Democrats in the Legislature Chicken Out of Climate Debate With Lord Monckton

MAR. 12, 2012

By KATY GRIMES

Despite the obvious shift in the climate change and global warming debate, Democratic politicians are trying to hold fast and furious onto the notion that man is causing potentially disastrous global warming through carbon emissions.

A movement, which at one time claimed to be using science-based documentation about the effects of climate change, has lost credibility. Thanks to credible scientists who have withdrawn support for the concept because of the falsified science, American taxpayers are now taking notice and questioning the government’s expanding role in the debate.

At the crux of the issue is altered data and science — data originally produced by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientists in the 1990’s. The data were altered by government bureaucrats in order to create a crisis, as well as a demand, says Lord Christopher Monckton, the Third Viscount Monckton of Benchley, also known as the “high priest” of climate skepticism.

At the invitation of Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, Monckton is coming to Sacramento March 21 to speak to the Legislature, but said that he expects a “stormy session.” Many climate change skeptics are anxious about his visit, but he doesn’t appear to be very welcome by Democratic legislators and climat- change experts. He said he is anticipating a “childish attack.”

Grove has been trying to drum up support from her climate-change embracing colleagues, but so far has been unsuccessful.  Not one Democratic Assembly member or state senator has accepted Grove’s invitation to debate or participate in a panel discussion event the same evening.

Grove said she extended an invitation to debate with Lord Monckton to Berkeley Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, because Skinner is a self-described “climate change expert.” But Grove reported back that Skinner refused the offer to debate. Skinner said Lord Monckton “is not worthy” of talking with her. Grove reported that Skinner said Monckton has no credibility, and isn’t even a member of the House of Lords.

However, Monckton is a Lord by birthright, despite recent political changes now requiring election to the House of Lords. Monckton inisists that the House of Lords Act of 1999, which basically abolished hereditary peers such as himself, is unconstitutional. The act became law under Prime Minister Tony Blair and his “Cool Britannia” philosophy, which has led to Britain becoming an Orwellian police state.

The House of Lords originally existed to veto the more extremist actions of the House of Commons, which long has been elected by popular vote. The Blair reform effectively gutted the Lords’ powers to do so, paving way for Cool Britannia.

Since leaving office in 2007, Blair has been ensnared in numerous corruption scandals.

Crumbling Science and Politics

In a CalWatchDog.com interview, Lord Monckton said the climate change debate has been led for years by climate scientists who had been lionized by the media, as well as by well connected bankers trying to make money from carbon trading, and “childish” politicians desperately searching for a quick fix for crumbling budgets.

Monckton reiterated that the global warming scam represents the biggest transfer of wealth and power in human history — from the poor to the rich, from the weak to the strong, from the little guy to the big guy.

Monckton said that taxpayers are becoming wise to the expansive, invasive policies.

A 2011 Rasmussen poll found that 69 per cent of 1,000 respondents believed it at least “somewhat likely” that climate scientists had falsified their research data to support the case for catastrophic human-caused global warming. Forty per cent of respondents said falsification of research data was “very likely.” Only 22 per cent  responded that they were sure that climate scientists had not falsified data.

Democratic Party and the Climate Change Mantra

The Democratic Party dominates the California Legislature. Of 120 total legislators, 77 are Democrat, only 43 Republican.  The California Senate and Assembly have been dominated by the Democratic Party since 1959, except a brief period from 1969 to 1971, and the Assembly in 1996.

This makes for agenda-driven politics and party-line mandates — and bad laws such as AB 32, the California’s Global Warming Act of 2006.

Lord Monckton does not have a science background, but is a businessman, newspaper editor, inventor of the Eternity puzzles and Sudoku X puzzles and a Cambridge-trained classical architect. But he was a special advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on global warming and climate change in the 1980’s.

Monckton has been studying climate change and the effects for many years. Despite his learned expertise, Monckton has become one of the favored pin-cushions of the left for his outspoken challenges to the climate change mantra.

There’s Nothing Like A Good Crisis…

A strong critic of man-made climate change, as well as the potential for future damage done to the earth by CO2, Monckton discovered that a well-funded group of scientists, politicians and government officials had been altering and manipulating the data in order to greatly exaggerate the effects of global warming, and create a crisis.

And there is nothing like a crisis to create opportunity for government expansion.

But the facts didn’t dissuade liberal global warming followers, and instead, only caused the mainstream media to beef up its efforts to support the emotional movement.

“Most people parrot the Democratic Party line,” Monckton said. “They are taught only to parrot the party line and are comfortable doing it because it is safe. But then they act offended when challenged.”

Monckton said that an even bigger problem than parroting a party line is that most people don’t know any science at all. “They are playing it safe by going along with this mentality.”

Because of the fraudulent science used to develop international global warming policy in the 1980’s, 1990 and 2000’s, Monckton said he decided to do his own research on the science. He used the data and calculations originally used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientists — before it was altered.

Monckton had his findings analyzed and confirmed by expert policy analysts, economists and scientists.

“Substantial conclusions were drawn, but were plainly wrong and then fraudulent,” Monckton said. “And now we’ve had a generation since the first forecast, which has proven to be incorrect.”

Now, Monckton says, liberals don’t want to admit that the climate change brouhaha was baseless. But the entire movement was founded on illegitimate science.

A Little Global Warming Can’t Hurt

Monckton does not deny that the earth warms and cools over time. But he said that, even if there is some warming eventually, his research and that of credible scientists has found that the damage to Gross Domestic Product would likely be only 0.5 percent to 3 percent.

But the cost to prevent even the minuscule damage will be 110 times greater, totaling $1.5 quadrillion.

The cost to California’s economy is already evident. “The wagons are already rolling Eastward instead of Westward,” Monckton said. “The tax base is going to dwindle as businesses and resident flee to other states.”

Monckton warned that if California continues to pursue its climate change implementation, the state’s bondholders will take a big haircut and bonds will be worth 70 percent of what they paid, “if they are lucky.” And California will not be able to borrow money.

“But flaky la-la-land California will go on pursuing this senseless policy right into insolvency and bankruptcy,” Monckton said. “State expansion will stop. Cap and trade will collapse. And Democrats will be forced out of office, hopefully not to be replaced by the soggy Republicans which have dominated the party for some years.”

European And Australian Experience

Monckton said that California’s politicians “need to grow up a little” and start realizing that, even after spending billions and taxing the state’s residents for cap and trade, AB 32 will not alter total emissions, and the $1.5 quadrillion spent on bogus cap and trade programs will accomplish nothing. He referred to the failed climate change policies in Australia and Europe, and said California’s politicians should have learned from this.

“The cost to fight greenhouse gas emissions will be far greater than not doing a thing,” Monckton said. “Politicians should do nothing now. “There is no need to take any action at all.”