http://www.bloggernews.net/13134 High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news. Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:04:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 http://www.bloggernews.net/13134#comment-906 peterbroady Mon, 18 Dec 2006 21:09:35 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/13134#comment-906 John - The efforts of energy corporations, their affliates in extreme right-wing "think tanks", and their friends in the U.S. government to deny the reality or the potential impact of global warming for their own financial gain is well-documented. Gore himself points out the success of this propaganda campaign by comparing a sample of the scientific literature and the mainstream press, showing that while there were no papers published casting doubt on the reality or potential impact of human-induced global warming, over half of reports in the press did so. This is ridiculous...the experts and the people who have spent their lives studying this phenomenon are unanimous, and the media and politicians are like "oh, it's not proven". Where are they getting their information from? It's the same with evolution, although that is a much less important issue. There are of course all sorts of "think tanks" run by ideologues that will publish "scholarship" and documentaries defending current emissions policies (which, by the way, are unique in the U.S.), a 6,000 year old earth, etc., but there is no reason why anyone serious about finding out the truth should listen to them. It boggles the mind that people will admit, finally that "The planet is warming; human beings are playing a substantial role in that warming" and continue to ignore evidence of the potential effects of that warming, which are not exactly "doomsday" but which are and will be significant anyway in decades to come (the predictions Gore makes are based on well-established science...if you want information from the scientists themselves there are plenty of non-partisan sources). The simple fact of the matter is that we are harming ourselves and future generations with our actions now, and we have to work together to reduce our emissions and ecological footprint. This is not a partisan issue. It is a scientific and ethical one, that conservatives, politicians, and even oil company executives should be concerned about. I am going to write a lengthy and detailed blog using 'Inconvenient Truth' but more of the scholarly literature very soon. Read it if you get the chance. Thanks. John -
The efforts of energy corporations, their affliates in extreme right-wing “think tanks”, and their friends in the U.S. government to deny the reality or the potential impact of global warming for their own financial gain is well-documented. Gore himself points out the success of this propaganda campaign by comparing a sample of the scientific literature and the mainstream press, showing that while there were no papers published casting doubt on the reality or potential impact of human-induced global warming, over half of reports in the press did so. This is ridiculous…the experts and the people who have spent their lives studying this phenomenon are unanimous, and the media and politicians are like “oh, it’s not proven”. Where are they getting their information from? It’s the same with evolution, although that is a much less important issue. There are of course all sorts of “think tanks” run by ideologues that will publish “scholarship” and documentaries defending current emissions policies (which, by the way, are unique in the U.S.), a 6,000 year old earth, etc., but there is no reason why anyone serious about finding out the truth should listen to them. It boggles the mind that people will admit, finally that “The planet is warming; human beings are playing a substantial role in that warming” and continue to ignore evidence of the potential effects of that warming, which are not exactly “doomsday” but which are and will be significant anyway in decades to come (the predictions Gore makes are based on well-established science…if you want information from the scientists themselves there are plenty of non-partisan sources). The simple fact of the matter is that we are harming ourselves and future generations with our actions now, and we have to work together to reduce our emissions and ecological footprint. This is not a partisan issue. It is a scientific and ethical one, that conservatives, politicians, and even oil company executives should be concerned about. I am going to write a lengthy and detailed blog using ‘Inconvenient Truth’ but more of the scholarly literature very soon. Read it if you get the chance. Thanks.

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