A Proud Global Climate Change Denier

I must admit, I am not much of a scientist.  I was a decent science student in high school, but I did not choose to pursue anything in the field of science as my lifetime occupation.  However, I have tried to follow the ongoing debate over climate change, because there are many people out there who are sounding the alarm over the demise of the earth.

Many of the so-called facts that the climate change proponents throw at us daily are not "the whole truth."  They take information out of context and twist it to what they want it to say.  This disturbs me greatly, but unfortunately we live in a society that does not see a problem with this.  Nowhere is this more evident than in 2 separate editorials that I read in the 7/28/10 edition of the Harrisburg Patriot News.  One of these articles is by the Patriot News Editorial Board, and the other was in an opinion piece by Paul Krugman.

The column by the Patriot News Editorial Board basically is telling the reader that "Climategate" is not a scandal.  That even though e-mails were sent by scientists (to each other) talking about manipulating the data, that this does not disprove climate science as we have been told.  We are told that no one tried to mislead the public.  We are told that no one tried to delete information that could hurt the climate change cause.  They then quote a British panel that said "E-mails are rarely definitive evidence of what actually occurred."  So, if I understand this correctly, they were lying in their e-mails so as to create a diversion.  I'm sorry, but this is not a viable explanation.

The column then goes on to say that "there is rigorous and healthy debate about how fast the planet is changing, and indeed a minority of scientists conclude the climate is not warming at all."  They do not say that this is a growing minority who holds to this belief.  But why would they?  That would shoot down their argument.  Also, there is not rigorous and healthy debate.  Anytime that someone challenges them, they call names and take their ball and go home.  They do not debate.

It all boils down to this - The Patriot News says that the answer is transparency.  In other words, let people see what you are doing and all will be OK.  I disagree with this conclusion.  The answer is not in transparency - it is in the facts.  You can only make up information for a certain length of time before people start to understand that you are not telling the truth.

The article by Paul Krugman only sent my blood pressure even higher.  He is a socialist that thinks the President has not done enough to ruin our country.  Our taxes are not high enough, we need more government stimulus, etc.  He says that climate science points to an accelerated rise in global temperatures.  He also states that the "Climategate" scandal is not a scandal at all.  It was a plot by conservatives and big business to undermine climate legislation.  While this is not the case, the legislation will definitely hurt our economy even more than we are hurting now.

According to Krugman, it was greed and cowardice that killed climate change legislation.  According to Krugman, "Look at scientists who question the consensus on climate change; look at the organizations pushing fake scandals; look at the think tanks claiming that any effort to limit emissions would cripple the economy.  Again and again, you'll find that they're on the receiving end of a pipeline of funding that starts with big energy companies, like Exxon Mobil or Koch Industries."  Apparently, we are not to look at who is funding the climate change people, only those who are fighting against them.

He end his article with this tidbit - "Greed, aided by cowardice, has triumphed.  And the whole world will pay the price."  Apparently, Krugman does not understand that people are no longer buying into this pseudo-science.  He believes that government should force us to have something we do not want, something that will destroy the economy of this country.

So, after reading these 2 articles yesterday, I started to think about how to respond to this 'science.'  Why is this issue so important to these people?  Why are they pushing the government to mandate such draconian measures?  What is the end-game?  And how can we stop it?

1. First and foremost, God is in control.  He has created an earth that is extremely durable.  For centuries, even millenia, the earth has withstood natural disasters, such as hurricanes and volcano eruptions (which emit more hazardous substances than man can create) and we are still here.  God created an earth that is capable of sustaining life and 'healing itself.'  To think that mere, mortal man has the ability to wipe out the earth is ludicrous.  We know that the earth will survive, until God destroys it in the tribulation period.  Until then, there is nothing we can do to destroy it.
2. We should take care of our environment.  That does not mean we should mistreat our environment.  After all, we are stewards of the environment.  God gave man dominion over nature.  He did not tell us to surrender to it.
3. Weather is cyclical.  We have hot spells.  We have cold spells.  This was a particularly cold winter in PA.  Now, the summer is warmer than the past several summers.  Why is it so difficult to understand that weather cycles just like everything else?  If you remember, this issue to be about global cooling.  Then they changed their tune to global warming.  Now, it is all about global climate change.  This way, when any change in temperature happens, these buffoons can say that it is a result of climate change.  This fits their template much better.  If you call it global warming, then a cold spell does not fit the template.  So they needed a broader title for their cause.
4. Are we so arrogant to believe that we know what the correct temperature ought to be at all times?  We have only kept records for the last hundred years or so.  What about the centuries before that.  Who kept the records then?  It could very well have been hotter then, and we cooled off for a long time.  Now we are getting back to those levels.  We just don't know.  The climate change people are trying to play God in decreeing that they know what the temperatures ought to be at all times and in all places.

 It all boils down to this - Liberals do not like to be challenged.  They do not like debate.  They do not like a God that is in control.  When you try to debate, they call you names and will not debate on the facts.  So it is imperative that we know where we stand and why we stand there.  There are people leaving the global climate change camp, including scientists who once held to this view.

The government is going to try to use this issue to tax us more and regulate business more.  We cannot let this happen.  It is up to us to go out and vote and elect people who are interested in the truth on this matter, not on the junk science.

LeBron James, ESPN, and Pop Culture

I consider myself to be a sports fan, not just for one particular type of sport, but for many.  I enjoy baseball and football, hockey and golf, NASCAR and soccer.  You name the sport, I will probably watch it.

However, I have a growing disdain for professional basketball.  I enjoy college basketball, because those guys, for the most part, know the fundamentals of the game.  But professional basketball, in my opinion, has gone completely downhill in the last 10-15 years.

Growing up, I was a fan of the L.A. Lakers.  With Magic Johnson leading the Showtime offense, they were just enjoyable to watch.  They had great showdowns will Larry Bird and the Celtics, later with Isaiah Thomas and the Pistons.  It was good basketball, played by people who were good at what they do.

My disdain of pro basketball began when the Charlotte Hornets drafted Kobe Bryant, who then refused to play for them.  Coming out of high school, he thought he was entitled to play for one of the best teams in the history of the sport.  It was at that point I stopped being a Lakers fan.  I jumped on the Spurs bandwagon, because they had David Robinson, a fine player on the court, and fine person off of the court.  But, as the years went on, my overall desire for pro basketball faded away.

I did not care for the players coming out of college and demanding the excessive contracts, even though they had never played a minute in the NBA.  I did not like the style of basketball that was being played.  The NBA turned into glorified street ball.  It was no longer enjoyable to sit down and watch.  And when you add to the fact that Bill Walton was an announcer, it became unwatchable.

The NBA became a 2nd tier sport in the late 90's and early 2000's.  Television ratings diminished.  There were not any marketable players to carry the NBA after the retirement of Michael Jordan.

Then along came LeBron James.  He was going to save the NBA.  And he came out of high school with a bang.  He is tremendously blessed with size and skill that cannot be matched in today's game.  He is an extraordinary player.  The networks love him.  Commentators will never have anything bad to say about him.  Yet, I could care less.  He has done nothing to bring me back to the NBA, even as a casual fan.

Now, Mr. James thinks he is so important and that everyone cares so much about where he is going to play that he has basically demanded that ESPN give him an hour of prime time television on Thursday night to announce to the world which city he will bless with his presence for the next several years.  And ESPN did as he asked.  They will dedicate an hour of prime time TV to LeBron and his announcement.  This is an announcement that he could make in 2-3 minutes, but he is such an egomaniac that he thinks he deserves an entire hour.

Now, I am not convinced that he wants to sign with a team to win a championship, or multiple championships.  It was not that long ago that players wanted to play for winners, teams that had a chance to win a championship.  Some players would even take pay cuts in order to do that.  There were also some players who chose to remain loyal to their teams for an entire career, but free agency has ended that.  LeBron is motivated by money.  He wants to go where he will get a big, fat paycheck and get endorsement deals.  If he wins a championship, that can be a bonus, but I do not believe that the championship is his motivation.

I am not going to watch the spectacle on Thursday.  There are other things that I could be doing at that time, and I am sure I will be able to find something to occupy my time.  The sad thing, there will be many people who will fall into this trap that is LeBron James.  ESPN will probably get good ratings for this 1-hour special.  LeBron will get all the publicity that he desires.  But the world will go on.

This is one of the main problems with our society today.  People care so much about things that just do not matter.  If you polled people on the street or in the mall or anywhere you go, you will find that many do not know the answers to basic questions about our government, about economics, about our nation's history, or about current events.  Why is this?  Because, as a society, we just don't care.

LeBron James will get more coverage in the news over the next several days than issues that are much more important.  Our lives will not be affected by what team LeBron will play for next year, yet issues in the news that will affect us are cast aside for the LeBron circus.   Issues such as nationalized health care, immigration, the oil spill, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are but a few of the issues that are much more important than the NBA, yet they will remain on the back burner.

While I was in college, I had a roommate who tried out for an intramural basketball team, but he did not make the team.  After a day or so of pondering what happened, he came to the conclusion that "In the light of eternity, it just doesn't matter" that he did not make the team.  This is a truth that we all need to come to terms with.  Looking at the years to come, does it matter where LeBron plays basketball?  Will it bring peace to the Middle East?  Will it bring harmony between Democrats and Republicans?  Will it end the oil spill in the Gulf?  Of course, the answers to these questions is no, this decision will have no impact on these other things.  Then why are we choosing to make such a big deal about it?