Simple AGW Editorial Goes Global in 48 Hours 
By James A. Peden

Never underestimate the power of the internet.  Here's a truly amazing story:

I, too became suspicious of the Global Warming Hype several months ago, and having a background in Atmospheric Physics (long retired), I undertook a personal study spanning many weeks of primarily Internet research - including much valuable data and analysis from contributors to ICECAP. (many thanks)

As the editor of a regional community internet network (www.middlebury.net), I summarized my findings in an editorial specifically designed to be read and hopefully understood by the non-rocket-scientist, including, when necessary, short breaks of teaching some elementary physics as I went along so regular folks could follow the story without choking on 2nd order partial differential equations.

I next placed an isolated page on the server for examination (peer review) by a select circle of colleagues to whom I sent the URL.

Somehow it was leaked prematurely.  The web logs showed it started immediately spreading virally, virtually all over the globe.  The following morning, I received an email from the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, indicating my still-under-review essay had been excerpted and distributed further.

The popularity of the article seems to be that it was written for the average layman, who presumably has been eagerly awaiting a layman-level explanation.  Links to it quickly spread to more than a dozen other web sites, and the page has been viewed from 24 foreign countries at last check.

There's a philosophical principle called Occam's Razor, which essentially says one should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything. While the whole world argues over melting ice caps, drowning polar bears, droughts and floods and other complex catastrophes, I simply asked myself, "What is the maximum amount of the earth's agreed-upon Black Body radiation that the atmosphere's agreed-upon amount of CO2 is capable of absorbing?

My very simple calculations, using generally acceptable CO2 absorption and Black Body radiation spectra, yielded a result that seemed to indicate that CO2 wasn't much of a player in the so-called Greenhouse Effect.  So, you can argue all day about polar bears and such, but in the end, whatever you decide has to obey the fundamental laws of physics.

Yes, the planet may be warming, or cooling, or whatever... but man isn't to blame and man can't stop what Mother Earth (and the Sun) are planning for the future.

It's really as simple as that.  And it looks like most regular folks prefer a simple explanation, particularly if it is wholly in agreement with what we think of as the fundamental laws of physics. That's probably why the essay spread around the globe so fast... regular folks could understand it.

The sad part is, the Global Warming Fanatics will undoubtedly continue their desperate fight to force us all to fall into lockstep with their radical, paranoid environmental agendas.  Even sadder is the recent study that 95% of the younger children now fear for the future of their lives, and the planet.  None dare call it terrorism...

... but when you frighten our children unnecessarily, that's exactly what you are - environmental terrorists.  Shame, shame, shame....

I began my personal study with absolutely no personal environmental or political agenda.  I simply wanted to dig out the truth and perhaps share it with a few others in our regional network.

But I thank you ICECAP folks for this wonderful forum which helped lead me to a trove of good, honest data and analysis, and indirectly helped spread my very simple paper all over the globe.  Many thanks to the "real" environmental scientists out there, struggling against almost overwhelming political odds.

Oh, and as one quoting web site said, "Brew up a pot of coffee or two and start reading here..." 

http://www.middlebury.net/op-ed/global-warming-01.html

James A. Peden, Editor
The Middlebury, Vermont Community Network
www.middlebury.net