Global Warming - The Inconvenient Truth
October 8, 2007 The world is round, but politicians
are trying to manipulate it into a triangle. According to Richard
Lindzen, a professor of atmospheric science at MIT, a triangle of
"alarmism" has been sounded in order to benefit political, scientific,
and industrial parties. The triangle is formed by scientists who develop
a theory, parties with something to gain run with it to the politicians,
politicians looking for votes form policies, which in turn brings more
funding to scientists, profit for the advocates, and approval for the
politicians. A perfect triangle. Indeed, politics are changing the shape
of science. Political and financial gains have become more important
than the truth, and scientists have found that attempting to question
the scientific validity behind policies results in a downpour of
threats, loss of funding, and a tarnishing of their reputations.
Scientists who comply, however, are being financially rewarded. What are
these lies that some scientists are complying with? According to the
film "The Inconvenient Truth," the CO2 count is higher now than any
other time over the past 650,000 years; but, John Christy, Professor of
Atmospheric Science at the University of Alabama refutes this claim,
explaining that there were numerous periods throughout the history of
the Earth where the CO2 levels were actually many times higher than it
is today. Environmental scientist, Professor Carter, concurs that the
levels were as much as seventeen times higher. Though Professor Christy
affirms that CO2 levels are currently on the rise due to the combustion
of fossil fuels, he points out that this is actually a good thing.
Christy explains that CO2 is the "lifeblood of the biosphere."
Essentially, the world as we know it would cease to exist if it was not
for the CO2 in the atmosphere. Just as the human body needs oxygen to
breathe, our release of carbon dioxide breathes life into vegetation. In
fact, Christy has researched a number of studies that indicate that this
present level is actually invigorating to the state of the planet, thus
he concludes it is a false belief that CO2 is harmful. Greenhouse gases
do not have much impact on the Earth's climate, thus carbon dioxide
changes do not and will not affect climate.
The "Inconvenient Truth" also claims that rising CO2 levels are
contributing to a reported increase in the death toll of polar bears.
Advocates of the theory claim that climbing temperatures and CO2 counts
are causing arctic glaciers to melt, posing a threat to polar bears;
however, the World Wildlife Fund reports though the population of two
groups of polar bears have decreased, of the other groups, 45.4 percent
are remaining steady and 13.6 percent are actually increasing (Burnett).
Also debunking the theory is research conducted by Dr. David Legates,
Delaware's State Climatologist, which revealed coastal stations in
Greenland are actually experiencing a trend of cooling temperatures,
amounting to a cooling of approximately 8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1987.
Professor Carter informs that even though the land area of the
Antarctica Peninsula, which represents about 2% of the continent's land
mass, and even less of its total ice sheet, is expected to warm and lose
ice, the other 98% is gaining ice. What is actually melting away is this
theorized global warming threat. What other calamities are global
warming advocates storming the media with? The film, An Inconvenient
Truth, warns that the temperature of the Earth is rising to dangerous
levels, predicting intense droughts resulting in a catastrophic number
of human deaths. Indeed the temperature has increased; but according to
twenty-two years of total surface temperature calculations, the rise has
been less than 1 degree Fahrenheit (Christy). Hardly seems reason to
break out into a sweat. Timothy Ball states that this slight change is
"within natural variability and explained quite easily by changes in the
sun...there is nothing unusual going on." Dr. Shaviv concurs as he had
conducted a study reconstructing the Earth's temperature over the past
550 million years and found that two-thirds of the variances are caused
by the flow rate of cosmic rays (Solomon). Couldn't this one-degree
change be a trend of escalating temperatures? Perhaps, but the US has
had hot weather before. According to Professor Christy, "in Alabama the
nineteen hottest summers of the past 108 years occurred prior to 1955.
In the Midwest, of the ten worst heat waves, only two occurred since
1970." Both Ball and Lindzen recollect that less than forty years ago
global cooling was considered the crisis and they also believe that
current global trends are again indicating a cooling. History has proven
that people panic before logic can forecast what is really taking place;
this seems to be a case of history repeating itself. But what about
those convincing, logical-appearing models and graphs that "An
Inconvenient Truth" illustrated? Computer models today attempt to
calculate different variables in hopes to predict the unfolding effects
of global warming on our planet; but Professors Bob Carter and John
Christy, as well as many other climatologists, argue that it is
implausible to structure a scientific conclusion based on computer
predictions. The science the models represent is extremely complex, thus
rendering it impossible to achieve perfectly accurate results. Though
there is agreement that there is usefulness in utilizing such models,
they warn of the need to be weary of the results. The only way to make
credible predictions is through in-depth analysis of past and present
climate changes.
So, what is there to fear? Al Gore and his advocates are warning the
public to be afraid of global warming, but as it turns out, it is the
scientists who are afraid and what they are actually scared of is the
politicians. Richard Lindzen says that the science of climate has become
a "climate of intimidation." He explains that "in 1992, Senator Al Gore
ran two congressional hearings during which he tried to bully dissenting
scientists, including myself, into changing our views and supporting his
climate alarmism." Gore, as vice president, even went so far as to try
and enlist Ted Koppel to attempt to discredit the scientists who
disagreed with the global warming theory. Journalist Ross Gelbspan
published both books and articles which accused scientists that publicly
disagreed with Gore of being "stooges of the fossil-fuel industry" (Lindzen).
This trend of climate intimidation has spread, becoming a threat of
global harming to anyone who dares to share their contradictory
findings. Henk Tennekes was a research director of the Royal Dutch
Meteorological Society; but after questioning the scientific basis for
global warming, he was dismissed. Aksel Winn-Nielsen, former director of
the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization was branded by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a "tool of the coal
industry" as he too questioned the validity of such claims. Insults,
slander, and dismissal are not the only weapons brandished to silence
dissenters; once esteemed Italian professors, Alfonso Sutera and Antonio
Speranza lost their funding for climate- research (Lindzen). Scientists
rely on the financial support generated by government's policies; when
biting the hand that feeds them, they have found themselves starving.
This ultimately gives politicians the upper hand and they are twisting
the wrists of scientists, rendering them no choice but to cry "mercy."
It appears that politicians are utilizing scare tactics and dangling
carrots to control the field of science, but Timothy Ball reminds us
that "if we don't pursue the truth, we are lost as individuals and as a
society." Society, however, has put their trust in the politicians, and
these politicians are in no position to make a judgment over a science
they have little to no understanding of. They are generating policies
based on flimsy foundations and using unreliable models for support of
their alarmism. There is money to be made and votes to win; thus it
appears that for many the theory of global warming is actually a very
convenient untruth.
WORKS CITED Ball, Timothy. "Global Warming: The Cold, Hard Facts?". Canada Free Press. February 5, 2007. October 2, 2007. < http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/globalwarming020507.htm>; Burnett, H. Sterling. "Are Polar Bears Dying." Environment News. Heartland Institute. May 1, 2006. October 3, 2007. < http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=18971>; Carter, Bob. "The Myth of Dangerous Human-Caused Climate Change." Ice Age Now. September 24, 2007. October 3, 2007. <http://www.iceagenow.com_Bob_Carter.htm.>; John R. Christy. "Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works". May 2, 2001. October 3, 2007. <http://epw.senate. gov/107th/chr_0502.htm> "An Inconvenient Truth." Dir. Davis Gruggenhim. Perf. Al Gore. DVD. Amazon. 2006. Lindzen, Richard. "Free Inquiry Climate of Fear." Opinion Journal from the Wall Street Journal. April 12, 2006. October 2, 2007. < http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008220>;. Solomon, Lawrence. "Limited Role for CO2; The Deniers--Part X." Financial Post. February 2, 2007. October 3, 2007. <http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=069cb5b2-7d81-4a8e-825d-56e0f112aeb5&k=0>; Copyright 2007 by Kirk
About the author
Mairi Kirk is a journalist with the belief that knowledge is power. It is her desire to research and be educated and in turn take what she has learned to help empower others. The purpose of her website is to help change the world one word at a time.