After all we are dealing with science here right? Awhile back I made the observation that a few years of declining global temperatures or even stagnant temperatures would do in the whole Global Warming hysteria, today I am not so sure.
Although I still believe the truth will ultimately win out, I am skeptical that this truth will happen any time soon, indeed the Global Warming/Climate Change agenda will probably outlive me and could infect the world for a generation or more.
I actually expect that the general public will grow more skeptical as time goes on, but that does not necessarily translate into policy changes or the slowing of the momentum of such a massive agenda and entrenched interest. I'll try to explain using one of my life long passions the study of history especially American history which I will use as an analogy here.
A Historical Perspective
Our Founding Fathers during the forming of our country were faced with many challenges but perhaps there was no more difficult dilemma than the question of slavery. They knew that slavery was not only contrary to, but hypocritical to the very principles they espoused and the form of government they were establishing.
Thomas Jefferson knew that when he penned the words " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.." that they flew in the face of the reality of slavery.
Of course many of the representatives wanted to outlaw slavery, but the majority realized regardless of their personal views on the subject, to attempt to do so would doom any attempt to "create a more perfect Union".
The reason of course was that slavery had become essential to the maintaining of an economic, societal , political and cultural way of life. A way of life that had no connection with the vast majority of the inhabitants of the states where slavery was primarily in practice. Very few, indeed a very small percentage, of people in these states either had slaves or had any desire to maintain slavery whatsoever. But slavery was so entrenched in the society of a very powerful and influential segment with a vested interest which controlled the political and economic processes, that slavery was preserved. This despite its obvious poisonous affect on the system our founders were trying to create.
Their only hope was that they would devise a system of government that would ultimately solve the issue through compromise. As we all know compromise was attempted many times but ultimately only the terrible blood bath of our Civil War wiped out the scourge of slavery.
Historically speaking then, this being just one example, often times the obvious bad apple is left to rot in order not to upset the applecart so to speak. But we all know what happens when a bad apple is not removed from the cart, now don't we? Eventually it must be purged for the longer it remains the worse the damage it does.
Look at the example I gave above, the rotten apple at the founding of our Republic led to unimaginable pain not only for countless slaves but a future generation of Americans who were left with the task of removing it. Actually it even went long beyond that, but you get the point.
Today the global warming agenda has so affixed itself to the societal, political and economic infrastructure of the world, that the pain of removal has now reached critical mass. I sincerely believe that many people in all segments of society, business, politics and even science have severe reservations about the theory, yet for personal, professional or political gain are unwilling to or intimidated from expressing their doubts less alone openly opposing it. When an ideal reaches this level of control upon the psychology of a society it will not be easily uprooted or overthrown.
Using my previous analogy of slavery, not only was slavery not endorsed by or an important part of most southerners life, most northerners despite their disdain for the institution were more than willing to live with it rather than create a conflict in order to root it out. Most people will simply ignore even the most distasteful of situations and attempt to live their life in peace avoiding confrontation. Only as it begins to directly affect their personal or family's well being will they become actively engaged.
Despite the fact that the Global Warming scare has been around for some time, it has basically been viewed as a hypothetical threat and thus not really all that important to the general public and every day life. Now that policies (here in America) are seriously being discussed and enacted to deal with this once hypothetical threat that will actually affect the public, are Americans beginning to take serious notice.
Unfortunately I fear that global warming, like slavery is too well entrenched, especially with powerful people with vested interest, for it simply to be disproved and go away. Make no mistake the agenda of global warming is a poison too, which will sap not only economic growth but impinge on human freedom and advancement in ways that are just coming into focus for the general public.
Garth Paltridge described the infestation perfectly in the scientific community:
"Basically, the problem is that the research community has gone so far along the path of frightening the life out of the man in the street that to recant publicly even part of the story would massively damage the reputation and political clout of science in general. And so, like corpuscles in the blood, researchers all over the world now rush in overwhelming numbers to repel infection by any idea that threatens the carefully cultivated belief in climatic disaster. "
This same analogy is just as applicable to a large segment of the political and media establishment. The global warming agenda is not science, it is an economic, political, societal and yes even a cultural way of life which will be defended in ways which go far beyond simple science.
By the time the general public becomes engaged enough to truly determine the threat, and it is a threat, far too many policies and far to much power will have been vested for it simply go away based on science. If that were the case the last few years would have begun a deceleration of political imputus rather than the acceleration of it. We can say that this is no more than an act of desperation, but once enacted it all becomes very difficult to dismantle.
It is easy for us in the skeptical camp to see the obvious failures of the theory but we like they live in an echo chamber of our own prejudices, the real world still hears only both sides chattering.
Jer
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