[First Diary! This is from my blog...]
Their arguments on environmental issues retreating like Greenland's glaciers, conservatives have turned to the realm of fiction-writing as refuge from the realities of climate change. At least this is true of the Chicago-based conservative think tank, The Heartland Institute, which has made Michael Crichton's new novel, State of Fear, the mouthpiece for its longtime denial of global warming.
In an article entitled, "
Michael Crichton is Right!" the Institute's president Joseph L. Bast trumpets how Crichton "blends science and fiction" to form not only "a detailed expose of the flawed science and exaggerations at the base of the global warming scare," but also "a devastating critique of mainstream environmentalism today and an eloquent call for change." Allegedly, the critique was so devastating that mainstream environmental groups immediately disbanded, realizing the error of protecting the earth from thoughtless exploitation for short-term gain, and handed over the reins of environmental advocacy over to caring groups like multinational oil companies and the Cato Institute.
Seriously though, it might come as little surprise that a conservative think tank relies on someone who "blends science and fiction." After all, these are the same people that watch FOX News, progenitor of tabloid-style infotainment and shameless punditry. In order to defend their position, the Heartland Institute and its network (more on that later) of climate change skeptics have no choice but to rely on their fact-fiction slurry. Their embrace of Crichton's theories flies in the face of just about every scientist who has written on the matter that hasn't been funded by ExxonMobil or some other corporation or lobbying firm. (For a splash of cold water on Crichton's hot gas--powered fire, see the Union of Concerned Scientists' expose.)
The list of "scientific research" Bast provides in the article that supposedly backs up Crichton's denial of global warming is filled with "scientists" who are part of the network of corporations, lobbying firms, and think tanks exposed by the website Exxon Secrets. For example, the first name on the list is Ronald Bailey, who has worked for such unbiased organizations as the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Forbes magazine, and authored a book entitled Eco-Scam: The False Prophets of Ecological Apocalypse. I would highly recommend going to the Exxon Secrets website. It has a wonderful interactive feature that exposes all the connections in the vast, unholy network of global warming deniers.
It was one of this same network's minions, ExxonMobil-funded CEI lobbyist Chris Horner, who was recently revealed to be plotting to destroy Europe's support for the Kyoto Protocol.
If you want to take action on the issue, email the Heartland Institute and ask them the following question:
Who is right on global warming?
Michael Crichton
Or
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the G8 nations, the EPA, the National Academy of Sciences, the Union of Concerned Scientists, General Electric, most climatologists and meteorologists, these research organizations, and these organizations.
