The Tree-Ring of the Fisherman

by Mark Steyn January 3, 2015

I mentioned the other day Dr Judith Curry's New Year predictions:

In terms of global temperature, I expect the hiatus to continue at last another decade, but won't pretend to predict year to year variations. In terms of U.S. politics, I expect the Republican dominated Senate to hold more congressional hearings related to climate/energy issues. I don't expect much to be accomplished in the Paris UNFCCC meeting. And finally I predict that Michael Mann's lawsuit against NRO/CEI/Steyn won't be resolved in 2015.

I'll come back to that last one - personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Mann's suit against me lasts as long as "the hiatus" and then some. And I'll return to the first one, too. But let's start with that third one - the upcoming Paris meeting of the UNFCCC. When I first started seeing headlines about the Pope pushing for action on climate change, I assumed the College of Climate Cardinals had had a whip round and decided to buy Michael E Mann a funny hat and a big balcony to make up for the implosion of his self-conferred Nobel Prize. But no, this isn't His Hockiness but His Holiness - the real, actual Pope:

This March, following a visit to the Philippines, Pope Francis will publish an encyclical on the environment that insiders say will tackle the issue of global warming head on. Pope Francis is hoping to have some impact when world leaders meet to discuss climate change in Paris next year…

So the pontiff wants to get a piece of the climate-change action. Do carbon offsets qualify for papal indulgences?.....To Read More….

My Take – Carbon offsets and Papal indulgences are exactly like, only these are secular indulgences, but no less corrupt.