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WARMED-OVER SCIENCE
My initial reaction to Benita Dodd's
"Comment" on climate change [Flagpole,
June 25] was met with disbelief, followed by
irritation and then amusement as I realized
it was a clever ploy by the Flagpole staff to
stimulate a flurry of responses, along the lines
of the old "Tofu Baby" controversy. [Editor's
Note: Yeah, well, I guess that's sort of why
we ran it, to see if anybody would react.] The
difference is whereas "Tofu Baby" is point
less, irritating and innocuous, Dodd's article
was pointless, irritating and harmful. It was
harmful because the article was filled with
misinformation. Dodd resorted to the tired
anti-environmental cliches of name-calling,
labeling scientists "alarmists," selectively
citing anomalies to a general trend, and pre
senting herself as an independent "fair and
balanced" watchdog, protecting the public
from the evil green agenda (e.g., clean air,
clean water, a pleasing landscape).
Dodd, who is not a scientist, but a jour
nalist, represents the anti-government, anti-
environmental Georgia Public Policy Institute.
Some jewels that I garnered from GPPI
publications include extreme positions such
as mercury contamination is an overstated
health threat, sprawl is good and shouldn't
be discouraged and traffic congestion should
be celebrated because it's a healthy sign
of a thriving economy! As a scientist who
researches climate change impacts, it is my
obligation to correct the many factual errors
presented by Ms. Dodd.
COOLING TREND?
First, let's examine Dodd's mythical Georgia
"cooling trend." Indeed, there was a brief
cooling trend for about a decade in mid-20th
century that was both preceded and followed
by decades of warming that continues to the
present. This same trend has been observed
worldwide due and attributed to both human
induced and natural changes in the reflectiv
ity of the land surface and atmosphere. Don't
believe me: go to the source and look at the
data yourself at the National Climatic Data
Center. In fact, you can see an examination of
many of the climate myths being promulgated
by various groups in the New Scientist article,
"Climate Change: A Guide for the Perplexed,"
that came out last year.
NO DANGER?
Second, her lead skeptic, John Christy,
Alabama State Climatologist, has changed his
tune over the years, from rabid climate skeptic
to his current position that climate change is
happening but it will be good for humanity.
"I don't see danger. I see, in some cases,
adaptation, and in others something like
restrained glee, at the thought of longer
growing seasons, warmer winters, and a more
fertile atmosphere," Christy opined at a CATO
Institute conference on climate change. Well,
there are many other undesirable changes
that could occur, foo, like droughts, stronger
storms, spreading diseases and rapid sea level
rise. I bet you'll be restraining your glee if
you live in a tow lying coastal area. In sworn
testimony in the Vermont District Federal
Court where Christy was the expert witness
for a group of automobile interests suing
the state of Vermont over their greenhouse
gas regulations, Christy said he accepted the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
position that most of the observed warming
over the last 50 years was likely due to the
increase in greenhouse gas concentrations.
In the same testimony, Christy also said that
while he used climate models, he isn't a mod
eling expert. Also, if a scientist's credibility is
tied to funding, as Ms. Dodd implies, then we
must reject any of Christy's opinions, as he's
closely tied to oil company funded right-wing
think tanks like the Heartland Institute. I'd
find another skeptic if I was Ms. Dodd.
EXPERTS?
Finally, Ms. Dodd seems infatuated with
the existence of petitions signed by climate
change deniers, including the most laugh
able one produced by the Oregon Institute of
Science and Medicine. Just like Bill Nye the
science guy, they all have a degree in "sci
ence." What kind of science? I didn't have
time to check them all out, but in the list of
613 Georgians who signed there were 48 MDs,
four vets, and 184 Ph.Ds (one had an asterisk,
whatever that means). I'm glad the list of MDs
was online, so now I can avoid visiting them
if I'm ailing. I want my MD reading medical
journals, not playing climate expert. I did
check out a random list of about 20 of the
Ph.Ds. by searching the peer-reviewed journal
indices for their publications. Most turned
up nothing, but I did find a couple of inter
esting cases: one published a paper on rat
pituitary morphology way back in 1969 (Allen
Kostoff); another (David E. Marckinko) was
a self-described physician-executive, health
economist, financial evangelist, publisher,
editor and innovator (but not climate expert).
Contrast that ridiculous list with the more
rational statements released by the American
Geophysical Union, American Association
for the Advancement of Science, American
Meteorological Society, U.S. National Academy
of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, U.K.
Royal Society, Russian Academy of Sciences,
etc., etc. They all concur with both the real
ity of climate change and the role of human
activity as the driver.
FLAT EARTH?
I humbly suggest the Flagpole keep the
claptrap on the comics page with "Tofu Baby."
What's next for the Comment section? Can we
look forward to an article from a Flat Earth
Society expert questioning our planet's spheri
cal shape? Maybe the Flagpole should publish
a series inquiring into verity of the Apollo
moon landings? Climate change is real; it's
caused by our activities, and the real ques
tion is what are we going to do about it?
These phony conservatives like Ms. Dodd think
we should continue to use up finite reserves
of fossil fuels without a second thought.
Wouldn't a true conservative course of action
be to conserve nonrenewable resources and
embrace alternatives in the energy market?
In Ms. Dodd's case—and others on the fringe
denying climate change—the appropri
ate analogy isn't the boiling frog, but "the
Emperor has no clothes."
Joseph O’Brien, Ph D
Dr. Joseph O'Brien holds a PhD in biological science
and is a research ecologist specializing in the effects
of climate change.
ELECT
SONNY
WILSON
CORONER
JULY IS
Why Wilson?
Lives AND works in Athens-Clarke County and is available
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Holds Mortuary Science National Board Certifications in
Pathology, Anatomy, Chemistry and Microbiology which
enable more effective communication with the Pathologists
at the GA Crime Lab.
Understands the need to communicate with the Medical
Examiners Office to facilitate death certificates for the
families in a timely manner as he has worked in the funeral
industry for over 40 years.
Cares for the Athens-Clarke County community where he is
an active supporter of Aids-Athens, Athens-Clarke County
Heart Walk and various local charitable organizations
throughout the year.
^Integrity 0 Knowledgeable ^Available
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