As would be expected, Mr. Walker approaches the subject from the perspective of the monetary costs of natural disasters, stating that climate change - which always means CO2-induced global warming - will impact various lines of insurance, such as property and casualty insurance, "due to potential increases in severity and frequency of storms, floods, droughts, etc."  Unfortunately, he suffers from one of the same ailments as does his religious counterpart, i.e., a lack of knowledge of how the world of nature works in this regard.

If one goes to our Subject Index, clicks on the letter "S," and then scrolls down to the six sub-headings found under Storms, for example, one can find summarizations of at least 30 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles that fail to support Mr. Walker's contention and, more typically, that tend to suggest just the opposite of what he contends.  Likewise, if one clicks on the letter "H" and scrolls down to the six sub-headings found under Hurricanes, one can find reviews of at least 32 other scientific journal articles that suggest the identical thing with respect to these incredibly destructive super-storms.

The same holds true for floods and droughts.  Clicking on the letter "F" and preceding to Floods leads one to reviews of at least 22 scientific journal articles that refute Walker's claim, while clicking on the letter "D" and preceding to Drought leads one to reviews of at lease 28 journal articles that do the same for this natural disaster.

Walker also testifies that "life and health insurance may experience changes in mortality rates and disease vectors," which, of course, are always presented as changes for the worse (Why else would he say "Swiss Re supports measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions"?).  Here again, however, Walker exposes yet another facet of his and Swiss Re's lack of knowledge of how the world of nature really works.

If one returns to our Subject Index, clicks on the letter "H," and scrolls down to the ten sub-headings found under Health Effects - Temperature, for example, one can find reviews of at least 47 scientific journal articles that refute Walker's claims about the deleterious health effects of rising temperatures.  And, as before, most of the articles typically suggest just the opposite, i.e., that increases in temperature tend to enhance human health and longevity.  In addition, if one clicks on Health Effects - CO2, one can find at least 16 reviews of scientific journal articles that suggest substantial positive health effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations as a consequence of CO2-induced increases in the amounts and concentrations of health-promoting substances found in foods we eat and disease-fighting substances found in medicinal plants.

Later in his testimony, Walker ominously suggests that "companies that are not complying with climate-change related regulations could create personal liabilities for directors and officers."  In light of our analysis of the religious implications of the situation (see our Editorial of 8 Oct 2003), however, it could logically be assumed that companies that do comply with climate-change related regulations could well create "personal liabilities" of a far more significant and eternal nature.

To prod corporations and their directors and officers to move in this not-especially-to-be-desired direction, Walker says Swiss Re is "educating companies and requiring them to address this issue to prevent losses."

Yes, Swiss Re and, if they are typical, other giants of the insurance industry apparently not only force-feed their minions the party line, they make them tow it.