More on the Denyers
One of the favorites tools of the global warming denyers in Washington DC is a novelist (writer of fictional "thrillers"), Michael Crichton. Author of Jurassic Park & The Andromeda Strain (which was my favorite sci-fi movie when I was a kid).
I won't even cite the name of his most recent novel that uses global warming as a plot device. But, there are those in Congress and the White House who are citing it as support for their views that the science is still out on global warming.
Think about it. This guy may be a good writer, but his novels are works of fiction, and just like there is no island out there where mad scientists are cloning dinosaurs to create some tourist attraction, the things that the author implies in his latest work of fiction, are not true either. For instance, he implies that there are evil environmentalists conspiring to cause an earthquake and tsunami to bolster their bogus case about global warming. Yes, and there are mad scientists cloning dinosaurs that just might turn into Godzilla and destroy New York City.
For the record, I have not read the novel, nor do I plan on reading it. I am sure it is like his others - well written, suspenseful, and probably formulaic (meaning following the same basic plot line as his other novels). That's not a bad thing - it's easy, entertaining reading for many.
But, to me, the fact that he abuses the scientific truth about global warming - a dead serious issue - to sell more books, and the fact that he has testified before Congress to say that he does not believe the science is there to support all the calls for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is irresponsible. And it shows how stupid some of our elected "leaders" are, for acting as PR people for a novelist. They are helping him sell more books - no crime in that, but when it is at the expense of rational, science-based debate about a topic that will have devastating consequences for hundreds of millions of people, it is just plain reckless.
You can read more about this issue at the website ClimateProgress.org.
I won't even cite the name of his most recent novel that uses global warming as a plot device. But, there are those in Congress and the White House who are citing it as support for their views that the science is still out on global warming.
Think about it. This guy may be a good writer, but his novels are works of fiction, and just like there is no island out there where mad scientists are cloning dinosaurs to create some tourist attraction, the things that the author implies in his latest work of fiction, are not true either. For instance, he implies that there are evil environmentalists conspiring to cause an earthquake and tsunami to bolster their bogus case about global warming. Yes, and there are mad scientists cloning dinosaurs that just might turn into Godzilla and destroy New York City.
For the record, I have not read the novel, nor do I plan on reading it. I am sure it is like his others - well written, suspenseful, and probably formulaic (meaning following the same basic plot line as his other novels). That's not a bad thing - it's easy, entertaining reading for many.
But, to me, the fact that he abuses the scientific truth about global warming - a dead serious issue - to sell more books, and the fact that he has testified before Congress to say that he does not believe the science is there to support all the calls for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is irresponsible. And it shows how stupid some of our elected "leaders" are, for acting as PR people for a novelist. They are helping him sell more books - no crime in that, but when it is at the expense of rational, science-based debate about a topic that will have devastating consequences for hundreds of millions of people, it is just plain reckless.
You can read more about this issue at the website ClimateProgress.org.
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