Scary What They Don't Know

I had an interesting global warming debate with a state legislator this week. I won't give his name because he didn't bargain for that. What makes the debate noteworthy is how much lawmakers take on faith, assuming that science is on their side.

Among the things this lawmaker didn't know included:

1. The most intense warming of the 20th century before 1940.

2. Greenland and Antartica have been cooling.

3. Of the hundreds of thousands of glaciers, very few have actually been studied. (He was under the impression that all had been studied.)

4. Kilimanjaro has been melting for 6,000 years.

5. There has been no increase in global temperature since 1998.

6. That human caused CO2 accounts for roughly .003 percent of overall CO2.

He covered for the last by noting his "belief" that the earth's environment was so fragile that the .003 we produce is enough to upset the "delicate" balance. He didn't have an answer for the fact that CO2 levels have fluctuated drastically over the ages. If the earth's atmosphere was as delicate as he suggested, a major volcanic eruption would be enough to send us into an ice age.

Interesting though, that when faced with contradictory facts, the fallback position became about a "belief," not about science.

In other warming news: Sheryl Crow throws her scientific weight into the fray, unaware of the seven truths:

...she's asking audiences during her U.S. tour to join the fight against global warming.

I'm starting to get the impression that the "fight against global warming" has become just another marketing tool. Next time it will be the last "fight against global warming" tour, followed by the final "fight against global warming" tour.

Consider all those tours in this context:

"My answer to everything is get on a tour bus and take it to the people"

Spew that CO2 Sheryl. Spew it at the people. Add in the CO2 produced by thousands of concert goers and you have an almost Gore-like solution. Worth it, when you consider the signatures:

Crow and (Laurie) David said they hope to deliver 1 million signatures to Capitol Hill to push leaders to freeze and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

I wonder, will those signatures will be on paper?