One last comment on NASA administrator Michael Griffin's comments about global warming. The skeptics out there heralded his comments. For example, Bob Carter was quoted as saying, "My main reaction to Michael Griffin is to congratulate him on his clear-sightedness, not to mention his courage in speaking out on such a controversial topic."
What these skeptics seem to forget (or conveniently ignore) is that Griffin's comments were only about the moral question of whether we should address climate change, not about the reality of human-induced climate change. From the New York Times: "In his comments to NPR and in today's interview, he did not express any doubt that the warming trend is real or that humans have been found to play a part in that rise." Skeptics never comment on this aspect of Griffin's statement.
This is a good example of why skeptics cannot be trusted. A skeptic would only tell you the point about Griffin's questioning the moral aspect of climate change policy, and conveniently forget to tell you that Griffin specifically endorses the dominant scientific view that humans are warming the world. Remember that next time you hear a skeptical statement about climate change.
On ‘climategate’
What to make of the new climate poll
Comments
View as Flat
Grevangelical Posted 5:37 am
11 Jun 2007
I think that is the funniest skeptic quote ever. Kind of like building an unshielded nuclear reactor in the middle of New York City and running it for a few years because "it allows time for the testing of the man-made radiation hypothesis to continue as it should."
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Whiskerfish Posted 6:16 pm
11 Jun 2007
These people couldn't think their way out of a wet paper bag! I think we should collectively demand that their degrees be rescinded.
Whiskerfish
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Delay And Deny Posted 7:05 pm
11 Jun 2007
How does play a part get translated into humans are warming the world?
Part can be half, or a quarter, or eighth, or well, I'm no Xeno, but you get the idea.
John Bailo, The "Denier Guy"
You Read It Here First
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caniscandida Posted 8:59 pm
11 Jun 2007
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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Andrew Dessler Posted 4:40 am
12 Jun 2007
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rjbrash Posted 12:22 am
13 Jun 2007
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caniscandida Posted 1:53 am
13 Jun 2007
It should be noted, first, that "doubt" is not at all the same as "denial." The Skeptics did indeed accept that there were on balance adequate justifications for committing some actions and for not committing others -- even while they were never quite sure they were altogether right.
Secondly, this original use of the term "skeptic" is not at all like how it is used to refer to the objectivity of scientists, and indeed how it is used by the excellent authors of the magazine, The Skeptic, to which you linked us. All those people have no problem with accepting the veracity of evidence provided by the senses, so long as there is a decent number of observers reporting the same evidence.
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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Delay And Deny Posted 9:52 pm
09 Jul 2007
"Recovered environmentalists" will change from pessimists to optimists. They'll predict that melting ice caps on Greenland and Antarctica will open vast new areas for agriculture just as population growth threatens to outpace agricultural production. The effect will parallel the opening of the Missouri Valley and Australian wheat fields in the 19th century, which stimulated both economic growth and population expansion.
Warming will mean huge areas in the Northern Hemisphere now too cold for farming will gradually come under cultivation, further increasing the world's food supply. The accompanying loss of farmland in overheated equatorial regions will have little effect since those places have been in turmoil for centuries and have provided only a small portion of the world's foodstuffs.
In the end Griffin's perceived gaffe may turn out to be a godsend. Forget further concerts, Al. Your next documentary, taking its title from Griffin's interview, could be called "A Fortuitous Misstatement."
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/abox/article ...
John Bailo
You Read It Here First
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