Document Actions
Liberty Opinion: 01 October 2008
What kind of a contest puts the opposing teams in the bleachers and asks the refs to duke it out on the field? It's the game being played over climate change and the environment. Forrest Knox calls the play-by-play.
The umpires strike out
I love the weather. Watching a summer thunderstorm rolling across the prairie, approaching from fifty miles away is a delight to me. We love to talk about the weather because it is so safe. There is no controversy, no choosing of sides. We can do nothing about the weather, nor can we predict it with any great accuracy—or can we?
Back in grade school we chose sides to play dodge ball. Soon we chose sides socially; then we chose between KU and K-State; then religiously; then politically—it seems life is full of choosing sides—often rather arbitrarily—though we prefer not to admit it, as we are so adamant in our support for the side we have chosen.
These days people are even choosing sides when it comes to the weather. A contest of gigantic proportions is forming, dwarfing the Super Bowl in its size and scope. All the governments of the world are being drawn in. It’s a spectacle where even $700 billion is small change. The outcomes go far beyond gold medals or championship rings. One side claims a loss will be the end of the world as we know it. The other claims our contribution to the game is insignificant—that there really is no game at all, just hype.
Nevertheless, sides are being chosen. Political leaders around the world are moving to one side or the other, hoping to save the world from Armageddon or from total economic collapse. Businesses are also lining up on both sides with lawyers, economists, technical experts and CEO’s. Trillions of dollars are at stake.
Though our support for one side or the other in a game may, in truth, be quite arbitrary, we have always accepted the rules of the game and expected the officials to objectively enforce them. Unfortunately in the Great Global Warming Game, the officials have themselves chosen sides, and in many cases are competing alongside the competitors. In this game, the officials are scientists.
The simple danger here is that science is not properly equipped to choose sides. In science observations are made; measurements are taken; study is performed; theories are presented; experiments are done; and results are debated. All this is rather dryly published in scholarly journals. The role of emotion, money, and politics in this process, while always being present in human associations, is necessarily suppressed. Progress is made in human understanding of the world. This is science, good science, the way it has always been—until now.
Last week, I had the privilege of attending two conferences held in Topeka. On Monday Dr. Roy Spencer, a star for the “Global Warming Skeptics” spoke expertly at the Business and Energy Summit hosted by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. On Tuesday several members of the “Global Warming Alarmists” including their star, the world renowned Dr. James Hansen, spoke convincingly at the 2008 Kansas Wind and Renewable Energy Conference hosted by the Kansas Corporation Commission. Both teams were cheered on by their fans—at separate locations.
I also had the pleasure of attending several conferences across the country in the past few months with the same kind of performance, yet without head-to-head competition. Normally, the sides represented by men like Hansen and Spencer perform separately—and almost exclusively for their “home crowds” eager to fuel up on new venom.
I should also remind you that it has not really been the teams performing at these events—it was the referees, the scientists. In fact, the teams were most prominently represented in the audience. They were politicians, business people, and of course, the press. The "performances" are really just pep rallies—it's a strange game indeed.
It’s time for “The Commissioner” to step in and re-establish order. Get the refs on the court to start enforcing the rules by using scientific procedure. The Alarmist’s scientists must enter into debate with the Skeptics. Let the scientific process work. The media could make this happen if they will abandon the disaster scenario making them money and give equal time to both sides. If the public can learn all the facts, the court of public opinion will align itself with the conclusion of the whole scientific community.
We must all work together to solve the significant problems facing the earth and mankind. Population is outpacing our natural resources, at current use rates. We must take an intelligent, measured approach to caring for our environment. Technologically, we can in time produce enough renewable energy but it is presently too expensive. Economic reality dictates that we continue to make use of the existing fossil fuels while technology is developing new answers. We know that fossil fuels will not last forever, neither will nuclear energy, or the sun for that matter.
Science has the tools; it must be allowed to function. Everyone’s voice must be heard. The bottom line … technology and intelligent debate must solve these problems or—
We all lose the biggest game of all!
Forrest Knox holds degrees in mechanical engineering and represents the 13th District in the Kansas House of Representatives. Currently he and his family operate a cow/calf and goat ranch. He is Vice Chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
