Year: 2008

The World Has Never Seen Such Freezing Heat

A surreal scientific blunder last week raised a huge question mark about the temperature records that underpin the worldwide alarm over global warming. A GISS spokesman lamely explained that the reason for the error in the Russian figures was that they were obtained from another body, and that GISS did not have resources to exercise proper quality control over the data it was supplied with.

Featured News

An Open Letter to my Friends on the Left

To call the housing and credit crisis a failure of the free market or the product of unregulated greed is to overlook the myriad government regulations, policies, and political pronouncements that have both reduced the “freedom” of this market and channeled self-interest in ways that have produced disastrous consequences, both intended and unintended.

We Need Another Green Revolution

The best news is that high-yield farming will serve humanity and protect our forests whether the climate warms or cools. We ardently agree with Katherine Sierra that science—especially biotechnology—offers the best hope of being able to feed 8-10 billion people (up from the current 6.5 billion) in 2050.

Democratic Disappointment

Mr. Caplan concludes that those who seek to fiddle with electoral systems, for example by introducing proportional representation or reforming campaign finances, are misguided. Meanwhile, those who seek salvation in getting more non-voters to the polls are in fact promoting disaster, since non-voters tend to be less educated and thus even more likely to embrace dangerous ideas.

Learning From Alberta’s Schools

With tax dollars following the students, it forced all schools to compete for pupils with innovations like alternative programming and more options for parents and students. This competition, not surprisingly, has led to higher parental and student satisfaction, as well as better educational outcomes.