"Green" Predictions Need Reality Check, Doctors Say

TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American lifestyle—SUVs, cheap electricity, air conditioning, central heating—is increasingly under attack in the name of Saving the Planet.

"Green" alarmists make dire predictions, which are overdue for a reality check, states Jane Orient, M.D., president of Physicians for Civil Defense, according to the September issue of the Doctors for Disaster Preparedness Newsletter.

In 1983, they predicted that forests would disappear in the first half of the 21^st century. As of 2010, forests covered 31% of the earth's surface. Deforestation is decreasing, and some areas show net gains.

Global warming was expected to cause a loss of carbon stored on land, according to another 1983 prediction. Instead, global carbon uptake by land and oceans doubled between 1960 and 2010.

The melting of glaciers and polar ice caps is supposed to cause sea-level rise that will inundate island nations. Previously, less than 0.075% of the world's ice cover had been measured. With the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), satellites have determined that the contribution of melting to sea-level rise is one-tenth to one-half what was thought: about 1.5 mm/yr.

Arctic sea ice may reach a record low this year, for the time since systematic measurements began in 1979, which was the peak ice year of the last century. There is historical evidence, however, that ice virtually disappeared during warming periods within the last 10,000 years.

Numerous speakers, including Fred Singer, Richard Lindzen, Paul Driessen, and Rael Jean Isaac, debunked global alarmism at a recent meeting of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness.

"Apocalyptic Green predictions are regularly shown to be wrong," states Dr. Orient. Yet they are being used to justify disastrously expensive policies, such as shutting down electrical generating stations.  

Physicians for Civil Defense distributes information to help to save lives in the event of natural disaster, terrorism, or war.

Contact: Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, [email protected]

SOURCE Physicians for Civil Defense