printIn the 1970s, climate Chicken Littles clucked about global cooling; now they claim the sky is falling because of global warming.
Republican Sen. James Inhofe outlined the historical arc of their hysteria:
“[F]or more than 100 years journalists have quoted scientists predicting the destruction of civilization by, in alternation, either runaway heat or a new Ice Age…”
Theirs is, ultimately, an “argument” against human development”—something climate kooks refer to euphemistically as “sustainable development.”
This is the crux of their “scientific” method:
Evidence that contradicts their global warming theory, these Chicken Littles enlist as evidence for the correctness of their theory; every permutation in weather patterns—warm or cold—is said to be a consequence of that warming or proof of it.
They’ve created a “theory” that can’t be falsified.
(Related: Mutant Marxists in the ‘Heart of Darkness’)
Who really knows? the permafrost is melting in places and there are all sorts of indicators that indicate warming. What they’re not telling us is how many times this has happened in the last zillion years or so. The weather seems to go in cycles. Is this just a warming cycle? As long as Al, the bore, Gore is hyperventilating over global warming I will assume it isn’t really happening.
For what it’s worth, when I was in Poland teaching English at the new College of the Exact Sciences, none of my colleagues bought into any of the climate disaster scenarios. And please note that Poland has been producing world-class physicists and mathematicians for over a century.
As I understand it, most of those in the climatalogigal sciences are fairly agreed that the planet is indeed warming up. The real dispute is over whether said warm up is the result of human activity (seems a tad hubristic to me) or simply part of our planet’s natural cycle.
[But in the 1970s they were “fairly agreed” on the opposite: cooling.]
These people can’t predict the weather next week and they are going to tell me what is going to happen climatically 10 or 50 or 100 years from now on the basis of some “warming” they think might, possibly, indeed maybe, occuring?
Balderdash.
[LOL]
People have always been confused by weather patterns.
In the past, they blamed “dark forces” – such as witchcraft. [great analogy]
There was also an undertone of religion, and that this included people doing sinful things, and the weather was a result of these sins.
Today, we have better science, but the dominant force in the Global Warming debate is the religion of secular humanism – Earth Worship. [Gaga for Gaia]
And the fate of the world – massive flooding – is still considered to be the result of the sins of people who drive SUV’s.
Celeb Gas Guzzlers
This is just free advertising to these freaks.
http://www.tmz.com/2006/10/18/celebs-who-claim-theyre-green-but-guzzle-gas
Like Bono, Angelina, Katie, and Madonna they receive free publicity they couldn’t afford to buy by supporting “good causes” – like “protecting the earth” and “loving African babies”.
We have experienced much cooler weather here in the Charlotte, NC area for the past couple of days. We actually set a record low for October 24th. I suggest that a public service announcement be made: “The preceding below normal temperatures have been brought to you by Al Gore and the fine folks of the global warming group”
[But in the 1970s they were “fairly agreed” on the opposite: cooling.]
Indeed they did. So, the more important question would be: do they know more now than they did then? Even if they do know more now (it’s fairly obviously that they do at least in the medical field) how seriously should we take them?
I can only tell you about my little acre of ground here in Southern Illinois. We used to have winters here, and autumns as well. We really do not have these seasons any longer. Instead we have summer and non-summer. Pests that traditioally died off in winter (like fleas) survive all year now. It just does not get cold enough at night. Snow is a great rarity, while in my youth it was common. Huge, ancient Oak trees have died from insect infestations. The climate pattern has clearly changed. Now, I’m not so willing to say it’s all the result of our activity. It could be, to a minor degree, perhaps. The earth has warming and cooling cycles that are not dependent upon our activity.
In response to Carolus:
Scientists might have more data these days, but they seem more than ever to be prone to mythical, irrational thinking. So, having lots of data doesn’t preclude drawing the wrong deductions therefrom.
I’ll just add a quick amen to that, Ilana. I’ll also add that it would help this whole discussion if the scientsts involved in the climate studies would be forthright and honest about their findings, even if they should not fit into a pre-concieved propaganda-type notion.
I can only tell my fellow BAB readers what I see on the ground here. It’s been a particularly devastating summer here with horrific drought. Cornfields here were burned to crisp by Labor Day. There are any number of theories and explanations of why this is so. Nvertheless, I somehow expect that my 6-year old Toyota, Ilana’s handsome new vehicle, or a friend’s new Hummer have very little to do with the death of Sassfrass and Oak trees on the acre of land I am blessed to have stewardship over. I’ll continue to plant young trees to replace and replenish the area I’ve been granted stewardship over, though. We must carry on in hope and faith, for otherwise we fall into the abyss of nihilism. We all need to commit acts of rebellion, no matter how small, against the forces of nihilism and death every day.
[Hear! Hear! Btw, our cold, rainy season has begun early. The lesson is that one cannot generalize from one-case studies.]