Liberty
Matters News Service
May 24, 2006
One More Time, There's No Global Warming
The liberal news media is trying to turn up the heat on the topic of global warming (Time Magazine's cover story "Be Worried. Be Very Worried) and Al Gore is running around promoting his docu-flick "An Inconvenient Truth," that claims "sea levels may rise by 20 feet, the Arctic and Antarctic ice will melt" and "deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years - to 300,000 people a year." A new study by the National Center for Policy Analysis debunks that nonsense and concludes that "the science does not support claims of drastic increases in global warming over the 21st century, nor does it support claims of human influence on weather events and other secondary effects of climate change." The changes that did occur, the study says, were caused by solar radiation rather than human pollution. Last year's severe hurricane season was not the result of global warming, but was due to the increased Atlantic hurricane activity brought on by natural tropical climate cycles. The Arctic isn't melting either, as environmental hysterics claim. The "average summer air temperatures at the summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, have decreased at the rate of 4 degrees F per decade since measurements began in 1987." Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans concluded that "global warming appears to play a minor role in changes to Arctic sea ice."
The Truth About "Global Warming" is
Much Less Dire Than Al Gore Wants You to Think
Four Eco-terrorists Indicted For 1998 Vail Resort Arson
Four of the thirteen eco-terrorists indicted for a string of arson attacks in Oregon, California and Wyoming, have been charged with firebombing a newly constructed Vail, Colorado ski resort in 1998. The fire destroyed the resort, resulting in $12 million in damages, the worst eco-terrorism attack in U. S. history. Two of the four, Chelsea Gerlach, 29, of Portland, OR. and Stanislas Meyerhoff, 28, of Charlottesville, VA are currently jailed in Oregon and the other two, Josephine Sunshine Overaker, 31, and Rebecca J. Rubin, 33, are still on the run. The accused are believed to be members of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), which claimed responsibility. In a message sent to a radio station, ELF warned: "We will be back if this greedy corporation continues to trespass into wild and unroaded areas." Gerlach and Meyerhoff each face eight counts of arson. Each charge carries a five to twenty- year prison sentence. Vail Resorts has since rebuilt the lodge, located 100 miles west of Denver. Vail resident Matt Carroll said of the fire: "I don't think anybody ever thought it was locals. The original thought was that it was terrorist related."
4 Indicted in Resort Fires Tied to
Firebomb North of Reno
Virginia Delegation Sponsors New Heritage Area
Virginia Republican Representative, Frank R. Wolf, has introduced H.R. 5195, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area Act. Senator George Allen has introduced a companion bill in the Senate, S. 2645. The heritage area is supposed to protect Civil War battle grounds from desecration by the public and stretches from Gettysburg, PA, site of one the Civil War's most horrific battles, over a ten-mile wide, 175-mile long swath into Maryland and Virginia. The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) has designated the proposed Heritage site as one of the "11 most endangered historic sites in America." Richard Moe, NTHP president, told a June, 2004, gathering of supporters that "[w]ithout comprehensive planning to manage sprawl and encourage appropriate growth, much of the region's heritage could be paved over." The land targeted by the preservationists is mostly private property and if the legislation is approved, landowners will likely discover their property rights no longer exist. The area would be managed by the National Park Service (NPS) with the cooperation of several non-governmental organizations. Jerry L. Rogers, a NPS Associate director, once wrote: "...[t]he greatest threats to historic properties, natural resources, scenic values, and the national parks come not from federal agencies but from private parties doing private things on private land."
Journey Through Hallowed
Ground
Wiley Woodpecker Eludes Birdmen
No one has been able to find any more of the "rediscovered" Ivory-billed woodpeckers, birds thought to have been extinct since 1944. Last year, members of the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) revealed a grainy video they claimed was evidence of the bird's existence. The team had kept their search secret for two years before announcing their stunning "discovery" to the public. Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton proudly showered the Cache River Wildlife Management Area with $10 million for research, land acquisition and land use restrictions to protect the bird. Alas, it was all for naught. Over the past winter, more than 100 volunteers and full-time researchers scoured the brush for a glimpse of the mythological creature, but came up empty. "Based on the information coming from the search and research that we have done, I feel there is no need any longer to limit public use within this area," said Dennis Widner, manager of the Refuge. "Certainly we're somewhat disappointed," said Ron Rohrbaugh of the Cornell team, however, that "doesn't mean the bird's not there."