I noticed with some amusement that DKos is displaying an ad for Glenn Beck's upcoming special on CNN, "Exposed: Climate of Fear." The subtitle says it all
This Wednesday Glenn Beck Exposes the Real Danger and Hidden Agendas Behind Global Warming.
I don't fault the site for taking CNN's money. If their money can be used to support this site, it's a benefit for all Kossacks (and certainly more money than I've ever donated). I only wanted to point out some of my own thoughts on climate change and criticize Beck's premise that media does not present both sides of global warming debate.
I first learned about global warming in 1988 as I attended a geology class for non-science majors. The professor carefully explained the problem with pumping huge amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. His argument seemed sound and I've followed the issue closely during the intervening years.
For the next 10 - 12 years, global warming deniers claimed that there was no measurable rise in global temperatures. In the late 90's it became harder and harder for them to make this case as study after study showed that global temps were rising. Worse still for the deniers, retreating glaciers, hotter and longer summers, and changes in growing seasons made holding the position that the Earth was not warming, untenable.
Once the lie that warming was not occurring was exposed, global warming deniers shifted strategies and started to question whether humans were causing the problem. This line of reasoning worked well for another five or six years.
Now that GWB has admitted the global warming is a problem, Beck and others have resorted to taking the Michael Crichton argument. The current media frenzy about global warming is some secret attempt by environmentalists to take control of the UN and ultimately the US. If this is the case, I for one say let the environmentalists run things for awhile. They certainly can do no worse than what the last 17 years have wrought.
When I took that geology class so long ago, I had faith in the creativity and power of American public to effect positive change. I believed that forces like the "free market" and "globalism" would raise standards for all. I believed in politics and the power to change our society for the better. Fast forward to today and we still ignore the ugly secret. Our high standard of living and constant need for economic expansion have worsened the global environmental crisis.
The funny thing is, Beck's strong suit is fear-mongering. Without whipping up the fear of terrorists, immigrants and homosexuals, Beck would not have the following that he does today. And now, he accuses the media and scientists of exaggerating the dangers of global warming. It's enough to make me want to laugh, if I didn't feel so much like crying. Peace out.