Local Color: Cheyenne Wyoming

As we make our travels we'll link to a story or two or three from the local media.

The first today is an opinion piece from Maureen Bader of the Wyoming Liberty group, about the egregious lie that "97 percent" of "climate scientists" (whoever and whatever those are) are absolutely convinced of human caused global warming with dire ensuing consequences.

A recent letter to the editor published in this paper ("Harrington should have done more research," June 6), cited the claim that "97 percent of climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities."

There is no basis for this claim according to a May 26 Wall Street Journal oped as it is based on flawed studies.

One of these flawed studies, for instance, left out articles by scientists who questioned the consensus. Another showed that 97 percent of scientists agreed that temperatures have risen and humans are a significant contributing factor.

However, it did not include responses from solar scientists, meteorologists or other scientists "likely to be aware of natural causes of climate change."
That 97 percent study represented the views of only 79 of 3,146 scientists who responded to the survey because only those 79 "listed climate science as their area of expertise."

In another 97 percent study, views from 200 of the most prolific writers on climate change were reviewed and "97 percent to 98 percent of the 200" believe man is responsible for most of the warming. This is 200 out of thousands of writers on climate change.

Besides, using a so-called consensus to prove a fact is just a variation of the bandwagon and appeal to authority fallacies. Just because a lot of smart people believe something, doesn't mean it's true.

I am clearly stupid, ill-informed and mal-motivated, or in Paul Krugman's term, anti-intellectual, for I research and analyze on my own, have a mind of my own, and don't kowtow to the 97 percent or the bullies in the White House and the blogosphere who purvey it.

The tourism business is booming in the northern Rockies, which as far as we can tell won't transform into tropical rain forest for millenia to come, so up in Sheridan, a couple is renovating and re-opening the Sheridan Inn.

Bob and two employees spent nearly two months assessing the building and figuring out what it would take to get it up and running prior to purchasing the hotel, restaurant and lounge in October. The Townsends are the majority owners, and several employees back in Oklahoma also invested in the inn.
"We've always been fond of this building, because I've known it to be the historical center of this community," Bob said.

Historic Sheridan Inn.

The Townsends plan to reopen the restaurant, rent the hotel rooms for the first time in 49 years and remodel the basement into a business conference center and gift shop.

Shawn Buckley, director of Sheridan Travel and Tourism, said that the reopening of the inn is a welcome addition to the tourism industry and downtown business district.

"It's an iconic chunk of Sheridan's identity," Buckley said. "With all the excitement and all the energy, it's exciting to advertise it and it's a great feather in our cap."

And now we learn that EPA, not sufficiently satisfied with having labeled life giving and sustaining carbon dioxide gas as a pollutant, is determining tribal boundaries and taking lands away form private parties and the state.

Wyoming legislators renewed Monday the ongoing battle over an Environmental Protection Agency ruling that would include Riverton as a portion of the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Members of the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes and state officials found themselves at odds with the handling of the matter during a public hearing at Central Wyoming College in Riverton. State officials say that the EPA does not have the power to delineate tribal boundaries, while tribal officials stand behind the agency’s ruling.

You have to wonder if Dick Nixon was sane when he created the monstrosity that has become the EPA.