Last week I opened my copy of the Upper Township Gazette (link is to current issue), one of those community newspapers distributed for free at store entrances and to local homeowners, figuring I'd take in some news on nearby happenings. After scanning a pleasantly informative front page article about a South Jersey artist's painting that depicts a bit of Cape May County American Revolution history, I chanced upon the following full-page commentary:
The Politics Behind Global Warming
Ann Richardson
Ms. Richardson evidently writes, for the most part, on area business news. This piece begins as follows:
Before you fall victim to the global warming hysteria, ask yourself this: What is driving the climate debate? Is it legitimate science or is it political showmanship? Is global warming real climate change or is it just a lot of hot air?
Well, I’m sure we want to know the answer, so let’s read on. The writer brings up the recent IPCC report on global warming:
The problem is that what’s obvious to these so called scientists often isn’t true . . . Global warming hysteria fits a broad political agenda for further government control over the lives of ordinary citizens.
Sounds somewhat provocative, but the writer assures us she indeed would be concerned about global warming if it were real.
I’m concerned about the environment, especially as it might be harmful to the beautiful coastal areas we call home . . . If the warnings are true – a rise of seven to 23 inches in sea level by the end of the century – then we need to do something.
But take heart, there’s no need for alarm, because
But global warming is more about ideology than it is science . . . the militant environmentalist whackos are trying to make people like you and I feel guilty . . . we are in a period of unprecedented prosperity and liberals don’t always understand that prosperity is a good thing.
Now, let’s get to the heart of the matter; how could global warming be real when winter hasn’t been abolished?
Are we really seeing global warming? As I write this, it’s 15 degrees in Cape May County. There’s a big freeze across the heartland . . . It’s freezing everywhere, and there are ice bergs floating on Lake Michigan. And this is global warming?
Maybe it’s time for a reality check. Global warming is not real, it’s not cataclysmic. It’s not catastrophic. It’s not even science. It’s junk science and for the climateers it’s politics . . . More appalling, it’s entrenched in our schools . . . Our children are indoctrinated to believe that we have caused this to happen.
At this point, in "60 Minutes" mode, the writer exposes the hidden agenda behind this global warming fuss:
The [IPCC] report claims a "consensus" of the world’s leading scientists. Who are they? . . . These so-called scientists do not work in the private sector, they need grants and foundations and governments to continue their their work. . . If they want to continue to study global warming , they’d best hope to find global warming occurring.
Next, we are presented with a basic science lesson:
There can be no "consensus" in science. It either happens or it doesn’t. It’s either true or it’s not. Science must stand up to a process called "The Scientific Method." Three steps are involved. You have to observe a phenomenon. Then you have to devise a hypothesis to explain the phenomenon. Then you devise a test to prove or disprove the hypothesis. If the last step proves it, you have a scientific truth. I don’t see this happening with global warming. They haven’t proved it – they just want us to believe that they have because they say it is so.
Still not persuaded? Here’s the clincher:
In fact, most scientists who are not compromised by the desire for government grants, future employment, or left-leaning political agenda will tell you that there is little if anything that the industrial world can do to heat the earth’s atmosphere as they have suggested. The Earth is too big and we are too small.
So let’s get to the bottom line:
Do you see what’s happening? This nonsense costs us money? . . . What will be the result of all this regulation? It will cost more to do business, more to live, work and play in New Jersey, and more importantly – more to visit New Jersey and that’s not good for business.
So stop feeling guilty about our well-oiled American machine. It’s time we stand up to the catastrophe-mongers and say enough is enough.
Now, I don't know what got into me, but seems I was a bit slow at fully grasping this powerful message. Unable to gracefully absorb this shocking challenge to my long held, though clearly irrational, belief system, I dashed off a somewhat nasty email to the editorialist. After she politely replied that she had not received the entire message and requested that I resend it, I thought better of my original condescending tone, and substituted the following reply:
Global Warming Myth? Yeah,
I've heard some folks
believe the moon landing was faked, too.
Some time having passed, I'd rather tone down my
original comment. Suffice it to say that I find
little merit in most of your argument, as I don't
think that those time lapse images of ice fields and
glaciers rapidly disappearing in widely separated
areas of the globe are the result of faked
photographs. In our family, our children will be
taught to respect the efforts of scientists to
understand how our planet works and to carefully
consider what those men and women have to say.
Somehow, it seems the earth does what it does
regardless of anyone's political agenda, left or
right.
Cheers!
Tom Hodukavich
Petersburg, NJ
She soon replied, stating that she appreciated my interest in her column and that I was welcome to disagree with her viewpoint. She added some mild criticism of Al Gore and this time implied, in a manner not really consistent with her original column, that she was trying to say we shouldn't pin ALL the climate change blame on industry - in fact, she sort of endorsed my closing statement. So I guess I should feel much better now, and Al should recall his DVD's and stop getting so worked up over this silly global warming thing.