Yesterday was Senator James Inhofe’s (R-Ok) last hurrah as the chairman of the Senate’s Environment Committee. As can be expected, Inhofe took this last chance to reiterate his position that global warming is indeed “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American public”.
In his final hearing as committee chair, Inhofe stated: “Much of the mainstream media has subverted its role as an objective source of information on climate change into a role of an advocate.”
Three of the five experts before the committee were handpicked by Inhofe himself. David Deming, Geologist from the University of Oklahoma, had this to say:
There is an overwhelming bias today in the media regarding the issue of global warming. In the past two years this bias has have bloomed into an irrational hysteria. Every natural disaster that occurs is now linked with global warming, no matter how tenuous or impossible the connection.
When asked if he believed global warming was a hoax, Deming replied:
I wouldn’t use the same word Senator Inhofe used, I wouldn’t use hoax because hoax implies it’s deliberate. What we’re dealing with is a psychological phenomenon. It’s a mass delusion.
First, for the sake of transparency, David Deming is an active member of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a front group that receives significant contributions from Exxon Mobil. Essentially, he is a member of what Jeremy Leggett has so aptly termed the Carbon Club. Naturally, the right wing blogosphere has attached itself to Deming’s comments, amassing more dubious scientific “proof” of the global warming lie.
I wonder how, according to Deming’s logic, this mass delusion plays itself out in the field? Scientists misreading data collection instruments, fabricated and missing data sheets, glaring lack of oversight in the peer review process, and fanatical, myopic hysteria in climate modeling labs? His comments, when we pause for a moment of reflection, are absurd.
Thankfully, incoming committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-Ca) was more rational in her remarks:
There is consensus gentleman and ladies, there is consensus. Now there are a few people on the edges, of course, that’s fine, and by the way they should be listened to, I agree with you, that’s important that they be listened to…but we can’t as policy makers, it seems to me, turn our backs on the overwhelming scientific evidence and opinion.
But what about Inhofe’s remarks that the media has been overwhelmingly biased in favor of the consensus view? Does other research corroborate his statement? More on this later…
2 responses to “Good Riddance”
Hello Agroblogger, I’ve just modestly redone my blog (so i now have categories as you do) so having spent this re-organising time I thought i’d let a few peoplw know about it and ask them to check it out and put a link in if they think this is worth doing. Thanks.
Having read through some of your recent posts on global warming and climate change has reminded me of how this is a global issue. It’s not enough that I make better lifestyle choices but this is a message that needs to be shared with our entire global community. The frustration lies in how the global warming cause can be a middle-to-upper middle class cause. Someone struggling to eat on a daily basis or ensuring a stable roof over their head is less likely to ponder the solutions to our current global warming challenge, leading me to believe that there is a correlation between successful greenhouse gas elimination and poverty eradication. Explosive economic growth has led to much environmental damage, but sound economic growth does not have to come at the cost of the environment.
Kiva is a non-profit organization based out of San Fransisco, trying to facilitate poverty alleviation through the power of Web2.0 by creating a peer-to-peer lending portal. We are connecting interested lenders from first world nations with business enterprises in developing countries, businesses run by people who are determined to escape the clutches of poverty. These businesses are typically overlooked by larger financial institutions and are often left only with acquiring much needed capital from unsavory money lenders at ridiculous interest rates. Through Kiva, lenders can loan out $25 at a time, for periods ranging from weeks up to a year. There is no interest paid on these loans and lenders are encouraged to weigh the risks before engaging in such an endeavour. However, the repayment rate, thus far, has been over 90%. Once the loan has been repaid, the lender can withdraw their funds or choose to reloan it to another project, creating a very sustainable pool of capital. It is worthwhile to even explore this alternate form of helping people reach the first rung of the economic ladder.
I invite you to visit http://www.kiva.org to learn more about microfinance in general, and to see how an initiative like this is resonating with many who have a compassion to help heal the world. Please also feel free to contact me should you have any questions.