With the visibility of The Will Affair (and George Will’s serial distortions), problems with John Tierney distortions at the New York Times, Krauthammer, Samuelson, etc …, sometimes it can seem that columnists throughout the traditional media simply don’t get climate crisis reality and are unable to communicate science to a broader community. Outrage over these serial deceivers pandering falsehoods through the nation’s op-ed pages can lead to overshadowing the good work of others. Thus, taking a moment to send some praise to a climate realist columnist at The Baltimore Sun: Dan Rodricks.
Yesterday, Dan published Civil disobedience to combat climate change, a discussion about Powershift and the Capitol Climate Action. It begins
If there were a way to harness the gases its members produce with oratory, Congress would no longer need to burn dirty old coal to generate heat and air-conditioning for Capitol Hill. Alas, and remarkably, nearly a decade into the 21st century, offices of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the Library of Congress and several other buildings still get their heating and cooling from a 99-year-old power plant that burns the most carbon-packed of fossil fuels and produces emissions that cause global warming.
The Capitol Power Plant, spewing sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide into the Washington atmosphere, has become such a striking symbol of the nation’s reliance on coal that some time tomorrow, more than 2,000 people could be arrested in a protest there.
This is a well-done discussion, looking to Bill McKibben and others for insight, a useful way to discuss the protest and link to larger things.
Of course, the deniers seized on the snow storm as a path to attack Dan, challenge the protest, and overall deny reality. Well, rather than retreat in the face of their forceful, deceptive, and anti-science syndrome attacks, Dan stood up today with a post directly taking them on: It’s snowing — global warming must be hoax! He provided some of the absurdities he received, “minus the profanity and personal attacks”.
Several of those choice comments:
“God made everything in six days. He’s in charge and Jesus is returning soon to rule from Jerusalem. Are you ready for that change? I wonder if there are any of these evil fossil fuels used to produce ink and the paper you write for? hmm……”
I have a feeling that this believer is not a believer in Creation Care and the Biblical injunction to take care of the Earth.
Wonder if the email also included a statement that the fact that the Earth is only 6,000 years old proves Global Warming Realists as liars, since they keep citing evidence dating back 100,000s of years as to CO2 levels. (Of course, that wouldn’t deal with skeptics liking to cite CO2 levels of millions of years ago to assert that there are historical precedents (of course, before humanity) of CO2 levels above today’s … again, from millions of years ago.)
Well, Dan, a note of appreciation for taking climate realism to the pages of a major traditional media outlet. And, a tip of the hate for not retreating in the face of anti-science syndrome sufferers.