'Global warming Nazis'
Climate Change Deniers Lose Their Cool
By Phil Plait, Slate
For some reason, the past week has seen some climate change deniers totally lose their [expletive deleted]. I keep up with this stuff, so I’m used to seeing forehead-slappy moments, denial so abrupt and profound it’s hard to imagine the promulgator lives on the same planet the rest of us do. I mean, c'mon, the bar has already been set by comparing a climate scientist to a child molester, and saying more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is just fine because plants love it.
But this week has seen the dumbosity go up a solid notch. If I went into details this post would eat up half the available electrons on the ‘net, so let me give you just a taste of outrage permeating the anti-science realm with a brief commentary.
1) A Hoary OpEd
Charles Krauthammer, writing an OpEd in the Washington Post, managed to cram in something completely wrong about climate change and global warming into nearly every paragraph. It’s practically a how-to of, um, how to deny reality. His nonsense is sensibly dismantled by scientist Scott Mandia, in detail by Jeffrey Kluger at time.com, and ironically by Stephen Stromberg at, you guessed it, the Washington Post. It would be hard to pick the most head-desky moment, but calling climate scientists (and science journalists) “whores” is way up there. Claiming he’s neither a believer nor denier is another. It’s pretty clear where he falls.
2) Autogodwinization
Dr. Roy Spencer is in a teeny majority; the 3% or so of scientists (he has a degree in meteorology) who think global warming isn’t real and human-caused. Since he is a scientist you’d think that would give him leverage—certainly Republicans in Congress think so, since they keep empaneling him in their hearings—but when you actually read his claims, they tend to fall a bit short of reality.
And when you read his latest screed, your eyes might roll so far back in your head you can see the inside of your skull.
(Continued here.)
By Phil Plait, Slate
For some reason, the past week has seen some climate change deniers totally lose their [expletive deleted]. I keep up with this stuff, so I’m used to seeing forehead-slappy moments, denial so abrupt and profound it’s hard to imagine the promulgator lives on the same planet the rest of us do. I mean, c'mon, the bar has already been set by comparing a climate scientist to a child molester, and saying more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is just fine because plants love it.
But this week has seen the dumbosity go up a solid notch. If I went into details this post would eat up half the available electrons on the ‘net, so let me give you just a taste of outrage permeating the anti-science realm with a brief commentary.
1) A Hoary OpEd
Charles Krauthammer, writing an OpEd in the Washington Post, managed to cram in something completely wrong about climate change and global warming into nearly every paragraph. It’s practically a how-to of, um, how to deny reality. His nonsense is sensibly dismantled by scientist Scott Mandia, in detail by Jeffrey Kluger at time.com, and ironically by Stephen Stromberg at, you guessed it, the Washington Post. It would be hard to pick the most head-desky moment, but calling climate scientists (and science journalists) “whores” is way up there. Claiming he’s neither a believer nor denier is another. It’s pretty clear where he falls.
2) Autogodwinization
Dr. Roy Spencer is in a teeny majority; the 3% or so of scientists (he has a degree in meteorology) who think global warming isn’t real and human-caused. Since he is a scientist you’d think that would give him leverage—certainly Republicans in Congress think so, since they keep empaneling him in their hearings—but when you actually read his claims, they tend to fall a bit short of reality.
And when you read his latest screed, your eyes might roll so far back in your head you can see the inside of your skull.
(Continued here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home