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“The red line is my government pension.”
Get ready: looks like the Right is gearing up for its next fight – trying to debunk the "myth" of climate change. They already have their figurehead: Dr. Alan Carlin, an economist who has been working in a corner at the E.P.A. since the Nixon administration, and who is, by all accounts, an ardent climate change denier.
Dr. Carlin is at the center of a storm ginned up by conservatives because of a series of internal agency emails which appear to dismiss Dr. Carlin’s comments on an E.P.A. report on greenhouse gases.
So, is this additional proof of a "vast left wing conspiracy to silence the critics of the Obama administration"? Or more manufactured, Inhofian hokum? From the New York Times:
But the newly obtained documents show that Dr. Carlin’s highly skeptical views on global warming, which have been known for more than a decade within the small unit where he works, have been repeatedly challenged by scientists inside and outside the E.P.A.; that he holds a doctorate in economics, not in atmospheric science or climatology; that he has never been assigned to work on climate change; and that his comments on the endangerment finding were a product of rushed and at times shoddy scholarship, as he acknowledged Thursday in an interview.
In other words, taking this man’s report seriously would be akin to asking me to draft a report on the dangers of quantum mechanics. You can see why the Right has thrown its full weight behind Carlin – despite his thirty-plus year tenure at the E.P.A., he has almost zero credibility in this particular area.
Perhaps Dr. Carlin would like to his apply "market externalities will save the world" theory to explain this?
Climate researchers now predict the planet will warm by 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century even if the world’s leaders fulfill their most ambitious climate pledges, a much faster and broader scale of change than forecast just two years ago, according to a report released Thursday by the United Nations Environment Program.
I certainly hope Carlin doesn’t own waterfront property. Then again, climate change deniers don’t even START thinking about tomorrow.
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Oh no! We’re in danger of quantum mechanics? Holy quarks! Does Beck know?
Freakin’ Fractals! Why is an economist given any credibility about anything?
For a long time, I’d never understood the Religious Right’s willingness to attack the environment. Big Business and its pets, yeah, I got why they do it, it’s for money. But why the Religious Right? You’d figure they’d think that God’s world should be protected.
Then I remembered, oh yeah, the Religious Right exists so Big Business can have more backup.
This shit’s disgusting. I’d almost rather lose the health care battle and do something about the climate- with nothing done, we all bake, ladies and gentlemen, and then health care becomes an irrelevant side issue.
Still, no reason we can’t do both…
I thought the deniers had backed off the “Climate change ain’t happeneing” and moved to the “Climate change is a natural occurrence and has nothing to do with human fossil fuel use”.
That it’s happening is pretty much proven. The why is still open for debate, though I haven’t heard of a viable alternate theory over fossil fuel.
Let’s not get Beck involved in quantum mechanics. After the frog thing, who knows what he’d do to Schrodinger’s cat?
Boxturtle (I alway thought it would be an earthquake that sunk Calif into the ocean)
The sooner we destroy the earth, the sooner the rapture will occur – they have it all figured out.
The reason for studying economics by wingnuts is to find a way to justify despoilation of the earth and all of its people, it seems.
this was explained to me by a fundie neighbor. They have faith that their god (which may not be my god), will 1) provide for his holy land America, protecting it against climate change, 2) if we do face natural calamity then it’s some sort of test of faith. I guess the whole Biblical bit about taking responsibility for one’s home an’ all is lost on ‘em. One must understand that fundies don’t actually follow either the Bible or the body of Christian teachings… just a hodgepodge of pseudo-religious gestures mixed up with their own tribal and communal prejudices.
Yeah, they got the wrong message: the one they got is ‘you own it, you can do anything you want with it, and you only get held to account after you die, but that’s okay because you’re a Xtian and you’re forgiven’.
Non-climate scientists attacking climate science is an old, old tactic. Most of the vocal deniers are either not climate scientists at all (Roger Pielke, Jr., Bjorn Lomborg) or are long-retired scientists who haven’t published in many years. The easiest meal ticket for them is becoming a contrarian, getting paid by those who want to obfuscate and deny. Hardly surprising at all.
Meanwhile, we need to stop teaching evolution in science class and substitute creationism.
it’s rather disturbing that we appear to have gotten to a point where any attempt to pursuade our leaders to effect even clearly needed policy changes or reforms involves a battle royal with corrupt corporate interests. That’s not much of a basis for national development or progress.
You mean intelligent design, don’t you? Creationism is religion, intelligent design is science!
Boxturtle (All Hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster!)
YES! Fortunately, Kirk Cameron is taking the lead in the fight against Darwin on the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species:
http://www.popeater.com/2009/0…..?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl4|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.popeater.com%2F2009%2F09%2F25%2Fkirk-cameron-defends-attack-on-darwin%2F
Cameron is the right guy for this fight. Surely, his beliefs will trump any supporting scientific evidence.
If enough of the people on the planet (after having sniffed increasing levels of CO2) will have enough sense left to finally comae to grips with the realities of environmental change will see the end of tribalism plunder and leave tribalism.
Entitlement to plunder and ignorance or denial of the power of humans’ ability to fatally trash their world has its roots in Judaeo-Christian sacred text, much of it produced for tribal societies. Fundamentalists continue to believe God entitled man to exploit the resources of the earth and it creatures. Of course other religions have similar roots but we seem especially attached to ours.
Refinements practiced in this Christian nation include the Calvinistic notion that economic success as proof of God’s favor and might is virtue.
Yep. There is going to have to be a lot of changing if the species we hold dear survives on the planet.
Much of the information necessary to preserve habitat is available now. Personally I think it is a crap shoot as to whether we use it. Follow the money.
One wonders if Christianity can survive these people and their distortions of Christian faith…
They’re doin’ it hometown-stylee, too…couldn’t get any interesting radio on my 45 min. commute yesterday, so I tuned in to KFI 640, Los Angeles’ conduit for Rushbo and our own loathesome “John & Ken”, anti-Latino racists par excellence. To my disgust, Tim Conway Jr. (!) has a wingnut show on the weekends now, and was almost chanting “global warming is over now, there’s proof, go back to your SUVs”. Carol Burnett and his dad are, I’m hopeful, disgusted and have disowned him.
I reserve the right to picture Dr. Carlin as “Mr. Carlin” from the (old) Bob Newhart Show.
If there are any leaders of that faith, they always remain silent. Distortions, apparently, are perfectly ok.
Liberal Christians like liberal Republicans have been run out of the party. Only spokesmen for the nuts are sought out by the media.
I’ve heard Christianity is dying.
Plus, (singing) I don’t know much….but I know it’s hot here. 100 + this whole past week. Crimineee. Can you tell it’s getting on my nerves?
I’m not sure that’s true. I could link you to the All Saints Episcpal church in Pasadena, CA. That would be too easy.
The Republics have become the main spokesmen for Christianity, at least in the US.
What snobs you people are. Just because someone has no formal training in a field
doesn’t mean they can’t excel at it.
Did Archimedes have a Ph.D. in mathematics or physics?
Did Edward R. Murrow have a M.A. in journalism?
Did Douglas Feith have a degree in military strategy?
Jeez.
As a bartender, I have been working for years on my own quantum theory that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that “climate” itself does not exist. I have authored an 800 page tome combining Einstein for Dummies and the Old Testament book of Ruth which would put this whole climate change thing to rest but alas I’m being suppressed by Obama and Acorn. I guarantee that my thesis has a certain quarky strangeness and charm and that with a wee bit of the old wingnut welfare I could easily make it more Jesusy. Any takers?
Depends on who you are getting your news bites from.
See the Flying Spagetti Monster created fields of study and created jokes like Douglas Feith to determine “military strategy”
Good Morning, Mike
How’s it going in your neighborhood. Saw you said something about snow the other day? I think it was you. It was crazy to read while we’re still sweltering here.
The office crackpot submits a 90 page report which he threw together over a couple of days mostly quoting anti-global warming nutters on the net, his supervisor tries to finesse the situation by saying it’s too late to send in this time, the crackpot or his friends leak this to the crazy as cornflakes right, they make a big stink, and this being the Obama Administration, the supervisor gets a reprimand.
We are going to be seeing this until Obama is out of office. Whackos on the right will throw shit at the Administration, the Administration will respond by reaching out to them. Meanwhile progressives will suggest reasonable, workable solutions to the nation’s problems, and Obama, Rahm, Pelosi, and Reid will tell them to STFU.
The Carlin case is the essence of the Obama Presidency.
most Episcopalians I know are now Dems. Actually, all of those I know under 60 are. There’s no sense in staying with a political party that regards your theological beliefs as blasphemous apostasy.
Hi, Blub. I’d love to stay and argue about God and Christ, but, I have to put some clothes on and go to church. Not really in the spirit this am, but the mister is filling in for the regular organist, and I’d like to hear him play the big pipe organ. It’s a real thrill for a keyboardist, let me tell you.
And, yest, Episcoplians rock. I think Marioninsavannah is one. Quite the progressive believers.
PS, I better not forget my flute. I’m playing too. *g*
It was a little higher up in the Mts. I am at 5500 feet. Conifer had ten inches didn’t hang around long. This coming week we are supposed to be highs in the seventies lows in the forties. Last week we had a couple of days that didn’t get out of the forties.
Wasn’t there kind of a split in the Episcopal church over a gay bishop.
I am speaking of the public media even though it may not be a good indicator of what the people want or think.
Of course there are many liberal churches among the defined denominations. And I highly admire many of them including of the Episcopalian. But realistically what have we heard most of the denomination in past few years? Gay Bishop and big splits etc etc.
Brrr… I am a spoiled baby. I do shorts all year ’round.
See you later.
sort of. A small number of parishes – mostly in the Southeast – left the denomination but stayed within the Communion, when they created their first gay Bishop. But the more recent pro-gay reforms this year went off without any further hitch.
Yep. Peoples be like that. I’m a Methodist, actually, and sooner or later there just might be a split over the gay thing too. Oh, brother.
Gots to run…Jesus will wait, but maybe not the congregation. Gotta back up my honey.
“Economist Global Warming Denier Admits Shoddy Scholarship”
or,
“Republicans Find Economist As Voice of GW Denial;”
admits ’shoddy scholarship’
My guess is that real leaders of the Christian churches don’t think entering into US political bickering is relevant to their missions.
looked it up. 115,000 of 2.2 million members left.
So, has this economist-turned-pseudoclimatologist, Alan Carlin, been appearing lately in other forums, or just on the one-man circus act that is the Glenn Beck Program?
The only other argument I’ve heard as to why the climate is changing is that the Sun is causing it. That the current change is due to a lessening of solar output similar to what scientists called the “little ice age” which was 1540 to 1850 A.D. If this coincided with the rise of human carbon production it’s possible that it would appear that human activity was the cause.
Well, now that anyone can be a climatologist, here’s what Carlin, George Carlin, has had to say:
George Carlin has a point. The only thing I take exception to is the passive construction: “The PEOPLE are fucked.”
Maybe he should have said “We the people are fucking ourselves by polluting the planet and by being very slow to take action to correct our mistakes. We are making the planet a place that is rapidly becoming less and less hospitable us.”
Unbelievable!
Nah. That’s why Imhofe and his crew are going to Copenhagen(?) next month: to set the record straight. I wished they would lock their @$$e$ out. One must have huge cojones to go to a meeting of scientific experts to push religious dogma. What ticks me off is, why do they think they need to go to watch over President Obama? Dumb@$$e$. I hope they get embarrassed in a major way.