Editor's Note: If you have plans to visit Chicago's Field Museum this summer you might want to check out two reviews of their new climate change exhibit from the Heartland Institute before you do.

From the Heartland Institute:

Heartland Policy Advisor Norm Rogers and Patrick J. Michaels of the School of Public Policy at George Mason University don't have much positive to say about the Field Museum of Chicago's new exhibit on climate change. They found the exhibit "preachy" and "alarmist," among other things.

Click here to read the one by Patrick Michaels.

Click here to read the one by Norm Rogers.

 

Rogers' review, "illustrated with photos of the exhibit, is not a positive one." He writes, "The exhibit contains inaccuracies, but the biggest problem is a consistent bias toward alarmism and the use of propaganda techniques to create a crisis atmosphere." 

Also worth noting is the new book by Heartland's president Joe Bast, "Seven Theories of Climate Change." It summarizes the seven theories, anthropogenic global warming (AGW), plus six others that do not claim man-made emissions are a cause of climate change.

Click here for more information on how to download the pdf version of the book or for information on purchasing copies. Here is the text from the Heartland website promoting the book:

"At least seven theories of climate change enjoy some support in the scientific community. With the anthropogenic global warming theory now in disrepute, it is a good time to review the other six ..."

 

This booklet identifies seven theories, anthropogenic global warming (AGW) plus six others that do not claim man-made emissions are a major cause of climate change. Each theory is plausible and sheds light on some aspects of climate change that were hidden or obscured by too great a focus on the AGW theory.

 

The six alternative theories are:

1. Bio-thermostat -- rising temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere trigger biological and chemical responses that have a cooling effect, like a natural thermostat.
2. Cloud formation and albedo -- changes in the formation and albedo of clouds create negative feedbacks that cancel out all or nearly all of the warming effect of higher levels of CO2.
3. Human forcings besides greenhouse gases -- mankind's greatest influence on climate is not its greenhouse gas emissions, but its transformation of Earth's surface by clearing forests, irrigating deserts, and building cities.
4. Ocean currents -- global temperature variations over the past century-and-a- half and particularly the past 30 years were due to the slow-down of the ocean's Thermohaline Circulation (THC).
5. Planetary motion -- natural gravitational and magnetic oscillations of the solar system induced by the planet's movement through space drive climate change.
6. Solar variability -- changes in the brightness of the sun cause changes in cloud formation, ocean currents, and wind that cause climate to change.

Click here to visit the Heartland Institute's Environment & Climate News website.