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Originally Posted by Ustwo
The courage to do nothing....
You know, now that I hear this slogan of sorts, I think that is what is the core of the matter with global warming alarm and alarmists.
As humans we are wired to see cause and effect. If a rock rolls off cliff and narrowly misses you, your first reaction is to see what pushed it. Its a survival instinct, its far better to assume some sort of direct, dangerous cause and be wrong, than not be on your guard.
Global warming fits that nicely. We are so assured that something we are doing must be to blame that we feel its better to act on it than ignore it, even when ignoring it is really the best course of action.
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Ustwo....you're old enough to remember the environmental movement of the 60s and 70s.
Many attribute the explosive growth in concern for the environment in part to the publication in the early 60s of
Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" that described the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Skeptics (mostly the chemical industry) accused her of shallow, unsupportable science....after all, she was just a bird-watcher.
"If man were to faithfully follow the teachings of Miss Carson," complained an executive of the American Cyanamid Company, "we would return to the Dark Ages, and the insects and diseases and vermin would once again inherit the earth." Monsanto published and distributed 5,000 copies of a brochure parodying "Silent Spring" entitled "The Desolate Year," relating the devastation and inconvenience of a world where famine, disease, and insects ran amuck because chemical pesticides had been banned.
The environmental movement grew so quickly that by 1969, Congress (and even Nixon) recognized a need for governmental action and enacted the National Environmental Policy Act, with the stated purposes:
* To declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment.
*To promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man.
*To enrich our understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation."
There were skeptics in Congress at the time, including current Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska who complained: "Suddenly out of the woodwork come thousands of people talking about ecology."
Several months later, the first Earth Date celebration brought 20 million people into the streets across the country speaking out for environmental action.
And the next five years saw the passage of the first Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Solid Waste Disposal Act, etc. all of which had their skeptics,(mostly the affected industries, much like the role Exxon plays in today's skeptic community) questioning the science behind the environmental standards contained in those laws and complaining that these burdensome regulatory standards would seriously harm the country's long-term economic health.
Thankfully, Congress and the President at the time and every Congress and President since (at least until Bush, who has gutted many environmental laws) did not have "the courage to do nothing"
And you know the rest of the story.....the economy did not tank, new industries developed around the emerging technologies to assist in meeting the regulations, and best of all, the air, water, land was slowly restored.
If you were to take as much time to look at the mitigation proposals of the IPCC as you seem to do to find and post Mark Morano, junkscience.com and other extremist views and solutions, you might be surprised to see that they are moderate and sensible proposals, with concern for both economic and environmental sustainability.
But I suspect rather than discuss the IPCC mitigation proposals (or any proposals to lower greenhouse gas emissions), what we'll see follow here are more mindless videos, quizes, editorials, cartoons......