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Despite the wild popularity of their number one hit
“Man Is Responsible for Global Warming,” I’m still not
wowed by the music of Al Gore and his backup band, The
Live Earth Hystericals. All their songs sound the same,
and all their lyrics always reduce to the same one hook
that’s also the title of their one hit song.
But, great ideas, like great music, can stand the
test of time. And they invite inquiry, investigation,
dialogue, and discussion. Advocates of great ideas—true
ideas—are not afraid of engaging in debate, especially
when they have the arguments and the evidence at the
ready—in the bullpen if you will.
Just like when I pitched in the big leagues: When you
have your good stuff, you’re told to attack the hitters.
When you don’t, you try to trick ’em for as long as you
can, and just pray they hit the ball right at people.
You can boast all you want, but the moment you step on
that mound and start throwing the ball, everybody on
that field is going to know pretty soon whether you’ve
got your good stuff that night or not. You can trick
major league hitters for only so long and then there’s
nowhere to hide. I should know. Too often in my career I
was the guy trying to trick ’em.
By repeating the mantra “the debate is over,” when
thoughtful observers know it isn’t, the Hystericals are
screaming one thing loud and clear for the whole world
to hear: “We don’t have the science to back us up.” Or,
to continue the baseball metaphor, “We don’t have our
good stuff, and there’s no one in the bullpen.”
No. The debate is not over.
Here are three, simple, easy-to-remember questions
you can ask those who sing along with Algore and the
Live Earth Hystericals.
- Why is it getting hotter on Mars without
any SUVs and private jets emitting carbon dioxide?
If it’s the sun that’s responsible for the warming
on Mars, then maybe it’s also responsible for the
warming of the Earth.
- How do the alarmists adequately explain past
warming and cooling cycles that started long before
the introduction of the first internal combustion
engine? There was a Medieval Warm Period from
900-1300 and then a Little Ice Age from about
1500-1800. By simply looking at the covers of our
most popular periodicals over the past century,
these cycles are clearly evident. We worried about a
coming Ice Age from 1895 to 1930, then it was the
threat of global warming from the 1930s to the
1960s, followed by another imminent Ice Age during
the 1970s, and now we’re back to the threat of
global warming again. Our great grandkids will
likely have to worry about another Ice Age. There’s
just no such thing as our planet’s “ideal
temperature.” Average surface temperatures are
constantly in flux, up or down about a few tenths of
a degree every year. These cycles are normal.
- If man is solely responsible for the increased
levels of CO2, then how do you explain the
Ordovician Period, 440 million years ago, when the
CO2 level was 16 times higher than today? Or, the
Cretaceous Period, 140 million years ago, when
dinosaurs ruled the Earth and CO2 was 8 times
higher? Or, the CO2 levels from 95 million years ago
which were about the same as levels today? How can
these levels be changing long before the appearance
of man?
Despite what they claim, no, the debate is not over.
Not by a long shot.
But, it has never really been about the science
anyway. It was, has been, and continues to be all about
the money. Who needs to pay it, who collects it; who
redistributes it.
Put it this way. Al Gore views capitalism the same
way other liberals view tobacco. He doesn’t want to
outlaw it, he just wants to tax it. He doesn’t want to
kill the Golden Goose, he just wants more of the eggs
for himself and his big government cause.
But that’s a topic for another column.
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