NASA gave a big boost to the global warming paranoia-mongers by declaring that most of the hottest years on record occurred between 1990 and 2007. Then a math major from Canada, Stephen MacIntyre, showed on his blog that NASA's calculations were wrong. NASA hemmed and hawed, but finally admitted that four of the hottest years on record were in the 1930s: 1934, 1931, 1938, and 1939. Turns out only three of the top 10 heat waves occurred in the last decade and a half: 1998, 2006 and 1999. Several years that had been given heat records by NASA, such as 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 fell way down the list.
Still, why should we let a few facts get in the way of today's Great Liberal Scare? Pied Piper Al Gore, not previously known for his climatological expertise, and his great following of Hollywood imbeciles, had such a simple and beautiful story to tell. It summarized American history over the past century in three words: "Cool, Warm, Hot." Unfortunately this Canadian fellow has completely spoiled the fairy tale. Now the U.S. temperatures must be read this way, "Hot, Cool, Warm." Somehow the urgency is gone when you put it that way.
All of which raises a question no one seems to have asked: why did people in the 1930s spend so little time worrying that they were suffering through the hottest temperatures on record? Ah, yes, there was a Great Depression, and most people had other things to fret about, like unemployment and home evictions and very little food on the table. Poor people almost never worry about remote warnings of Apocalypse, whether they come from Bible-toting fundamentalists or secular prophets of doom.
In the 1980s ordinary folk paid little attention to the frenzy over Nuclear Armageddon, nor were they spurred to anxiety and action by dire liberal predictions of Ozone Dissipation. In these cases the unconcern of the hoi polloi turned out to be fully warranted. So perhaps the common man today is equally right to ignore the prospect that the planet may be a few degrees warmer 50 years from now than it is today. First let the experts figure out how to accurately forecast the climate for next week; then we'll pay attention to their predictions for the year 2047. I wonder if global warming will one day be seen as one of those idle concerns that occupied people in rich countries with too much leisure; in short, much ado about nothing.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 5)
1.
You are omitting the most important facts of the story. Both the Canadian who found the error and NASA agreed that the calculation errors were insignificant, and that global warming was real.
cdnbirch at 2:04AM on Aug 31st 2007
2. Not only are the calculation errors insignficant, but they apply only to determination of the hottest years in the US, which forms only a small part of overall global temperatures. So MacIntyre's corrections neither prove nor disprove anything about which decade was the hottest worldwide.
Incidentally, Dinesh is the guy who says that his religious beliefs are "beyond the province of reason and experience." In other words, he can give no rational explanation for why he holds what are, I assume, his deepest convictions. So, who is he to criticize anybody else for believing in "fairy tales"?
emelpe at 2:24AM on Aug 31st 2007
3. Like minorities playing the race card to legitimize plunder and acquire power, so go the enviornmentalist. When all is said and done, these freedom destroying villians are blackmailing government through media to plunder true Americans. By the way, if you demand government subsidies, you not American or worthy of freedom and democracy.
Can you imagine Madison, Jay, and Hamilton trying to make a case for these radicals and modern government? They would have been shot, burned, and had their ashes scattered. They would have called out the toops long ago to squash these rebels. Perhaps this is the only solution since reason, rationality, tradition, and truth have no effect on their jackal mentalities. The big stick needs to be applied at home first if we are to keep it from being applied from abroad. Radical individualism and egalitarianism is worthy of terror from abroad. I just pray they have good aim.
Robert at 2:43AM on Aug 31st 2007
4. Oh, I see...because there were 'insignificant calcutations', we should throw out any thoughts of the harm we might be doing by rapidily going through non-renewable resources, because, well golly, we're not doing any harm, huh? Even if the threat of global warming isn't a present threat, does that mean that we should kick back and say, "Aww, it's just scare tactic, just ignore it, cause nothing we humans are doing will change the earth enough for us to care." Maybe all of the people who are convinced that humans can always do better than nature should research the drugs, processes, etc., that have come from nature, some effects that we can't reproduce in our labs, before we are so blase about how we treat the only place we have to live...
lac at 2:55AM on Aug 31st 2007
5. According to Cuckoo, Cuckoo Mary K. The person in dire needs of a 72 hour commitment says global warming is due to Islamists. Insanity runs amuck.
I really am not educated on this subject, but I know enough to see it's damn hot in Philly, not to mention the humidity.
Glbal warming, IDK ask Mary. Cuckoo K. She knows why............
rhodalee at 3:32AM on Aug 31st 2007
6. When the information was first published the man-made global warming enthusiasts didn't dwell on whether it was insignificant, they claimed it was an immediate wake up call.
"Even if the threat of global warming isn't a present threat, does that mean that we should kick back ..." If the threat isn't present how do you know it's a threat?
Richard at 4:52AM on Aug 31st 2007
7. Of course the Canadian mathematician said "calculation errors were insignificant, and that global warming was real". Where is he going to get a job if he doesn't genuflect at the altar of liberal orthodoxy? I mean, that would be like a pro-life actor getting a movie role.
jg at 6:36AM on Aug 31st 2007
8. What I don't understand is how this became a POLITICAL issue. Global warming either is or is not happening; that is a SCIENTIFIC issue; what we do about it, if anything, is a social and political issue. Why is the Right so paranoid about the possibility? I have yet to hear a scientist, after learning about these corrections, say that the warming (which is global, not just in the US) is not occurring. Why are we hearing from the right-wing "pundits?"
Greg at 7:04AM on Aug 31st 2007
9. The calculations and statistics that were used by NASA were indeed incorrect - therefore, the basis for the THEORY of "Global Warming" being caused by man's use of fossil fuels is incorrect. Why can't you liberal geeks understand that? If your base set of numbers is flawed, your theory is flawed..oh, is that why you have now settled on "Climate Change" as your catch phrase? Now, let me get your reasoning straight here. If I came up with a theory that 85% of men begin to go bald starting at age 45, that my theory of the causation was fabric softener on clothes - but, after all the alarms, the shrieking, the banning of fabric softener - it was discovered that my analysis was based on 75 year old men instead of 45 year old men - my theory is still sound- right? In regards to all of you Al Gore worshipping, salivating secularists and capitalism hating socialists - you have as much credibility as the man himself after having claimed he invented the internet. Go take your Prozac and wait for your gumment check to arrive.
Steve at 7:27AM on Aug 31st 2007
10. The 1930's..Perhaps stories of my grandparents drawing down all shades, and --while inside their home dressing minimally--to survive the HOT Chicago weather in their NO A/C home -- come from one of these years.
Whether or not we are warming up, the GREATEST danger is that "global warming" Chicken Littles will strike such panic in us that we will GIVE UP our freedoms.
Portions of the WORLD today are dealing with the DAMAGE caused by the "POPULATION BOMB" Chicken Littles of a generation ago...including populations with too few young females (because of FEMICIDE-aborting female fetuses), and some populations are DECLINING including much of Europe, some of Russia. Where...the new war might be "The WAR OF THE WOMB" where the group having the most kids (future votors) will win.
And so THE CHICKEN LITTLES STIR UP A FRENZY ABOUT A NEW CAUSE (YESTERDAY POPULATION...TODAY "GLOBAL WARMING") AND WHAT DAMAGE WILL THEY DO???
vanessa at 8:00AM on Aug 31st 2007
11. Hey all you libs, get this. We don't control the climate. God does! The thermostat has been locked up, so all the little kids can't play with it. Oh, I forgot, you don't believe he exsists. [By the way, he created you too.]
Dwight at 8:45AM on Aug 31st 2007
12. Yes, but what if you are wrong?
FRED J ABRAHAMS at 9:09AM on Aug 31st 2007
13. Global warming is a trojan horse for the lefty Statists who would give more and more control to an ever-expanding and centralized government. Self-righteous ignorance bolstered by some celebrities and doctrinaire (socialist) academics is what is really endangering all of us.
ellen moss at 9:31AM on Aug 31st 2007
14. Stanford needs to disassociate itself from this clown, or maybe start recruiting teachers from Cal State Fresno, or maybe look to the east coast: perhaps Miami U Dade County campus?? Or maybe Clown College.
This guy is a joke. For a pseudo-"intellectual", he is divisive, thinks only in absolutes, jumps to erroneous conclusions based on undocumented and often outright wrong facts, and twists his research findings to fit into his models.....SO HE CAN SELL BOOKS.
A man who comes from a country with a caste system, and he thinks he is an expert on race relations in this country???? 'nuff said.
stuart joshua at 9:48AM on Aug 31st 2007
15. In my reading on the subject, there does seem to be a consensus among scientists that the earth is experiencing a warming trend. The debate centers on causation and the extent and duration of the change. I don't think we should let politicians dictate policies that will affect the world economy and quality of life until that debate is settled by the scientific community. That said, I am all for the developement of alternative forms of energy. I would especially love the idea of personally disconnecting from the grid. This year I will puchase a new vehicle and it will be a hybrid. These are personal decisions and I would be mad as hell if the government dictated them.
Joe Edgington at 10:12AM on Aug 31st 2007