…or maybe don’t.

As fun as you can have, in the company of all sorts of people, there  is something depressing over these climate conferences. Delegates looking serious while spending other people’s money on down-right dangerous schemes, young people, who ought to be either in school, or out partying, or protesting the real injustices in this world, standing outside telling the lunch-eaters to spend more. Often financed by government. The police working overtime, and those fringe groups who travel around the world just in order to pick a fight with the former. A sort of holiday, I presume, like inter-railing or camping. Most of these elements, both in Copenhagen and at the recent G8/G20 summit, would probably go to the international congress of scrapbookers, if it meant they could get into trouble – and media – along the way.

In Cancun, the drug war is dragging on, with recent victims in the shootings. The hurricane season has just started, and will probably end right in time for the summit. If the so called world leaders decide, which is most likely, to both turn up and to help spread climate hysteria during the months to come, this will – just as in Copenhagen – make life really difficult for the local population.

But maybe that is just as well. Far from wishing anyone any harm, I am somehow looking forward to the next debacle. On a side note, one of the key players, the European Union, got their new presidency today. It’s Belgium, and Belgium currently has no government, since the recent elections.

I keep telling myself, it’ll be fun. At least to see the naked emperor walking down the streets of Cancun.

Tremendous news: but where are the jobs and how much do they cost ?

At a conference organized recently by the Heartland Institute, our colleagues at the young Juan de Mariana Institute of Spain produced a devastating presentation of the green “bubble” economy, showing not only the true cost of renewable energy subsidies, but also how this hugely destructive policy is putting existing forms of energy at unsustainable risks.

As Gabriel Calzada put it, “where is the green worker?”  At the outset, workers are of course busily installing wind farms, solar panels and so on. In fact, some 60 per cent of jobs are dealing with the installation of such equipment.  The Spanish government boasted the creation of some 50,000 new jobs in 2008.  Yes, but each of them cost more than 500,000 euros (to be renewed ?).

The study produced by Juan de Mariana Institute showed that subsidies awarded to “green” technologies represented twice the electricity bill in 2008. In terms of unitary costs, these were more than three times as expensive as other energy sources.

Also, it turned out that Spanish solar panels were so efficient that they generated current even during the night. Claro que si ! Kudos to Gabriel and his colleagues for revealing these and other scams. Porqué pagar más ?

Photos: Freedigitalphotos

CFACT display, Bonn climate conference

The game is not over yet, but the climate talks in Bonn are. For the time being. Another session is already scheduled for August, and it might very well be that the free-lunchers will squeeze yet another in, during the buildup of expectations before Cancun. After the enormous debacle before, during and after Copenhagen, it seems unlikely that the general public hysteria could be regenerated. You can’t fool all the people all the time, but remember that you can still fool some.

The general observations among the CFACT team were mainly twofold. There was, in a way, a greater respect and understanding towards our climate realist work. Even some serious interest, especially from the delegates among whom, it would be impossible that not at least some have started to seriously doubt that all this was such a brilliant idea from the start.

On the other hand, hostility seems to have grown among the more militant alarmist NGO’s. CFACT even had the table cleared by a militant lady one night, a most mysterious lady, who then even showed up the next day and said that we had no right to be there, as we were ”deniers”, and that she had destroyed the stuff. For some reason however, possibly the fact that one person on our team immediately called for security, she refused the polite discussion she was offered, and took off. When yours truly walked after her, she approached a police and accused me of stalking her. Pursuing the offender, might have been a better word,and that’s what the apparently partly amused officer thought too.

Apart from having all that fun, there is however bunch of gibberish to read, in the usual UN way. It is quite clear that the leaders have become more competent since Copenhagen, and absolutely set on working out a binding treaty this year. Details are hard to find, but developing countries are seriously starting to ask when they will get the money they were promised. The world government ambitions are not gone, just polished a bit.

As fun as you can have here, it can get rather scary at times, when you consider the implications of the politicians going berserk once again and with more skill than last time.

Until then, enjoy the World Cup Soccer games, kicking off tonight. It’s a fair game. And Fun!

I feel old sometimes. I’m not, according to my doctor, but I’m at least not “Youth”, as defined by the United Nations to be between the age of 15 and 24 (for the first three years in there, you also have the privilege of being “child” at the same time).

Couldn’t care less.

The UNFCCC however, cares a lot, and that’s where I start to care.

The report on youth participation in the climate battle, distributed here at the climate conference in Bonn, is impressive, with government funded youth summits and UN financed education camps. To join in, Alofa Tuvalis together with ADEME, has produced a partly entertaining comic book, where non-environmental decisions in daily life is punished by itching powder thrown by the mysterious bug Sib.

If the island of Tuvalis is really sinking, and if, in that case, it has anything to do with what I have for breafast, is not really explained, but as a pedagogic endeavour, it’s interesting from mainly two aspects.

Good manners is an important virtue, and one that all “youth” should pick up, else they might run into problems later in life. These include most of the things taught in the booklet, don’t throw garbage in nature, try not to work up your parents’ electricity bill too much.

But what ever became of good old youth rebellion against authorities and oppression? Do dress in a UN sponsored T-shirt and harass people, telling them that politicians should “do something”, in other words taxing and regulating people, does not come across as very courageous, or youthful for that matter.

But maybe I’m just too old for this.

CFACT EU Associate Editor Einar Du Rietz at the CFACT display in Bonn. One of our Moai fell casualty to a group of global warmist youth.

Discord, blame and profiteering at UN Bonn climate conference as UN scrambles to get climate treaty back on track; calls for developed nations to repay ‘climate debt’ and an ‘international court of climate and environmental justice’ to prosecute developed world.  Full Update at CFACT.org.

Press briefing tomorrow June 10, 10:30, room Haydn at Hotel Maritim Bonn.  Read our press release at CFACT.tv.

CFACT is reporting from the UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany. Our display addresses issues of alternative energy and juxtaposes wind turbines with the famed Moai, the carved heads of Easter Island, stating that civilization can’t run for long on superstition or subsidies.

On Saturday and Sunday CFACT met with scientists and policy experts credentialed as members of our delegation in the nearby town of Hennef during a meeting organized by the European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE).

CFACT is providing publications to every delegation, meeting delegates, briefing the press, raising questions and providing hard information.

Our press conference will be 10:30 AM (CET) Thursday, June 10 hosted by the UNFCCC in room Haydn at the Hotel Maritim.  There will be a live webcast and the video will be later available on demand.   Our press conference will begin with an introduction from CFACT’s Christina Wilson of the U.S.  Lord Christopher Monckton will serve as CFACT’s main press spokesman joined by CFACT Europe Associate Editor Einar Du Rietz of Sweden and Wolfgang Mueller of the German Free Market Institute.

Watch for CFACT’s updates from Bonn and maybe even a little creative fun.

Rather to my surprise, I bumped into Mother Earth at the Heartland Climate Conference in Chicago (May 17th).  There she was, large as life, in her green gown with a wreath of ivy in her hair (when I first saw the green gown I feared she might be a Warmist saboteur who had slipped past Security, but my worries were unfounded).  And she was selling (or strictly speaking, giving out) Carbon Indulgences (that’s the white rectangle in the photograph).  Fascinated, I read the text:

“This indulgence serves as a remittance of all carbon sins.  You are forgiven for *** Flying in airplanes *** Driving in cars *** Using electrical kit *** Taking hot showers *** Exhaling CO2 *** making things in factories *** Growing food with tractors *** Eating meat *** Running aircon *** Attending international Conferences”.

So I feel much better about that.  Back in the day job, Mother Earth is Christina Wilson, the Upper Midwest Director of “Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow”, part of an organisation called CFACT.The photograph is in front of their exhibition stand and you can see most of their logo.  They are a conservative organisation dedicated to a rational approach to science and the environment.  You can see the Mother Earth story at http://www.cfact.org/a/1719/Carbon-sins-forgiven-in-Bonn, under the headline “Expose Global Warming Hype – ALL PAIN, NO GAIN” (don’t you just wish that they could stop sitting on the fence and take a clear position?).

I get a great buzz from going to the States.  I love the plethora of conservative organisations and dedicated people taking the message forward.  Of course we have some great conservative organisations here in the UK – The TaxPayers Alliance, The Bruges Group, The Freedom Association – but we have some way to go to match the scale and profile of our friends and colleagues across the pond.

On the left of the picture you can see a corner of the Pajamas Media stand (www.pajamasmedia.com).  They’re great guys too, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

You can download Mother Earth’s carbon indulgences and CFACT’s International Carbon Credits here, print them out and share them with those in need of carbon forgiveness.

Last day of the climate conference in Bonn, a most interesting city that we unfortunately never had the time to study more closely, due to the – as usual – busy program. Bonn, the city of Beethoven and a symbol both for peaceful German recovery after WWII and the European university traditions. Today, all but remnants of the hastily build government administration are gone, together with the embassies, though the sometimes magnificent residences still remain along the Rhine.

How lovely then to stumble across an invitation to come back! The Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, sponsored by everything from the European and especially German taxpayers to DHL is inviting everyone to an international conference 21-23 June, here in Bonn, on “Climate change and the media”.

I humbly accept your invitation. The topic “How to make Oscar-winning movies on climate change”, interests me in particular. Let me also give you an offer in return! CFACT will gladly help with both material and lecturers, on all of the listed topics. I just spoke to one of our fabulous experts and lecturers, Lord Monckton, who readily accepted to address, for example, the seminar “How to professionally deal with climate scepticism”.

To reply to this offer, please leave a comment below, or use the contact information to CFACT listed on the site.

Looking forward to seeing you again in Bonn!

They are at it again, as Lord Monckton puts it. Well, so is CFACT. Strategically positioned in the middle of the action at the new UNFCCC climate talks in Bonn.

It certainly is more quiet than in Copenhagen. Officially, it’s a preparatory, informal meeting, before Mexico. Unofficially, it’s a matter of gathering strength after the Copenhagen fiasco. Both these versions are correct. No heads of state or government. Yet. No violent hooligans either. Yet. Only the usual side groups, telling us to become vegetarians and tax all sorts of behaviorr.

CFACT Europe, together with CFACT International, has a strong delegation with, among others, Lord Monckton and famous German author Dr. Edgar Gärtner. To help raise the spirits all around, CFACT is distributing all sorts of positive information, including free carbon credits to absolve the delegates from any guilt they might feel from using an airplane or a car to get here.

Stay tuned!

Thanks to Jody Clarke and the Atlas Foundation for their sponsorship of Barun Mitra’s and Manuel de Araujo’s Presentations in Copenhagen.