This weekly newsletter, focused on environmental issues, highlights relevant analysis done by the John Locke Foundation and other think tanks, as well as items in the news.

1. No warming for 15 years

As the UN went into its latest round of climate change meetings in Cancun, the UN’s meteorological office was declaring that 2010 had been the warmest year on record. The London Daily Mail is reporting, however, that it was nothing but typical UN climate conference hype. According to the Mail, "the data on the Met Office’s and CRU’s [East Anglia University’s Climate Research Unit] own websites show that global temperatures have been flat, not for ten, but for the past 15 years."

The Mail points out that it is common practice for the United Nations and its affiliated organizations, like the CRU, to hyperbolize data and predictions right before their annual climate conferences

2. Pachauri unwilling to confirm or deny…

While attending the Cancun conference, The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) caught up with IPCC head Rajendra Pachauri to ask him about how much warming had occurred over the last 15 years. In particular, CFACT referred to an acknowledgment from well-known alarmist/climatologist Phil Jones confirming there has been 15 years of no warming. Pachauri seemed unwilling to engage the subject.

3. Speaking of Cancun…

As was noted in last week’s newsletter, both the national organization of Americans for Prosperity and its North Carolina state chapter were represented at the Mexico conference. Last Thursday evening the state chapter hosted an event locally where several speakers were "Skyped" in from Cancun to speak to North Carolina activists. Speakers included Sen. James Inhofe from Oklahoma, Andrew Breitbart from Breitbart.com, national AFP president Tim Phillips, and NC AFP head Dallas Woodhouse. Also, Dr. Roy Cordato and Daren Bakst from the John Locke Foundation were on hand at the event to make some remarks and answer questions from the audience. Much of the event was video recorded and can be viewed here.

4. And while the UN is worrying about warming that isn’t happening…

Great Britain is suffering through one of the coldest winters on record. As of today the death toll from this deep freeze is seven. Of course, if you are an alarmist, this is nothing more than additional proof of global warming. There’s nothing like believing in a hypothesis that is confirmed by all the data, no matter how contradictory.