equating environmentalism with communism, you kind of know how this is going to go down.

What third-world countries can't afford right now is energy. Because energy is still overwhelmingly a dependence on geo-hydrocarbons - often someone else's geo-hydrocarbons. Third world countries are exactly the countries that stand to benefit from energy independence in the form of renewables.

[nickd4818]

environmentalist pose the greatest threat to individual liberty since communism. The whole green agenda is going to be the biggest scam of all time. I can't believe Mr. Gore will not debate this man or the Danish scientist who recently challenged him. I guess he would stand to lose a lot of money if he were proven wrong.

[47f0]

Yeah, nickd, because your individual liberty to drive your Hummer to your next-door-neighbors is sooooo much more important than the fact that we have to kiss ass politically (or start preemptive wars) to get the gas for your Hummer from countries that don't like us very much.

I taught my kids a stupid concept - one that individual libertarians don't like much - freedoms come with responsibilities.

[nickd4818]

Actually, I could just walk to my next doors neighbors house. And I drive a Honda. So please, stop with the dramatic generalizations.

So what if somebody has a hummer? If they can afford it whats the problem? We wouldn't have to kiss ass to get more oil if the Spendacrats and their environmentalist handlers would let America develop its own energy resources.

But no, we can't do that. We got to develop technology that doesn't exist yet to free us, as Obama said, from the "tyranny of oil"

[LibertarianParty]

Fantastic!

[truthadvocate]

That was one of the best speeches I've heard. Concise. Direct. Honest. Thank you.

[hpso12xu]

right on, brotha!

[burnhippiesforfuel]

even if agw is true, the supposed causes are the very things that have enabled man to mitigate the effects.

[LeGioNoFZioN]

it was a great speech, can't say I disagree at all

[Yarcofin]

FIVE STARS!

About time we get to hear the other side of the story.