The Greenhousers Strike Back, and Strike Out

beat the devil

By Alexander Cockburn

This article appeared in the June 11, 2007 edition of The Nation.

May 24, 2007

I began this series of critiques of the greenhouse fearmongers with an evocation of the papal indulgences of the Middle Ages as precursors of the "carbon credits"--ready relief for carbon sinners burdened, because all humans exhale carbon, with original sin. In the Middle Ages they burned heretics, and after reading through the hefty pile of abusive comments and supposed refutations of my initial article on global warming I'm fairly sure that the critics would be only too happy to cash in whatever carbon credits they have and torch me without further ado.

The greenhouse fearmongers explode at the first critical word, and have contrived a series of primitive rhetorical pandybats, which they flourish in retaliation. Those who disagree with their claim that anthropogenic CO2 is the cause of the small, measured increase in the average earth's surface temperature are stigmatized as "denialists," a charge that scurrilously combines an acoustic intimation of nihilism with a suggested affinity to those who insist the Holocaust never took place.

The greenhousers endlessly propose that the consensus of "scientists" on anthropogenic climate change is overwhelming. By "scientists" they actually mean computer modelers. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and their computer-modeling coterie include very few real climatologists or atmospheric physicists. Among qualified climatologists, meteorologists and atmospheric physicists, there are plenty who do not accept the greenhousers' propositions. Many others have been intimidated into silence by the pressures of grants, tenure and kindred academic garrotes.

Subscriber Login

4 ISSUES FREE

Subscribe Now!

The only way to read this article and the full contents of each week's issue of The Nation online is by subscribing to the magazine. Subscribe now and read this article -- and every article published since for the past five years -- right now.

There's no obligation -- try The Nation for four weeks free.

.

About Alexander Cockburn

Alexander Cockburn has been The Nation's "Beat the Devil" columnist since 1984. He is the author or co-author of several books, including the best-selling collection of essays Corruptions of Empire (1987), and a contributor to many publications, from The New York Review of Books, Harper's Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly and the Wall Street Journal to alternative publications such as In These Times and the Anderson Valley Advertiser. With Jeffrey St. Clair, he edits the newsletter and radical website CounterPunch, which have a substantial world audience. more...
Most Read

Issues »

Most Emailed

Issues »

Popular Topics

Blogs

» State of Change

It's 3 a.m., Hillary's on the Phone | It looks like Clinton will be the Secretary of State.
John Nichols

» Capitolism

Left Out | Would it kill Obama to have an actual progressive or two in his cabinet?
Christopher Hayes

» The Beat

Key Committee Pick Signals Obama-Pelosi Direction | Waxman gets Commerce chair, amid signs of focus on healthcare, environment, consumer protection.
John Nichols

» The Dreyfuss Report

That Iranian "Bomb"? Relax. | Obama has lots and lots of time to deal with this problem carefully and rationally.
Robert Dreyfuss

» The Notion

A Clinton Administration? | Given the Obama appointees so far, you might think Hillary had been elected.
Tom Engelhardt

» Passing Through

Should GM Survive? A Wall Street Analyst's View | Maybe they should just let it die.
Jane Hamsher

» Act Now!

Take the Joe Lieberman Pledge | In America, it's never too early to start preparing for the next election.
Peter Rothberg

» Editor's Cut

Smart Defense | Rep. Barney Frank is leading the charge to end the Pentagon's weapons spending spree. Is anybody listening?
Katrina vanden Heuvel

» And Another Thing

Election Updates --Good News and Not | Details on some ongoing stories
Katha Pollitt