Marita Noon, executive director of the Citizens’ Alliance for Responsible Energy, writes:
[Here] is a special piece. It is a review of the International Conference on Climate Change. But, it is not my usual gushings. At the conference in New York, there was a young woman who was obviously a supporter of the “crisis” position. She was not there to listen or learn, but to antagonize. It was reported that in one of the sessions, her outburst was something like, “You all are old. You do not get it. We young people see the concerns...” I looked around. Sadly, there were few young people there. But there were some pockets of them in the crowd of 800+. I spoke to one of the groups of young men and found out that they were there from Queens Vocational and Technical High School. They were there with their teacher Rob Schimenz. Thinking of the young woman’s comment I asked the students what they thought of the conference. They were very positive. I asked them to write a report of their experience at the conference and to specifically comment on whether it had impacted their ideas about climate change. I believe you will find this report to be refreshing and a sign of hope for the future. Worthy of note is the fact that upon return from the conference, the teacher, Rob Schimenz received a notice that he’d been selected as the 11th grade winner of the 2008-2009 izzit.org Teacher of the Year Award! Congratulations Rob!
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs020/1101143609432/archive/1102544631331.html
International Conference on Climate Change: The Youth Perspective
Back when I was a 12 year old, I was taught that global warming is a crisis. Being very young I was scared and was willing to do anything to stop this “global warming.” I saw the Al Gore movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” and I believed it.
Our teacher, Mr. Schimenz, took several of us from Queens Vocational & Technical High School on a trip to the second annual International Conference on Climate Change. What really caught my attention was that there were many scientists from all over the world at this conference.
At the beginning of the conference we quickly learned that over 32,000 scientists, including over 10,000 with PhDs, signed a petition stating that they do not believe global warming is caused by humans and that it is not a crisis. There were numerous speakers at the conference, many who presented scientific data about the earth’s temperatures, ocean currents, solar activity, carbon dioxide levels, and more.
One presentation that I found interesting was about weather stations throughout the United States. Many of these stations are compromised because of their placement. As we saw at the conference, many of these stations are located near air conditioners or in parking lots, and are influenced by exhaust from the air conditioners and cars, and from heat that reflects off the blacktop pavement.
My classmate, Esteban Soler, was very excited about meeting top-world scientists. “This conference was a good experience because I gained so much knowledge and met famous scientists who believe that global warming isn’t a crisis,” he said. Some of the people we got to meet were Willie Soon, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Dr. Harrison Schmitt, an American astronaut on the Apollo 17 mission and one of the last two Americans to walk on the moon; and Vaclav Klaus, the president of Czech Republic. “Knowing that those people were there made me realize that there are two sides to the global warming story, and there are people who try to scare us into doing what they want us to do. This conference was important because these people are doing their best to stop this false information,” Esteban said.
Daniel Corona, another student from Queens Voc, said he found Dr. Art Robinson’s talk, “Nobel Prize for Death,” to be a rude awakening. “Al Gore claims that global warming has caused an increase in malaria, even though it was the banning of DDT that has led to a resurgence of malaria and to the deaths of tens of millions of children,” Daniel said.
The global warming movement includes many celebrities, politicians, and media, all of whom have a big influence on us. Average people have been listening to these people about global warming and we have rarely heard that there is another side. Taxis going green in New York City, movies on global warming, and global warming events such as the Live Earth concerts, are just some examples of the events that make headlines.
The Heartland Institute’s climate change conference has helped make it a bit more acceptable for scientists to refute the people who hype global warming. Yet critics of the global warming movement are often attacked. Many of these scientists stand up for their views, even though they face hostile, ad hominem attacks. So do those few in the media who challenge the people who try to scare us about global warming, such as ABC’s John Stossel, who was called a traitor by Robert Kennedy, Jr. At the conference, President Vaclav Klaus said that arguing against global warming reminded him of the frustration he felt arguing against communism.
My classmate, Erick Cabello, said that the most interesting thing he learned at the conference was how science and politics tie together. “Politics has an influence on scientists nowadays, and some scientists support the global warming argument because they get research funds from the government.”
Young people like us should learn as much as we can about climate change, and speak out on this topic to our friends and in our classrooms because this has a lot of young adults needlessly afraid. As fast as these global warming beliefs were spread, we can stop these beliefs with real facts just as fast.
Armando Avila (15 years old)
Honor Society Member
Captain, Varsity Baseball Team
Queens Vocational & Technical High School
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs020/1101143609432/archive/1102544631331.html#LETTER.BLOCK8
Heartland Institute friend and supporter Adele Weeks attended the second International Conference on Climate Change March 8-10 in New York, and sent this report when she returned home to Racine, Wisconsin.
I thought you might be interested to know how your recent global warming conference led to some talks here by two of the conference presenters, Dr. Willie Soon of the Science and Public Policy Institute and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Dr. David Legates of the University of Delaware..
At the NYC conference, I introduced myself and my high school chemistry students, whom I brought with me, to Dr. Soon. When he heard that I was from Wisconsin, he connected me with a businessman here who wants to use his resources to help people learn the truth about climate change.
This man financed a speaking tour in Wisconsin by Willie and David Legates, and I set up engagements that resulted in them speaking to about 1,000 people in three days. He also paid for hundreds of books and Lord Christopher Monckton’s DVD, “Apocalypse No,” which we gave to the people who came to hear them speak.
Willie and David arrived here on a Monday, had lunch with my toxicologist husband John, and then spoke to 500 kids, in two successive periods, at Washington Park High School in Racine. Monday night they spoke to about 70 people at a combined meeting of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Astronomy Club and the Young Libertarians Club.
Tuesday morning they spoke to about 70 kids at the Racine Christian School; Tuesday afternoon to about 150 students in biology, chemistry, and physics classes at Christian Life High School in Kenosha; and Tuesday night to more than 200 local citizens at a meeting in Racine. A diverse group of people showed up there after reading about it in our paper. One high school physics teacher brought a lot of his students to that meeting.
Wednesday morning, I hosted a breakfast at my house for several people to hear the two scientists, and then they spoke online to The Potter’s School, an international school where I teach high school chemistry, to about 50 students from all over the globe. Their lecture was recorded so the rest of the student body of 1,600 kids and parents could hear it.
There were favorable articles about them in our local Racine newspaper (the reporter called and interviewed Willie for over an hour the week before they came here, and they advertised his talk ahead of time in the paper,) and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/42226892.html
Their talks were very good, and they really convinced all their audiences. No real challenges were raised though they took questions for a long time at every meeting.
Thanks for holding the NYC conference.
Sincerely,
Adele Weeks
“Thank you so much for the wonderful leadership that the Heartland Institute is providing in the whole climate area and for the excellent conference that you ran. The contribution that you are making is outstanding!”
Dr. Muriel Newman
New Zealand Centre for Political Research
“Thank you for inviting African Centre for Advocacy and Human Development (ACAHD) in Nigeria and making it possible for us to be a co-sponsor of the 2009 International Conference on Climate Change. It was a great experience for me to be part of this laudable project. This will be the focus of the debate that I want to start in Africa, and I have resolved to build on this workshop and bring the debate closer to Africa.”
Paul Adepelumi
Executive Director
African Centre for Advocacy and Human Development
“The ICCC 2009 was a huge success. The keynote addresses were an interesting mix and very relevant. The panels and all the talks I was able to attend were likewise on topic and well done. Everyone of the dozen or so folks that I brought along were all very pleased and agreed it gave them a boost of enthusiasm and confidence that together we can help true science prevail over politicized psuedo-science.
“Having chaired conferences for the AMS and NWA, I know how much work is involved. The ICCC speakers presentations were of higher quality and more enthusiastic than I have found at the other conferences over the years.
“Kudos to you, Jay Lehr, James Taylor, Dan Miller and all your staff for a job well done and for getting the videos and powerpoints up so quickly for those that could not attend to see and benefit from. It took months for AMS to get the PPTs up in the last conference I attended and presented.”
Joe D’Aleo
http://icecap.us
“The ICCC (International Conference on Climate Change was Heartland’s 2nd annual climate conference and was (in my view) a great success, as was the first meeting the year before. Anyone attending with preconceived views that humans are a major influence on global warming, could not have left without entertaining strong doubts about their position. Anyone previously believing in the need for large reductions in future CO2 emissions would have had to become skeptical of their prior position.
“The Heartland Institute, particularly Joe Bast, Jay Lehr and James Taylor did a wonderful job of organizing this three day meeting. I have never enjoyed a scientific conference more than this one. I was very pleased to attend this very informative conference and I plan to attend the 3^rd annual no matter where it is held.”
Bill Gray
Professor Emeritus
Colorado State University
“Talking with others at the conclusion of the conference, I believe this conference was a greater success than the first one. Synergy is rampant. Previously isolated researchers in many fields are talking to one another, reinforcing their general views, but still questioning specifics. There may be disagreement on why it is happening, but no disagreement on what is happening.
“The conference provided an excellent forum for robust discussion on the major causes of climate change and developing alternative hypotheses that are testable in hopes of creating a rigorous scientific theory on climate change. The conference was science in the making rather than blind acceptance of pre-concluded dictates of computer models and their experts.”
Kenneth Haapala
“I think you will like to know that our effort communicating the 2009 Heartland Climate Change Conference has rendered a great success in Spain and the Spanish speaking world media. We at the Instituto Juan de Mariana used the telephone to call all our connections and issued a couple of press releases getting numerous papers responses. I have attached an excel document where you will find 56 Spanish media hits, including El Mundo, El Pais, Expansion and, basically, every large national journal, radio channel and several national TV channels. Thank you again for the great conference.”
Gabriel Calzada
Instituto Juan de Mariana
Spain
“[T]hank you and your colleagues again for hosting an extraordinary conference that is having a significant impact on public opinion and policy making around the globe! I sincerely hope the Heartland conference will become an annual fixture and will keep growing year on year. If you ever decide to host the meeting in Europe, I would be more than happy to assist.”
Benny Peiser
Social Anthropologist
Liverpool John Moores University
United Kingdom
“It is always an honor to participate.”
Stanley Goldenberg
Meteorologist
Hurricane Research Division/AOML/NOAA
“I am happy to help in advance in any way for the next conference or action on the matter.”
Piers Corbyn
Weather Forecaster
Owner - Weather Action
“I wish to thank you and the institute for the opportunity and support.”
Jan Veizer
Professor of Geology
University of Ottawa
“It was my pleasure participating in the climate change conference. It was very well done! Hopefully it will have some influence.”
Tim Patterson
Professor of Geology
Carleton University in Ottawa
“Thank you for having me at Heartland's excellent and important conference.”
Kesten C. Green
Senior Research Fellow
Business and Economic Forecasting Unit
Monash University
“Allow me to thank you and Mr. Bast for the outstanding climate change conference that the Heartland Institute hosted this month in New York City! Your organization performs an essential service to the American public by providing the truth on important issues that the media chooses to ignore at our peril.”
John Theon, Ph.D.
Retired Senior NASA Atmospheric Scientist
“Once again I wish to congratulate Heartland Institute for a very successful conference.
“I would also like express my sincere gratitude to you and Joe, and the organising committee for giving me this opportunity second time in a row to share my thoughts at this distinguished gathering.
“Just as last year, I learned a lot in the two days, and made a lot of new friends.”
Barun Mitra
Founder and Director
Liberty Institute
“The ICCC was a great success, and I believe we're turning the tide--in public opinion, anyway. Politicians and media seem likely to be the last ones to get the memo that AGW is a dead issue.”
E. Calvin Beisner
National Spokesman
The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
