Kelsey A. writes:
Al Gore falsely laments in the AAAS annual meeting that science and politics have been separated for too long.
Let’s look at some excerpts from the write-up about Gore’s speech to scientists attending the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting. Of course, Gore – a true politician – is great at presenting exaggerations and falsehoods as fact:
Gore began by saying that the economic crisis is intertwined with the climate crisis. Both, he said, have their roots in our dependence on carbon-based fuels.
I think there’s a quote from Rothbard that says something like it’s reasonable for someone to not understand economics, but in that case, they should keep quiet on the subject. There are a lot of explanations for the recession, and I only believe one is true (the ABCT), but many of the others have a grain of truth. They usually cite the foreclosures or bank credit tightening. This is the first time that I’ve heard that our dependence on carbon-based fuels caused the recession… seems like wishful thinking on Gore’s part.
“Now that the survival of our civilization is at risk, and now that the solution to this crisis depends on the rapid spread of understanding from the world of science into the world of policy, … scientists can no longer in good conscience accept this division between the work you do and the civilization in which you live.”
You don’t have to be a global warming denier to realize that humans are great survivors, and our civilization is more likely to survive a drastic change in the climate than not. The impact this will have on other species is a separate issue, but human civilization as a whole does and will survive in rain forests, deserts, and extreme cold.
Surely, the rational scientists at the meeting were not fooled by Gore’s pleas for scientists to become political after he spewed all of this garbage, right?
Judging from the standing ovation, Gore might have won a few recruits.
I guess that’s wishful thinking on my part.
10:34 am on February 24, 2009
