The interesting thing about all of this is that it is not, at all, surprising.
I've listened to many eggheads say that AGW might not be real, but is certainly not a hoax. Or others, like Bjorn Lomborg, who say that it's real, all right, but that resources can be better spent elsewhere, and that adaptation, not mitigation, is the way to deal with it. Horseshit.
This puts it all squarely at hoax level. And when they start jabbering about adaptation and the wise use of resources, I'll remind them that the word gullible isn't in the dictionary.
These AGWers are people who WANT to find that human beings are destroying the planet. I know WAY too many of them.
Another point: as much as I WANT to make a HUGE deal about this scandal, it should be emphasized that it really doesn't matter at all, politically speaking, whether or not AGW is true. Even if it were true, the solution would still be individual rights and free-market capitalism.
The earth isn't even warming. If it was, a) it wouldn't be being caused by humans, and b) it would probably be a good thing. If it wasn't a good thing, it still does not invalidate individual rights, and the solution would be more capitalism which leads to more innovation and more wealth. If the climate really was rapidly changing, the biggest thing people would need in order to do something about it would be individual liberty (like the liberty to freely immigrate from the equator to Canada or Siberia, for an obvious example).
These global-warming nuts are the biggest bunch of crazed mystical religious zealots out there, and their only goal is nihilistic destruction. The few exceptions among them (i.e., people who are actually think that we need to fight AGW because they think doing so is in man's interests) are the people that Lenin would have called "useful idiots":
Re b). If you don't think a bit of warming is a good thing, go spend a few minutes at the equator. Notice the abundance of life. Then go spend a few minutes at one of the poles. Notice the dearth of life. Life flourishes in the warmth. Cold promotes death.
Our only hope is that the present anti-liberty, anti-individual freedom thrust will spark a backlash. Though even if it did, the overall trend for many decades has been an increase in the size of "government" and a decrease in individual rights. I'm not terribly hopeful.
I tend to think that science was in sorrier shape than Henninger thinks, even before this happened: think of the anti-vaccination crowds, for example, or homeopathy, or astrology. But I think Henninger is right that this represents a kind of final collapse of the scientific method -- and, with any luck, perhaps, a backlash that could lead us back to some kind of rational enlightenment.
4 comments:
The interesting thing about all of this is that it is not, at all, surprising.
I've listened to many eggheads say that AGW might not be real, but is certainly not a hoax. Or others, like Bjorn Lomborg, who say that it's real, all right, but that resources can be better spent elsewhere, and that adaptation, not mitigation, is the way to deal with it. Horseshit.
This puts it all squarely at hoax level. And when they start jabbering about adaptation and the wise use of resources, I'll remind them that the word gullible isn't in the dictionary.
These AGWers are people who WANT to find that human beings are destroying the planet. I know WAY too many of them.
Yup.
Another point: as much as I WANT to make a HUGE deal about this scandal, it should be emphasized that it really doesn't matter at all, politically speaking, whether or not AGW is true. Even if it were true, the solution would still be individual rights and free-market capitalism.
The earth isn't even warming. If it was, a) it wouldn't be being caused by humans, and b) it would probably be a good thing. If it wasn't a good thing, it still does not invalidate individual rights, and the solution would be more capitalism which leads to more innovation and more wealth. If the climate really was rapidly changing, the biggest thing people would need in order to do something about it would be individual liberty (like the liberty to freely immigrate from the equator to Canada or Siberia, for an obvious example).
These global-warming nuts are the biggest bunch of crazed mystical religious zealots out there, and their only goal is nihilistic destruction. The few exceptions among them (i.e., people who are actually think that we need to fight AGW because they think doing so is in man's interests) are the people that Lenin would have called "useful idiots":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot
Re b). If you don't think a bit of warming is a good thing, go spend a few minutes at the equator. Notice the abundance of life. Then go spend a few minutes at one of the poles. Notice the dearth of life. Life flourishes in the warmth. Cold promotes death.
Our only hope is that the present anti-liberty, anti-individual freedom thrust will spark a backlash. Though even if it did, the overall trend for many decades has been an increase in the size of "government" and a decrease in individual rights. I'm not terribly hopeful.
Read this:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107104574572091993737848.html
I tend to think that science was in sorrier shape than Henninger thinks, even before this happened: think of the anti-vaccination crowds, for example, or homeopathy, or astrology. But I think Henninger is right that this represents a kind of final collapse of the scientific method -- and, with any luck, perhaps, a backlash that could lead us back to some kind of rational enlightenment.
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