Subterranean Climate Change Blues
“You don’t need anyone or anything to touch yourself and giggle.”
I was on the pavement, thinking about the government, when it occurred to me that Dr. Phil often sounds a lot like a younger Bob Dylan.
A quick trip to the Dr. Phil Random Quote Generator, confirmed my suspicion that much of the advice from TV’s most famous shrink since Frasier takes the form of the classic Dylan line, “You don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows . . .. ”
Regardless of whether you get your advice from Bob Dylan or Dr. Phil, I think we can all admit that the first step in any healing process is to acknowledge that there’s a problem. If a recent story in the Daytona Beach News Journal is any indication, we may finally be getting to that point in the whole climate change debate.
The paper featured a story over the weekend highlighting the notion that people are admitting that the whole climate change issue is complex and that there is room for further scientific debate on the topic.
James Wanliss, a space physicist who teaches at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, teaches an honors course titled The Politics and Science of Fear. He notes that in the case of global warming, what is presented to the public is “one side of an issue with many dimensions.”
Wanliss also says:
“I fear that attempts are being made to purposefully subvert the public understanding of the nature of science in order to achieve political goals … Science is not about consensus, and to invoke this raises the hackles of scientists such as myself. The lure of politics and publicity is no doubt seductive, but it nevertheless amazes me that so many scientists have jumped on the bandwagon of consensus science, apparently forgetting or ignoring the sad history of consensus science.”
To his credit, Wanliss shows both An Inconvenient Truth and The Great Global Warming Swindle to his classes.
The fact that the discussion is turning toward a need for balance is a good sign.
global warming, climate change, An Inconvenient Truth, Great Global Warming Swindle, Embry-Riddle University, Bob Dylan, Dr. Phil, Wanliss
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