CLIMATE CHANGE -- POLITICIANS CO-OPT SCIENCE AND SCIENTISTS

More on Climate Change

By Steve Kauffman

OK. Let's think about Climate Change.  The Weather Channel website had an article that started off with the following: "The scientific agreement that climate change is happening, and that it's caused by human activity, is significant and growing, according to a new study published Thursday. 

"The research, the most comprehensive analysis of climate research to date, finds that 97.1% of the studies published between 1991 to 2011 [presumably by scientists] that expressed a position on man-made climate change agreed that it was happening, and that it was due to human activity." 

Another place says that an overwhelming number of scientists form a consensus that Climate Change is caused by human activity. Remember that. "Scientists form a consensus." 

What is a scientist and what is a consensus? A scientist is one who is "a person learned in science and especially natural science: a scientific investigator." Consensus is defined as: "a general agreement about something: an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group." Well, what's an opinion? "a belief, judgment, or way of thinking about something : what someone thinks about a particular thing." Ah! We have a bunch of educated believers, scientists, who agree that something is true. 

Real scientists use something called "The Scientific Method." That is: "principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses." 

So, the way these "hypotheses," "an idea or theory that is not proven, but that leads to further study or discussion" are proven to be true is by "testing."

Now, you have to understand that these unproven "theories" about human activity causing atmospheric temperatures to go up are based on computer models designed to predict the future. Models require that the modeler make a number of assumptions. There is a well known definition of the word "assume." “Assuming something “makes an ass out of you and me.” 

You see, these theories, these ideas, have never been "tested" over and over to prove they are true. But these "scientists" are staking their reputations on their "hypotheses" being true. So, these scientists are just assuming their assumptions are true. 

Well, I'd like to mention another group of highly educated people who have another, totally unrelated, hypothesis, an opinion, that has never been proven, but that is believed to be true, that is, taken on "faith," by billions of people. The highly educated group are theologians, priests, ministers, imams and gurus and the opinion or hypothesis they believe and teach is the basis for all religions. That hypothesis is that there is an omnipotent God who created the universe and everything in it. So far, none of those billions of people who believe this hypothesis to be true, like me, have been shown proof that this hypothesis is true. We just believe it.

So, Climate Change is a new, the latest, religion. It is based on, among other things, the Gospel according to AlGore. You have to believe in it, take it on faith. And he has a lot of apostles (read "scientists") preaching his new religion. These unproven theories, this new religion, is even allowed to be taught as fact to kids in public schools.

Now, it is a fact that real scientific evidence, proven evidence, shows that over the last 450,000 years five periods of significant global warming have occurred followed by five ice ages. During those warm periods the increase in concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere followed the temperature rise. When the temperature and carbon dioxide peaked, an ICE AGE followed. So, please remember that a "consensus" of a large bunch of scientists that carbon dioxide generated from burning fossil fuel is causing Climate Change proves nothing! If they really believed and could prove that carbon dioxide and methane had an influence on climate, instead of worrying about Global Warming, they might be telling us all to move South to stay warm to avoid the next Ice Age.

These real facts don’t stop the current, overly enthusiastic (look that up) EPA from embarking on issuing job killing, economy ruining regulations restricting the use of coal and other fossil fuels based on this UNPROVEN hypothesis, this unproven theory that the atmosphere is getting warmer because of burning fossil fuel. Even more asinine, why not put out a regulation requiring bovines to stop emitting methane flatulence. Methane is alleged to have ten times the effect of carbon dioxide on climate change and there are a lot of bovines in the world. (Look up bovine. The word does not just apply to four legged critters.)

God help the United States of America. Is it possible the 535 people in the Congress could understand this issue and put a stop to this travesty? Anybody taking bets?

Steve Kauffman is a retired executive who has posted here before and whose work I respect. His focus on the “Scientific Method” here is compelling in any scientific work but is all but absent in the climate change “science.” Computer models dictate results, not testing and verifying a la the “method.”