Global Warming Campaign Proves to be Expensive Joke

Conspiracy theorists have argued for years that government officials who support the massive regulation of industry in the name of environmentalism, do so in order to pursue even greater government control It is not about a cleaner environment, but a more powerful government. Meanwhile, scientists who have advocated Global Warming have often been accused of being professional "Chicken Littles," who make a living predicting that the sky is falling. After all, if research studies had indicated that things were fine or temperature changes were cyclical, there would be no need for future research and the funding that comes with it. There is a business side to everything, including environmental research, and fear has proved to be a successful element in obtaining increased funding.

The media has been quick to defend those in government and science in the alarmist camp, creating a powerful and effective troika supporting an ambitious agenda. They have apologized for the many exaggerations and have gone to great lengths to defending the most outrageous of claims. The recent release of some rather incriminating emails are embarrassing to the media, scientists, and government officials behind the Global Warming movement. Forget embarrassing, the movement is now on life support.

The Wall Street Journal discusses the content and the implications of the emails in question, quoting several including one stating that "The two MMs have been after the CRU station data for years. If they ever hear there is a Freedom of Information Act now in the U.K., I think I'll delete the file rather than send to anyone. . . . We also have a data protection act, which I will hide behind."

"So apparently wrote Phil Jones, director of the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit (CRU) and one of the world's leading climate scientists, in a 2005 email to 'Mike.' Judging by the email thread, this refers to Michael Mann, director of the Pennsylvania State University's Earth System Science Center. We found this nugget among the more than 3,000 emails and documents released last week after CRU's servers were hacked and messages among some of the world's most influential climatologists were published on the Internet."

"The 'two MMs' are almost certainly Stephen McIntyre and Ross McKitrick, two Canadians who have devoted years to seeking the raw data and codes used in climate graphs and models, then fact-checking the published conclusions-a painstaking task that strikes us as a public and scientific service. Mr. Jones did not return requests for comment and the university said it could not confirm that all the emails were authentic, though it acknowledged its servers were hacked."

The emails in question are in the thousands and the thread demonstrates a similar theme and are most enlightening. The Wall Street Journal article goes on to point out that "In them, scientists appear to urge each other to present a 'unified' view on the theory of man-made climate change while discussing the importance of the 'common cause'; to advise each other on how to smooth over data so as not to compromise the favored hypothesis; to discuss ways to keep opposing views out of leading journals; and to give tips on how to 'hide the decline' of temperature in certain inconvenient data."

In essence, the world has been duped by scientists driven by the desire of prestige and funding, politicians driven by a lust for control and power, and a media that makes a living by creating alarm. The cost of pursuing a battle plan against these false problems has cost countries like Spain millions of jobs in its "cap and trade" style legislation and countries through out Western Europe and the United States billions of dollars in regulations to date. What will these false prophets receive for their crimes against economies? Probably Pulitzers and Nobels. What a strange world indeed.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Meet Obama's Czars

Barack Obama has pursued a radical change in the way our nation is governed in virtually every area. These changes have not only been in the area of policy -- such as the increase in the government's role on business, the pursuit of socialized medicine, and the restoration of the welfare state -- but in the way politics and governing are conducted. This includes the stated objective of moving the Census Bureau from the Commerce Department to the White House and the dramatic increase in what are called "Czars."

Czars are nothing new and have been seen by many Presidents over several decades. These individuals could be described as "super administrators" who work directly with the President and, in many previous Administrations, dictate policy to the various Departments. What is unique about the Obama's Czars is the number of them: 28. More than all previous Administrations combined and more than all the Czars of the Romanov family that covered a span of 300 years (18 over 3 centuries). The biggest concern is the lack of Congressional accountability that these Czars have.

One of President Barack Obama's most natural supporters, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) has been one of the most critical when it comes to the issue of Czars, sending a press release back in February about writing to President Barack Obama expressing his concerns over the increasing appointments of White House 'Czars,' and the relationship between these new White House positions and their executive branch counterparts, noting that 'too often, I have seen these lines of authority and responsibility become tangled and blurred, sometimes purposely, to shield information and to obscure the decision-making process."

It appears that Obama is trying to get as much accomplished as fast as possible, with as little Congressional oversight as possible, and this is reflected in the large number of Czars he has chosen.

• Herb Allison - TARP Czar (Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability)



• Alan Bersin - Border Czar (Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs)



• Dennis Blair - Intelligence Czar (Director of National Intelligence)



• John Brennan - Terrorism Czar (Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security)



• Carol Browner - Energy Czar (Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change)



• Adolfo Carrion, Jr - Urban Affairs Czar (Director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs)



• Ashton Carter - Weapons Czar (Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics)



• Aneesh Chopra - Technology Czar (Chief Technology Officer)



• Jeffrey Crowley - AIDS Czar (Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy)



• Cameron Davis - Great Lakes Czar (Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan)



• Nancy-Ann DeParle - Health Czar (Director of the White House Office of Health Reform)



• Earl Devaney -Stimulus Accountability Czar (Chair of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board)



• Joshua DuBois - Faith-based Czar (Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships)



• Kenneth Feinberg - Pay Czar (Special Master on executive pay)



• Danny Fried Guantanamo Closure Czar Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay



• J. Scott Gration - Sudan Czar (Special Envoy to Sudan)



• Richard Holbrooke - Afghanistan Czar (Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan)



• John Holdren - Science Czar (Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology)



• Van Jones - Green Jobs Czar (Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality)



• Gil Kerlikowske - Drug Czar (Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy)



• Vivek Kundra - Information Czar (Federal Chief Information Officer)



• George Mitchell - Mideast Peace Czar (Special Envoy to the Middle East)



• Ed Montgomery - Car Czar (Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers)



• Dennis Ross - Mideast Policy Czar (Special Adviser for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia)



• Gary Samore - WMD Czar (Coordinator for the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism)



• Todd Stern - Climate Czar (Special Envoy for Climate Change)



• Cass Sunstein - Regulatory Czar (Director of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs)



• Paul Volcker - Economic Czar (Chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board)

Who are these Czars that are dictating policy in the Obama Administration? More to follow.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.