The Big Flip
Forget Gregg Easterbrook's confession on Slate that he has finally been persuaded by the science. Never mind Michael Shermer's "cognitive flip" at Scientific American. All the many recent conversions of global warming skeptics to global warming believers pale in comparison to this one: The latest climate contrarian to come around is pollster Frank Luntz.
You read that right. The author of the infamous memo coaching the Republicans to exploit whatever uncertainties remained in the science of global warming now tells the BBC that he accepts the scientific consensus. (It comes just a few minutes into the video.)
The main focus of the BBC program is not Luntz, but on efforts by the administration to carry out his directive of quashing the consensus view while courting the naysayers.
You read that right. The author of the infamous memo coaching the Republicans to exploit whatever uncertainties remained in the science of global warming now tells the BBC that he accepts the scientific consensus. (It comes just a few minutes into the video.)
Luntz: "It's now 2006. I think most people would conclude that there is global warming taking place and that the behavior of humans are (sic) affecting the climate."Nice how he can just walk away from it like that, eh?
BBC: "But the administration has continued taking your advice. They're still questioning the science."
Luntz: "That's up to the administration. I'm not the administration. What they want to do is their business. It has nothing to do with what I write. It has nothing to do with what I believe."
The main focus of the BBC program is not Luntz, but on efforts by the administration to carry out his directive of quashing the consensus view while courting the naysayers.
7 Comments:
What else can he do? Has anyone been able change the collective mindset of this adminstration? From war to tax cuts to environmental issues to outright bigotry. Profit and power reign supreme.
He could send a memo.
That he could.
Yeah, I guess the point is that Luntz was, or at least appears to have been, an influential figure in formulating the Bush strategy on global warming. In a nutshell, he counseled them to keep the debate going no matter what, because, (as he opined) when the public perceives that global warming is real, the political tide will turn.
Now, it's hard to knock Luntz for coming around on the issue. But at the same time, it's staggeringly disingenuous of him to say that, in 2000, the science wasn't settled. For one thing, science is never actually "settled"; but more importantly, it was already well established that anthropocentric climate change was underway and that we faced a grave crisis. In helping the Bush White House put off dealing with it, he did us all a disservice.
As da silva said, he could indeed send out a memo -- to the press this time -- and own up.
Anybody know whether counseling the adminsitration to pursue a course of action that is known to be the direct cause of suffering and death to millions of innocent civilians for no legitimate reason (other than profit for a small number of vested interests) constitutes a war crime against humanity?
Might send a stronger message than a memo.
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig. In my opinion we should all ignore Bush and tell our friends and families the truth. Also, everyone needs to see Al Gore's movie. If this gets fixed, the impetus will have to come from us, the people and we can do it while George ignores reality as usual.
Gore's movie has been proven to be a LIE... Wake up, get your heads out of the tall grass... You do not know it all and come off as arogant. This does not help your cause at all. Pray about these things, and be anxious for nothing. Jesus loves you.
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