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• Wednesday, January 14, 2009 02:23 PM

  Global Warming

  A letter writer writes about the "crusade against global warming": "In both cases, there are 'experts' who tell us that evidence justifying action is undeniable. They say, 'The risk of doing nothing is too great for us to do nothing.' And as a fallback position they say, 'Even if we're wrong, we'll still be doing some good in the world.'"

  To which Camille the expert provocateur responds: "Wonderful letter!"

  I am kind of boggled.

  First, comparing the global climate change "crusade" with the Neo-Conservative war-mongering prior to 2003 makes sense from only one angle: you are committing huge amounts of public money to an endeavor whose possibly dubious necessity relies on the testimony of experts in their respective fields.

  The only logical footing Camille and the letter writer could possibly have in this argument is the validity of expert testimony. Do you believe the huge cadre of scientists who have signed on to the notion that human activity has some effect on the climate, or do you believe the opponents who seem to be composed mainly of the Republican faithful, and -- surprise -- oil company execs and automakers who are opposed to altering their business model to include planning for a future that's not dependent on making as much profit in the shortest amount of time possible. Okay, whatever.

  Second, the idea that the justification "Even if we're wrong, we'll still be doing some good in the world" is by necessity promoting a falsehood based on the Bush Admin's failures, is a red herring.

  You should ask instead whether investing in environmentally friendly alternative energy research and development is such a bad thing, particularly in light of the world's rapidly dwindling petroleum supply, and the wars we will wage to control and own the last little drops.

  Third you cannot make comparisons to this end: the cost of the Iraq war, vs. the cost of minimizing our impact on the planet.

  —jsquared Read jsquared's other letters
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