Did I miss something? I mean, seriously, did I miss a memo or a new “standard norm” out there that states:
“Credentials come at least second next to other motivating factors when speaking authoritatively on asinine topics that impact all of our lives.”
I don’t get it. Al Gore’s lack of any substantial credentials on climate change science aside, let’s look locally at this bizarre new trend…
Next Friday (1/4/08) there will be a forum on climate change in Ely, Minnesota. And who, you may ask, will be putting on this forum? Well, I’m glad you ask.
- Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty: Obviously an authoritative source on climate change and global warming. After all, he has signed away Minnesota’s future to the Sierra Club and Al Gore in the name of those “issues.” Of course, he is not a scientist. He is a lawyer and a politician.
- Will Steger: An adventurer, explorer and “expert” on the arctic. Of course, he’s not a scientist either, but since he’s an “expert” he might as well be since his opinion carries just as much – if not more – weight than scientific evidence. The closest he ever came to science was a high school science teacher.
- Mining and paper industry representatives: Uh huh. I’m not sure how these people have anything to do with climate change and global warming, but they will be there.
- Union advocates: Always a source of objective and useful data – especially when it comes to climate change.
- Unidentified “academic experts”: This always translates into people who can talk big and use scary words in rambling sentences to cover up for the fact that they are talking out of their asses.
So where are the climate scientists? Where are the atmospheric scientists? Where are the paleoclimatologists, or physicists or even the statisticians?
You have a governor who is more concerned with his reputation within the Sierra Club than with actual science and the well being of his state, you have a completely biased and unobjective arctic adventurer with an ego problem, you have “experts” that aren’t even identified and you have labor and industry representatives which, well, still confounds me as to their role in this whole thing.
And supposedly we (as in, we the skeptics) are the ones being lead astay when it comes to climate change and global warming? The only people I listen to on this hot issue are people with certifiable and relevant credentials. Environmental and earth scientists. Physicists. Mathematicians and statisticians. People who have spent their lifetime studying the earth, the climate and the environment. People with years of education and stacks of diplomas and research papers to their name.
Ya know… Credentials.
Credentials, minor little detail of showing who has them. There are a lot of people and organizations opposed to the global warming schlock listed here: http://www.populartechnology.net/2007/10/no-consensus-on-global-warming.html
As for Gore, 35 Errors or outright lies are found here:
http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/monckton/goreerrors.html
Of course, you can’t look at the data for answers. If you disagree then you are wrong. That has been a plague on this world for decades that extends to many topics in science and beyond.
As far as Pawlenty goes, I guess even assholes need leaders too.
So, Steger is explorer and an adveturer ?
I was an explorer and adventurer of inner cities, about ten of them. Seems my opinion would be worth more than his because where I’ve been there are actually people living there.
Mining and paper industries? I gaurantee the only reason they are there is so they can learn how to appear as if they care. Or to brag about how they cut down less trees now. When we know that the lumber industry really never had much to do with gerbil warming anyway.
Ahh yes, the unidentified academics. I’ve heard of these guys before.
In 2003 the pentagon issued a report along with the dept of defense. In the report was a claim from an “academic” and specialist. His name was Peter Schwartz. This academic it turns out was nothing more than a futurist(someone who can look into the future).
He’s the one who said; “global warming was a bigger threat to American national security than terrorism.”
What I find really funny is that when it comes to the war these freeking moonbats wont believe anything the pentagon has to say. But when it comes to gerbil warming the pentagon takes a statement from a futurist, puts that statement in a report, and we have to believe it all. Hmmm.
Ryan, I have to give you credit for never letting up on this issue. I find it draining to the point where I need a break from it once in a while. Because its fucking everywhere !
Fear not my fellow soldier, I dont take long breaks.
I know that if all keep up the pressure this shit will get its due exposure. Its already starting to happen. More and more people are beggining to question the motives behind this movement.
Nice round up of points here.It’ll be interesting to see if this “forum” produces anything other than a carbon footprint larger than any skeptics.
not to pick nits, but the only flaw I saw in your argument was what I feel is a misrepresentation of Steger.
“Will Steger: An adventurer, explorer and “expert” on the arctic. Of course, he’s not a scientist either, but since he’s an “expert” he might as well be since his opinion carries just as much – if not more – weight than scientific evidence. The closest he ever came to science was a high school science teacher.”
I dont think that being schooled in a subject makes one an expert. He does have personal experience on the Arctic and has done advanced research to make his boots some of the best in the world. (Howard Roark was not properly schooled in archetecture, but was amazing at his work)
That being said, I would say he is an expert on the Arctic and on cold weather (spend a day in Ely in January and you will know what I mean…its cold even by Alaska standards). I would not, however, say he has an expert knowledge of global warming based on his experience.
Well, that is true to a point. Steger is an expert on the arctic. He knows cold weather, snow and ice. But he is not a climate scientist. He may able to say “yes, the arctic is warmer” or “yes, the ice is melting” but he cannot say why. He assumes global warming, but he’s basing his assumption on questionable statements. He doesn’t know if the climate in the arctic is being affected by weather patterns, solar output, ocean currents or just a a good old fashioned hiccup in a chaotic weather system.
While I respect him as an explorer and believe that he is a recognized expert on the arctic, but I wouldn’t ever take his word over an actual credentialed climate scientist on the topic of arctic weather patterns.
Micky, I feel your pain and exhaustion. It gets pretty heavy once in a while. But if I keep this stuff all bottled up inside I would blow up. Sometimes it does me good to take all of the garbage I get from the radio, tv and newspaper every single day and just write a post to get it out of my head. That’s my way of venting I guess.
The thing I have trouble with is the research. Sometimes it is really hard to muster up the motivation to throughly research a topic… And if I stop doing that and just talk off the top of my head I run the risk of arguing like a liberal.. And I just can’t do that.
And most times you can be gauranteed that the research is being done from a biased vantage point.
But its always good to expose the agenda.
As you have done so well.
Congrats.
Hello,
Is everything fine? How are you?
——————
diet
Приветствую всех!
У меня такой вопрос,кто что интересное подскажет буду признателен.
Мы с друзьями собираемся поехать в круиз по просторам России и ближнего зарубежья месяца на два на своих машинах,но не как не можем согласовать маршрут,если у кого уже был опыт такого путешествия,может,что посоветуете.Девчонок с собой не берем,думаем,что во все городах России с этим не будет проблем,если у кого будут рекомендации и в вопросе отдыха с девушками тоже буду признателен.
С уважением Сеньчик