I am a writer by profession so I have some clue about the power of words. Today, in Paris, climate scientists from all over the planet have gathered, under the auspices of the UN, to finalize their comprehensive report on global warming and climate change. The 1500 page report is by all accounts extremely alarming in its nearly unanimous agreement that things are literally heating up much faster than previously predicted. One hopes that this will put the final nail in the coffin of the deniers. But it won’t.

The Executive Summary: Watering Down the Message
Today the scientists are dealing with the politicians as they prepare the executive summary of the report. The summary, a 30-50 page document, is critical because 99% of all the coverage the report gets worldwide will come from the summary. As a result the political hacks are converging on this process and doing everthing they can to change its language to support their country’s political stance on global warming. As one scientist said today, they have completed 30% of the summary but used 60% of their available time to do so, all because of wrangling over words.

‘Global Climate Change’
This is the phrase Bush used in the State of the Union address last week. It is notable because the word ‘warming’ is conspicuously absent. This is intentional. If we know one thing about this White House it is that they are very conscious of the power of a phrase: Mission Accomplished, Stay the Course, etc. They can’t use ‘warming’ because that word points a finger directly at the energy industry and also offends some fundamentalists who regard any implication that we caused this mess as a slap in the face of mankind’s inalienable right to do whatever we want. This is the mindset that is driving the process of watering down the message in Paris.

Whether you are a journalist, a blogger or an active reader, it is your duty to tell these politicians that they need to call a spade a spade. No more spinning of language to divert attention away from the most important challenge in mankind’s brief history on this planet. The truth needs to be told as clearly and directly as possible.

As I’ve blogged recently, Ethanol production, as proposed by the government, is nothing more than a major subsidy for corporate farm businesses, the oil industry and the US car makers as it costs more to make than it will sell for, it uses corn which we need for food, it requires huge amounts of petro products for its manufacture and it avoids the real immediate solution: mandated automobile fuel efficiency standards. Yet, tonight our President will address the nation and once again call for a huge ethanol initiative.
This is a death march approach to dealing with global warming and our addiction to oil. If we constantly look for a panacea that will let us keep consuming at current levels we will march off a cliff, lemmings to the siren call of the energy industry.
Short term we need a major call to tighten belts, energy-wise, change efficiency mandates and put political pressure on China and India to change their infrastructure. Long term we need renewable energy that does not require storage: geothermal, wave, hydro and other ‘always on’ sources that will be complimented by solar and wind.
Of course this President is so blinded by his own perceived destiny that he is constitutionally incapable of change. I believe long term the war in the Middle East will be superceded by his ignoring of climate change when they tally up the record of the worst leader in American history.

There is an ethanol hysteria going on that defies all logic. This stuff costs a fortune to make, uses more fossil fuels in its production than it replaces and is a terrible use for corn in a world that needs corn for food. Sugarcane would be a much better source but a system of government protections that enriches sugar producers eliminates that source. Companies like Archer Daniels Midland, the massive corporate commodity company, have spent hundreds of millions and years creating a mythology of corn as a fuel source to drive prices up.
Am I ranting or going into conspiracy mode? No. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) chose corn ethanol as one of their year’s losers in technology stories. They are the most highly respected standards group for engineers worldwide.
We have no time to pursue short term solutions that are nothing more than farm subsidies.

This one hits all my categories which in itself is a pretty big rave. TED is a conference of people from the Technology, Entertainment and Design worlds that takes place each year in Monterey. It costs a lot to attend ($4400. last time) and it’s by invitation only (although you can apply to be invited) so most of us aren’t likely to experience it in person. This is too bad because a lot of really brilliant people get up and do brief talks and demos about things they’re working on or interested in, things that may change the world.
Fortunately they’ve posted these presentations on the TED Talks site and anyone can watch, download and even grab code to embed them into your site or blog. I was orginally going to embed the Al Gore talk from last year but decided instead to provide info and the site link so you can explore what TED has to offer. This is another incredible web resource, one that reminds me of what a remarkable information age we live in.