Today Drudge linked to an opinion piece by Froma Harrop of the Providence Journal, where she dragged out HER favorite scientist and explained why we all had better listen. I have noticed since the advent of blogging that the world can be divided into two groups of people– blog writers and blog readers. The same thing holds true for editorial writers; they spend more time writing in support of their own opinions than reading anything that risks challenging those opinions. I looked over her other opinion pieces over the years and had no trouble seeing her politics. As a scientist (yes, Froma, with a real PhD) I instantly realize that view is good for little in regard to education– but I read it anyway, as that is the only way to come to an accurate conclusion– that is, to challenge one’s self to new opinion on a regular basis.
Harrop says that HER expert on climate science coined the term ‘global warming’ way back in the 1970′s, which is interesting, given that anyone who was anyone in climate circles back then would have dismissed her expert faster than Hollywood dismissed Michael Crichton after ‘State of Fear’ was published! Over on the web site you can read the Newsweek article from 1975 or see the graphic from Time Magazine from 1974, both from a time when the world’s climate scientists were warning us about impending disaster from global COOLING. In fact, the articles described the recent spike up in tornadoes, and the shortened growing seasons in Europe, as evidence that the cooling was already having horrible effects on the earth. The site mentions the controversial idea of covering the polar ice caps with soot to try to absorb more of the sun’s heat, musing whether that would be a bad idea. Hmmm….. makes you wonder what people will say about US in 30 years!
Read this report and more at WarmalGlobing.com
Harrop mentions the newspaper ad taken out awhile back signed by almost 100 climate ‘scientists’– a group of straw men for her expert to knock down. She does NOT mention the fact the many of the original proponents of global warming or ‘anthropomorphic climate change’ have abandoned their earlier opinions or research, which is why one rarely hears scientists talking about the subject anymore. Now all we hear from are the politicians and their ‘true believers’ (and of course teenagers, who always think that whatever THEY are doing is the most important thing in the world– so this MUST be a critical age for climate!).
Neither does Harrop mention the petition by well over 30,000 scientists that can be read at the Oregan Institute on Science and Medicine (I haven’t seen it for awhile, so it might have many more by now!).
Realize that scientists are slow to come around for at least two reasons. First, ‘warming’ is where the money is- if you want funding, you don’t go out asking for funds to look at global cooling! In fact, since most of the cash for research comes from advocacy groups (including the largest advocacy group of all, the US government– which has thousands of bureaucrats who rely on the hundreds of programs that ‘save the planet’), a researcher BETTER come up with the ‘correct’ findings– or good luck getting funded next year!! The second reason for scientists to embrace ‘warming’ is because they have seen what happens to their colleagues who didn’t. There is no news when a PhD fails to make tenure– but it happens all the time. Universities tend to have a ‘with us or against us’ spirit on the inside, despite the claims of academic freedom to the outside. It is not a coincidence that your children all become bleeding hearts by the end of four years of college! And if the folks on the tenure committee don’t take you down, the media will get hold of one sentence that sounds absolutely crazy when placed in the wrong context, and down you’ll go!
It is so nice, by the way, to have John Stossel out there again. He was viewed as brilliant by his media ‘friends’ until he started saying the WRONG truth– and suddenly ABC didn’t find his stories as interesting. I’m glad we have one network left where the reporters are not taking marching orders from the government!
The worst thing about people like Harrop and the stories they write is that they are the reason that we get things wrong so often. Had Newsweek and Time had their way years ago, we would now have black spots on each end of the planet. Now we have the equivalent with writers like Harrop, the major networks, and Obama and the US government– three interest groups with power over our future, all with no knowledge of science. Even worse, none of these groups even know how to critically evaluate science! REAL science does NOT need cheerleaders like Harrop– real science can take care of itself, and allow the truth to prevail. The reason policies to control ‘global warming’ are floundering is because the science behind it is fatally flawed. The public got a look at climate-gate last week– at least those members of the public who read newspapers outside of the United States! We all saw the extent that true believers will go to promote their beliefs– and to be sure of a new round of funding!
