Nebraska conservatives demand flawed climate study; scientists refuse
First, Virginia’s legislature calls for a $50,000 climate change study that omits the words “climate change” and “sea level rise” from the study’s description. Then, North Carolina decides to ignore a study predicting the sea will rise on its coast. Now, Nebraska’s legislature has asked its state climate scientists to look at climate change … but apparently without accounting for human activity on the climate. The bill for a Climate Assessment Response Committee allocates up to $44,000 for a study of “cyclical” climate change — a term that has no scientifically-defined meaning, the state’s scientific community noted in response to the request. The legislation asks the committee to “provide timely and systematic data collection, analysis, and dissemination of information about drought and other severe climate occurrences to the Governor and to other interested persons,” and to supply advice for requests for federal disaster declarations.
Every historical ear seems to feature a group of zealots and ideologues absolutely, unshakably convinced their beliefs are superior to knowledge and empirical, provable truth. It could have been demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that gravity is real, and there would be some who’ve convince themselves that the Earth sucks and gravity is merely the explanation of choice for unbelievers.
Our intellectual and moral millstones these days are the Radical Christian Right and the Tea Party. In many cases, these groups are one and the same; they share a disdain for reality, a willingness to ignore the truth, and the ability to filter out anything that doesn’t mesh with their ironclad, closely held, preconceived world view. Sometimes it extends into public policy- with disastrous results. When denial, ignorance, and zealotry can be used to dictate policy…well, that certainly helps to explain how we got to where we are today, no?
The Omaha World Herald reported that State Sen. Beau McCoy, a Republican candidate for governor and anthropogenic climate change denier, added the word “cyclical” to the legislation.
McCoy decided that it was appropriate to use tax dollars for a study skewed to support his morally and intellectually bankrupt denial of global climate change. Imagine for a moment what might have happened had a Liberal Democrat tried something similar in support of their pet delusion? The hue and cry, the weeping and gnashing of teeth would be audible from here ‘til Christmas. When it’s done by a Liberal, it’s the worst sort of corrupt demagoguery imaginable. When a Conservative does it, it’s standing up for (their version of) truth and objective reality.
Fortunately, scientists want no part of this scientific travesty:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientists said they wouldn’t participate in the climate study if it didn’t take human activity into account, refusing to be political pawns, as Al Dutcher, Nebraska state climatologist, told the legislative committee.
We should be applauding those willing to stand up for objective reality, because the truth means something. The truly sad aspect of this story is that we find ourselves in a position where truth and empirical reality are things we have to defend and protect from ninnies.
