More of my sitesWinInfo Daily News
|
About this siteFor six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul Wednesday, March 14, 2007Science fun: Global warming doesn't add upWhile I do believe that the earth is currently in a warming phase right now, it's increasingly obvious that this is part of normal temperature fluctuations that have been happening on this planet for quite a long time. In fact, the more I look into it, the more obvious it is that humans have very little, if anything, to do with global warming. That said, we should still reduce our reliance on oil, reduce emissions, and (in a surprisingly related note) put an end to corn-fed cattle. I know, it all sounds like crazy talk. But as humans, we're wired to see things that aren't there, to make connections where there are none. This fact explains conspiracy theories (JFK, etc.), alien abductions, Bigfoot, and other phenomena. I think it explains why some very smart people (i.e. some scientists) and the general public fell right into the global warming trap. It's just not true, even though it sounds right. But conventional wisdom (or what I call "common knowledge") is not science.A few relevant references. From a Rapt Audience, a Call to Cool the Hype New York Times, March 13, 2007 A report last June by the National Academies seemed to contradict Mr. Gore’s portrayal of recent temperatures as the highest in the past millennium. Instead, the report said, current highs appeared unrivaled since only 1600, the tail end of a temperature rise known as the medieval warm period.Inconvenient Kyoto Truths George F. Will, Newsweek, February 12, 2007 The consensus catechism about global warming has six tenets: 1. Global warming is happening. 2. It is our (humanity's, but especially America's) fault. 3. It will continue unless we mend our ways. 4. If it continues we are in grave danger. 5. We know how to slow or even reverse the warming. 6. The benefits from doing that will far exceed the costs.Let Cooler Heads Prevail George F. Will, The Washington Post, April 2, 2006 Eighty-five percent of Americans say warming is probably happening, and 62 percent say it threatens them personally. The National Academy of Sciences says the rise in the Earth's surface temperature has been about one degree Fahrenheit in the past century. Did 85 percent of Americans notice? Of course not. They got their anxiety from journalism calculated to produce it.An Inconvenient Truth: SOS from Al Gore Patrick Bedard, Car & Driver Magazine, September 2006 Let’s not dispute the earth’s temperature. It’s warmer than it used to be ... The North American ice sheets reached their largest expanse about 18,000 years ago and then began to recede. Within 5000 years they had pulled back considerably but still reached south as far as central Ohio. After another thousand years, however, the U.S. was largely ice-free. Needless to say, there have been no glaciers reported in Iowa as long as anyone can remember. It’s warmer now.Aliens Cause Global Warming Michael Crichton, Caltech lecture, January 17, 2003 I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had.Full disclosure: I'm not a Republican, or a right-wing conservative. I'm not paid by Big Oil (nor do I care for Big Oil). No, I'm not a scientist either. Labels: Science [ Posted at 8:15 PM | Permalink ]
|
Nexus Home | Nexus Archives | Email Paul
|