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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 6, NUMBER 5, MAY 1993

PERIODICALS...
GENERAL, POLICY AND ECONOMICS

Item #d93may73

"Ozone Update," J. Kirwin, Our Planet, Vol. 5, No. 1, 14-18, 1993 (U.N. Environ. Prog., POB 30552, Nairobi, Kenya).

Discusses the November 1992 modifications to the Montreal Protocol on stratospheric ozone protection, the difficulties facing industries which must comply, the use of transition chemicals, and problems associated with the funding mechanism intended to assist developing countries.

Item #d93may74

"Global Warming," C.T. Rubin, M.K. Landy, Garbage, 24-29, Feb.-Mar. 1993.

Two political scientists summarize what they have learned about the role of science in policy making, explaining how greenhouse policy is being driven by inadequate notions of scientific consensus, the improper use of scenarios, and a suspect analogy to buying insurance.

Item #d93may75

World Climate Review, Winter 1993 (Dept. Environ. Sci., Univ. Virginia, Charlottesville VA 22903).

"Conspiracy, Consensus or Correlation? What Scientists Think About the `Popular Vision' of Global Warming," pp. 7-11. Summarizes surveys of scientists by the Science and Environmental Policy Project, the Gallup Organization and Greenpeace, and a 1990 meeting of scientists at Arizona State University who feel we may not be headed toward apocalyptic global warming. Concludes it is impossible to ascribe any scientific consensus to the popular vision of climate disaster; instead, the popular vision is unscientific.

"Climate Digest," 15-17. Summarizes several recent scientific articles concerning sea level rise, temperature trends, and CO₂ uptake by boreal forests.

"Planet Watch," 19-21. Examines recent temperature data and compares them with model predictions.

Editorial: "Free Markets, Free Science," 23-24. Federal spending on basic science should be reduced to the extent that industry (through tax benefits) is interested in increasing its support. This would result in a better balance in research emphasis on global warming, leading to better science.

Item #d93may76

"Environmental Activists Take Aim at Trade Growth and Policy," E.V. Anderson, Chem. Eng. News, 9-15, Apr. 5, 1993. The conflict between those desiring to remove barriers to international trade and those struggling to protect the environment has escalated and seems to be reaching an apex. For instance, should the federal government have the right to insist on fuel efficiency and emissions standards for automobiles sold in the U.S.? International trade is one way developing countries can reduce their debt burden, which has forced many of them to "mine" their forests without replanting.

Item #d93may77

Special Issue: "In The Wake of Rio," Enviro--International Magazine on the Environment, No. 14, Dec. 1992, 36 pp. (Swedish Environ. Protection Agency, Info. Dept., S-171 85 Solna, Swed.)

Includes articles on Chinese coal, financing the Rio agreements, and defining sustainable development.

Item #d93may78

"The Cost of Greenhouse Insurance," J. Douglas, EPRI Journal, 27-33, Dec. 1992.

The Global 2100 model developed by Manne and Richels for EPRI shows that the greenhouse gas emission reductions proposed at the Earth Summit last year could ultimately cost developed countries several percent of annual gross domestic product. Allowing time for the introduction of advanced technologies would reduce costs significantly with little change in cumulative emissions. Increased electrification is the key to cost-effective reductions.

Item #d93may79

"Global Warming: The Origin and Nature of the Alleged Scientific Consensus," R.S. Lindzen, Regulation--Cato Review of Business & Government, 87-98, Spr. 1992 (Cato Inst., 224 Second St. SE, Washington DC 20003).

The author, a prominent atmospheric scientist, explains why he finds no substantive basis for global warming scenarios being popularly described. Such weak predictions, combined with certain special interests, can cascade into major political responses with economic and social consequences that may be more serious than the environmental danger they were designed to avoid.