Reading the New York Times; an exercise in masochism

The New York Times | May 29, 2004 | Verlyn Klinkenborg

[The Scourge of Yazid]

I don't know how many of you receive the New York Times Book Review. I suppose it's limited to people who subscribe to the sunday edition of the NYT, which I'm sure doesn't include many FReepers, though I could be wrong about that.

Anyway, I was curious if any of you have seen the column on the last page of this weekend's Book Review (Chronicle: Environment), written by Verlyn Klinkenborg. I'll try to sumarrize it as neatly as I can without boring you to tears.

Klinkenborg's argument can basically be reduced to two main-though not very perceptive-thoughts:

1. We have a global warming crisis, which is caused by emissions created by humans beings.

2. Even though we're all aware of this crisis, we are either too indolent and/or callous to solve it.

I think that that his thesis can be boiled down to one paragraph:

To most scientists, global warming is a truly scary hypothesis. The evidence overwhelmingly shows, as predicted, that human behavior is altering the climate, with potentially catastrophic results. And yet it seems strangely difficult to scare or reason or argue Americans, the critical audience to reach, into recognizing the truth and acting on it.

Now, I don't want to get bogged down in technical arguments as to the merits or demerits of the case for global warming. Yes, it's been proven that there has been a slight increase in the mean temperature recorded over the past few years. I'm not here to debate whether or not this will have beneficial or negative consequences-or both-for our planet.

I'm simply soliciting your opinions regarding the sheer arrogance displayed by Klinkenborg in the assumptions and conclusions he arrives at during the course of this article.

He continually places the blame for global warming at the feet of the United States: "...the country with the highest emissions and the most excessive consumption, as well as enormous potential to produce innovative technologies-knows and seems to care the least about global warming.", while obscuring the responsibilities of other G-7, not to mention third world, nations.

For example, Klinkenborg never even raises the issue of China and India's own depletion of the Ozone Layer-which should concern him if he were consistent in his beliefs-during their drive to industrialize their respective countries.

Instead of asking the rhetorical question: "Why have Americans refused to face up to Global Warming?" I think Verlyn-and what kind of WASPish, preppie name is that anyway(?)-should ask himself why he could devote the equivalent of a two page article to this issue, and not bring up the fact that the United States is only part of the problem/solution and not the sole custodian of this planet?

[The Scourge of Yazid]

Wow!

Thanks for the link to that great article. I had forgotten some of the defamatory charges leveled at Lomburg's scholarship.

I'm always curious about these cases of purported academic fraud. All of this internecine, academic warfare is usually a ruse to cover up people's own petty interests.

If you visit my web-page on FR, you'll see a perfect example of a professor-Stuart Schaar-who for all intents and purposes, is a paid propagandist.

I also have a whole section devoted to my favorite historians, if you want to check it out.

[Bonaparte]

I'm on it!

[The Scourge of Yazid]

Good luck.

I know there's probably a lot of crap on there that you can just as easily disregard, but there is a really funny scene from an Ionesco play that you've got to check out.

To my mind, he was the best European playwright-with the possible exception of Beckett-of the entire 20th Century.

[beckett]

I meant to tell you the other day that I admired the strong argument you presented in these paragraphs:

Imagine the power you would have if you were in a position – by virtue of your authority to save the world’s environment – to decide which human activities were environmentally permissible and which were not

You could tell people where to live. You could impose so-called “smart development” and stuff people into densely populated urban areas in order to save open space, an often stated pillar of the environmentalist agenda. (As it happens, there is so much unoccupied space in the continental US that every person in the country could be given a half acre plot and still fit entirely within the state of Texas, leaving the rest of the country entirely unpopulated. I know. I’ve done the math.)

If you were named Environmental Czar, your could tell people what they could do with their land and regulate their housing. You could tell them how much water they could have in their toilets, and how much heat, air conditioning and electricity they could use. You could control the amount of television they watch by rationing of electrical power. You could tell them what they were allowed to drive, and how much gas they could use. You could force them out of their cars and into public transportation (See Earth in the Balance, by Al Gore). You could impose manufacturing production quotas and regulate the world’s industries to the point where you would essentially own them. You could even tell people how many children they are allowed to have.

That's what they have in mind, you're right.

[Maceman]

I meant to tell you the other day that I admired the strong argument you presented

Thank you very much for taking the time to say so. Much appreciated.

[HardStarboard]

>>>Who was the Danish scientist <<<

Yes, I know who you mean but can't remember his name. I think he and Sallie Ballunis collaborated on an article I read a couple of years back.

Let me dig a bit and see if I can get a name for you.

[Bonaparte]

Yes, the fireman dialogue was hilarious. Overall, your page is a fun read.

In your musical preferences section, I notice you like a smattering of artists from "my era"...

Dusty Springfield... the minute I heard her sing "The Look Of Love," I knew that girl had soul!...

Leslie Gore... along with the Angels, she reigned supreme in the biotch song category. I think her best effort was "You Don't Own Me." In her teens, she commuted into Manhattan from New Jersey to sing in a little dive during the summer. Quincy Jones walked in there one day to wet his whistle, heard her sing and the rest is history...

Ray Stevens... Figures you would like him. I do too. Coincidentally, I was listening to the original "Ahab The Arab" just a couple days ago. It's been years, as they say. He was very talented at producing novelty tunes, but also was an excellent musician who could hit the charts with a straight ditty from time to time, eg. "Everything Is Beautiful" (#1 in '70). A lot of people mistook him for BJ Thomas on that cut. He was a fine mimic.

Keep in touch.

[HardStarboard]

OK, I went to Tech Central Station - Sallie Baliunas (correct spelling) - is a frequent contributor. The name of a couple Danish scientists appear in here articles.

Here is a URL that covers some of the stuff by Sallie I was refering to. Lower in the body is details about the lack of trophosphere warming being indicative of no man-made warming effects from CO2.

http://www.techcentralstation.com/062002B.html

There is a link to all of Baliunas's articles at the bottom of this one.

For reference, here is her bio from TCS. Pretty damned impressive.

From TCS:

Sallie Baliunas

Sallie Baliunas, Ph.D. served as part Deputy Director of Mount Wilson Observatory and as Senior Scientist at the George C. Marshall Institute in Washington, DC, and chairs the Institute's Science Advisory Board and is past contributing editor to the World Climate Report. Her awards include the Newton-Lacy-Pierce Prize of the American Astronomical Society, the Petr Beckmann Award for Scientific Freedom and the Bok Prize from Harvard University.

She has written over 200 scientific research articles. In 1991 Discover magazine profiled her as one of America's outstanding women scientists. She was technical consultant for a science-fiction television series, "Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict," airing 1997 - 2001. She received her M.A. (1975) and Ph.D. (1980) degrees in Astrophysics from Harvard University.

Her research interests include solar variability and other factors in climate change, magnetohydrodynamics of the sun and sunlike stars, exoplanets and the use of laser electro-optics for the correction of turbulence due to the earth's atmosphere in astronomical images.

End TCS Quote

There is an intereting article, with some technical stuff way way over my head, that comes to some interesting conclusions. The comments that only the bad news seems to get noticed by the scientific press is much like what is going on with the press in Iraq. URL http://www.techcentralstation.com/070903C.html

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts after you read some of her stuff. Feel free to contact me by FreepMail if you wish.

[The Scourge of Yazid]

Thanks for the help!

I'll get back to you after having read some of the suggestions you mentioned.

P.S. I probably would never have used that website if it hadn't been associated with the likes of James Glassman. I used to love the 'TechnoPolitics' show he hosted on PBS. I even used his Washington Post column for a high school paper I wrote about the '96 presidential election.

[GeronL]

bump

[The Scourge of Yazid]

YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

Finally, someone notices my work.

I'm overwhelmed with emotion.