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I made a New Year’s Resolution to Imagine Life Differently … Imagine it Better … and to Seek to Create that Better Life.  As part of that, I vowed to take up DannyInLA’s challenge to challenge non-reality based thinking.

My “area” of focus, however, is Energy and, with linkages, Global Warming.

I have determined not to let Global Warming Deniers stand un-challenged — whether in personal life, the professional world, or in the press … Today, The Washington Post published a letter that resulted from my resolution to challenge …

As I discussed in Global Warming — WashPost fosters disinformation (AGAIN), last Saturday’s Post had an atrocious letter on Climate Skepticism, along with a better letter, under the doubt fostering title:  At the least, the Debate is Heating Up …. This very title feeds directly into the skeptics goal, to foster confusion and an air of uncertainty in the public as to scientific consensus … have no doubt, as has been said by others, perhaps only when it comes to the Second Law of Thermodynamics is there greater consensus in the scientific community than when it comes to agreement that

A. The world is warming globally. And
B. Humanity’s activity (principally, but not solely, burning of fossil fuels) is contributing to this warming.

This is based on facts … reality-based thinking, if you wish. We can debate which actions need to be taken, how fast, what are various priorities for action … but the facts that the world is warming and that humanity is contributing to that warming.  There is no debate and skeptics will be challenged.

Climate Denial That Wilts

Saturday, January 20, 2007; A22

Joseph Parisi’s Jan. 13 letter is classic global-warming skeptic material. Mr. Parisi made statements that foster doubt among readers, but the statements don’t stand up to scrutiny.

Mr. Parisi pointed to an absence of Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic in 2006 and the recent snow in Denver as reasons to question the existence of global warming, even though worldwide data show that the 11 hottest global temperature years (since records began in 1861) have been since 1990. As with many such skeptics, Mr. Parisi’s thinking is not global — for instance, he does not mention that there were four Category V typhoons in the Pacific in 2006, including the strongest ever recorded (Ioke).

This brings to mind the fact that about 15 percent of Americans believe that the Apollo moon missions never occurred and were staged on movie sets in the desert. Would The Post, in reporting on the space program, seek to be fair and balanced by giving this 15 percent a voice equal to that of astronauts, astronomers and academic experts? Why, then, give prominent voice to global-warming deniers, who are similarly at odds with facts?

While we reach many here at DailyKos, the reach of newspapers and other MSM is so much greater.  As per the above, we can take our discussions and translate them into MSM discussions and reach so many others … it only takes a few minutes to type that LTE … to the local paper and The Post …

ACTION:  You can make comments to this letter.  Please (PLEASE) put some positive comments as Global Warming skeptics might swarm on items like this (as occurred with the The Weather Channel yesterday). Hop over to Climate Denial That Wilts to put in your two cents (in support … please …)

NOTES:

1. xxx

1. The definition of a giant in my world is a midget standing on the shoulders of giants.  And, re dealing with Global Warming doubters, if I do any good, it is due to the excellent work of others.  Some other discussions at DailyKos re this topic include: Deviltower’s 12 January Science Friday: There is No Controversy. Re ExxonMobil, see recent diaries by BruinKid (Exxon to cut ties with global warming skeptics! Or so they say), LeftyCoaster (Exxon Condemned For “Manufacturing Uncertainty” About Global Warming), and DaveJ (New Report About Exxon Funding Lies) (last two related to the Union of Concern Scientist’s 3 January 2007 report Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco’s Tactics to “Manufacture Uncertainty” on Climate Change). For an excellent discussion (with a magnificent graphic) of Global Warming deniers, see Eternal Hope’s More Elephant Dung on Al Gore debunked.  Sfluke discussed why specific weather changes don’t disprove Global Warming in A cooler winter now… the end of Global Warming?. Raines did a great job with Sen. Envi. Cmtee. Comm. Dir./Swiftboater attacks Gore, Global Warming with Holocaust, which spent some time on the recommended list yesterday.

1. Answer the Call to turn us (US) away from a catastrophic path on Global Warming.

1. As a ‘bragging’ note, while I’ve had OPEDs in The Washington Post before over the years, this is the first LTE … and the first time I’ve two publications in The Post in the same month (actually, same year).  Last week’s OPED is discussed in My OPED Published re Energy/NIMBY in WashPost today ….

1. And … Imagine Life Differently … Imagine it Better … And Seek to create that better life