Yep, I was totally bugged this week when I read that hundreds of emails were leaked from leading climatologists which amount to them covering up and 'massaging' data to hide declines in global temperatures.
As a former scientist (I say former because mostly what I do now is change diapers, drive carpools, and engage in craft projects-gotta love it), I was EXTREMELY BOTHERED BY THIS. . . . . a scientist lives and dies by the data. Scientists know that data is often confusing and misleading, at times it is hard to know exactly how to interpret a set of numbers and account for many variables: but these guys are the leading researchers on global climate change. Their work was published in NATURE (this is like the coolest/most prestigious journal that every scientist dreams of publishing in)!!! I don't care if their systems were hacked (this is not the story), these men are scientists! Their work should have NO AGENDA attached- the data is the data. A scientist uses data to tell a story, not massage data to prove their story.
Now, I love the earth just as much as the next guy. I love camping. I love hiking. I even love polar bears(totally the best part of San Diego Zoo). I even recycle, for heavens sake!! But reading about this fraud made me really curious about global warming in general, and the political implications (cap and trade bills) in particular.
I will try not to bore you, but my reading has lead me to believe that man-made global warming isn't as simple as some passionate environmentalists (former vice-president, oscar, and nobel laureate) would have us believe.
I found this amusing YouTube video from John Stossel on 20/20 (love that guy). The video pretty much sums things up. I also learned that for 'An Inconvenient Truth' to be shown in schools now, teachers must point out 11 inaccuracies of the film to students. In other words, 'An Inconvenient Truth' is inconveniently wrong in some places.
As for Cap and Trade, I was admittedly LOST about the bill. I found an article that is pretty succinct, but as a disclaimer, it was written by a Republican congressman from California (thus definitely skewed against Cap and Trade).
And because I can't resist one more video:
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2 comments:
I love John Stossel. I read a book of his disproving Global Warming and I've been a skeptic ever since.
I like the point that the earth goes through cycles of warming and cooling all of the time. This is nothing new. Although it may be warming, the fact that we, as humans, may have anything to do with it is hard to believe. The warming has risen at a constant pace since the beginning of the century, however our use of fossil fuels has risen sharply. There doesn't seem to be a valid correlation, let alone causation.
The whole debate has encouraged recylcing and energy efficient cars though so I think that's positive in the long run (as the long as I'm not FORCED to buy one).
Camilla, I love how intelligent you are! Very interesting, indeed!
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