In an effort to promote environmental awareness and raise environmental education standards, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy is today, Earth Day, releasing the Smart Green Frontiers Climate Change Quiz.
Peter Holle, the Frontier Centre’s president, said the focus, in our schools today, is on indoctrinating children to ‘take action against climate change’, without ever actually teaching them about the controversy surrounding the science. “The quiz,” he said, “takes students to the heart of climate science. It is an interactive quiz that gives detailed explanations of why any given question can be right or wrong.
For example, he said, the question in the quiz of how much the average U.S. surface temperature changed during the 20th Century gives an explanation of historical temperatures and how the averages are calculated. “The Frontier Centre views this approach as crucial for several reasons. It is in line with our Smart Green principle that environmental decision making must be evidence based if decisions are to be effective. While the Earth Day website contains emotional exhortations so melodramatic they are comical, the Frontier quiz focuses on scientific evidence.”
Holle said it is also important that our western heritage of open and honest scientific be safeguarded . “The Frontier quiz aligns with the western tradition of scientific progress by continually testing theories against the facts by allowing individual students to test their own understanding against the latest climate data.”
The scientific content for the quiz was prepared by Dr Tim Ball, retired professor of historical climatology from the University of Winnipeg and a member of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy’s Research Advisory Board, and Tom Harris, Executive Director of the International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC), an association of scientists, economists and energy and policy experts working to promote better public understanding of climate change.
Tim Ball has an extensive science background in climatology, especially the reconstruction of past climates and the impact of climate change on human history and the human condition with additional experience in water resources and areas of sustainable development, pollution prevention, environmental regulations, the impact of government policy on business and economics. He is researcher/author of numerous papers on climate, long range weather patterns, impacts of climate change on sustainable agriculture, ecosystems, historical climatology, air quality, untapped energy resources, silting and flooding problems. He had a long academic career at the University of Winnipeg until he moved to Victoria in 1996. He has a BA from the University of Winnipeg, an MA from the University of Manitoba and a Ph.D (Doctor of Science) from the University of London, England.
Tom Harris’s basic education was in thermo-fluids and energy sciences and he has Bachelor (Carleton) and Masters Degrees in Mechanical Engineering (McMasters). He has thirty years experience working as a mechanical engineer and project manager, science and technology communications professional and media and S&T advisor to a former Opposition Senior Environment Critic. For the past ten years he has been working intensively with a growing team of independent scientists and engineers to promote a sensible approach to range of energy and environmental topics, climate change in particular. His main focus has been the highly controversial science underlying these issues.
“Exposing children individually to the raw science in an engaging and interactive way is the best medicine for preserving our heritage of open scientific enquiry, and preparing the next generation to deal with increasingly complex environmental questions.” said Frontier Centre President Peter Holle at the time of the Climate Quiz launch.
The Smart Green Frontiers Climate Change Quiz, which will be shared by an international network of think tanks called the Civil Society Coalition of Climate Change (www.csccc.info) (made up of 45 member organizations from 34 countries) can be found at csccc.fcpp.org
About the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
The Frontier Centre for Public Policy (www.fcpp.org) is and independent, non-profit think tank, founded to undertake research and education in support of economic growth and social outcomes that will enhance the quality of life in our communities. It is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada and has offices in Regina and Calgary.
About the Smart Green Frontiers Project
The Smart Green Frontiers Project is a Frontier Centre initiative that explores how to solve environmental problems without reducing human freedom. The phrase “smart green” is intended to shift the environmental agenda away from a traditional model based on a “command and control” style of regulation and towards the use of markets and property rights. We present the case that smart green has a better chance to accomplish a universal objective: a cleaner, healthier world.
About the International Climate Science Coalition
The International Climate Science Coalition (www.climatescienceinternational.org) is an association of scientists, economists and energy and policy experts working to promote better public understanding of climate change. ICSC is committed to providing a highly credible alternative to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) thereby fostering a more rational, open discussion about climate issues.
About the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change
The Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change (www.csccc.info) seeks to educate the public about the science and economics of climate change in an impartial manner. It was established as a response to the many biased and alarmist claims about human-induced climate change, which are being used to justify calls for intervention and regulation. The Coalition comprises over forty independent civil society organisations who share a commitment to improving public understanding about a range of public policy issues. All are non-profit organizations that are independent of political parties and government.
