An intelligent discussion about Climate Change

WINNIPEG -- In an effort to promote environmental awareness and raise environmental education standards, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy is today, Earth Day, releasing the Smart Green Frontiers Climate Change Quiz.

Peter Holle, the Frontier Centre's president, said the focus, in our schools today, is on indoctrinating children to 'take action against climate change', without ever actually teaching them about the controversy surrounding the science. "The quiz," he said, "takes students to the heart of climate science. It is an interactive quiz that gives detailed explanations of why any give question can be right or wrong.

For example, he said, the question in the quiz of how much the average U.S. surface temperature changed during the 20^th Century gives an explanation of historical temperatures and how the averages are calculated. "The Frontier Centre views this approach as crucial for several reasons. It is in line with our Smart Green principle that environmental decision making must be evidence based if decisions are to be effective. While the Earth Day website contains emotional exhortations so melodramatic they are comical, the Frontier quiz focuses on scientific evidence."

Holle said it is also important that our western heritage of open and honest scientific be safeguarded . "The Frontier quiz aligns with the western tradition of scientific progress by continually testing theories against the facts by allowing individual students to test their own understanding against the latest climate data."

Tim Ball has an extensive science background in climatology, especially the reconstruction of past climates and the impact of climate change on human history and the human condition with additional experience in water resources and areas of sustainable development, pollution prevention, environmental regulations, the impact of government policy on business and economics. He is researcher/author of numerous papers on climate, long range weather patterns, impacts of climate change on sustainable agriculture, ecosystems, historical climatology, air quality, untapped energy resources, silting and flooding problems. He had a long academic career at the University of Winnipeg until he moved to Victoria in 1996. He has a BA from the University of Winnipeg, an MA from the University of Manitoba and a Ph.D (Doctor of Science) from the University of London, England.

Tom Harris’s basic education was in thermo-fluids and energy sciences and he has Bachelor (Carleton) and Masters Degrees in Mechanical Engineering (McMasters). He has thirty years experience working as a mechanical engineer and project manager, science and technology communications professional and media and S&T advisor to a former Opposition Senior Environment Critic. For the past ten years he has been working intensively with a growing team of independent scientists and engineers to promote a sensible approach to range of energy and environmental topics, climate change in particular. His main focus has been the highly controversial science underlying these issues.　

"Exposing children individually to the raw science in an engaging and interactive way is the best medicine for preserving our heritage of open scientific enquiry, and preparing the next generation to deal with increasingly complex environmental questions." said Frontier Centre President Peter Holle at the time of the Climate Quiz launch.