The National Journal tells a
striking story
about Kerry Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at MIT and a major
authority on climate change. Turned off by what he saw as the Left's blind
ideology, he registered as a Republican at age 18. In January of 2012 the Christian
Coalition of America flew him to Charleston, South Carolina, to meet with the
GOP presidential candidates.
The Coalition was concerned that the
effects of global warning would hurt the next generation, especially the
world's poor. Disturbed by the unconcern of the candidates, Emanuel changed his
party registration from Republican to independent. As he explained: "The idea
that you could look a huge amount of evidence straight in the face and, for
purely ideological reasons, deny it, is anathema to me."
To appreciate the sheer craziness of
the GOP, we need only recall Dick Cheney's infamous "1% doctrine" that shaped
the American response to 9/11. As reported by Ron
Suskind, Cheney explained the doctrine this way: "If there's a 1%
chance that Pakistani scientists are helping al-Qaeda build or develop a
nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our response.
It's not about our analysis ... It's about our response." In other words, even
a very low probability of a catastrophic event was enough to justify starting a
war.
Suppose there is some small chance
that, even if CO 2 levels continue rising at their current rate, the result
will be less severe than the global catastrophe scientists predict. How could
that justify doing nothing?
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