Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Jim Hanson: Whether Hot or Cold, it is Always a Crisis!

Remember the Coming Ice Age of the early 1970's? It was the basis for the first Earth Day. The ever-dastardly fossil fuels were the purported culprit, spewing particulate into the air causing the cooling.

At least that's what was espoused by NASA and Columbia University scientist S.I. Rasool back in 1971 as reported by the Washington Post. According to their dire predictions, continued use of fossil fuels was going to lead to a dramatic 6 degree decline in global temperatures, ushering in the next Ice Age.

Dr. Rasool's projections were supported by a computer program model created by a young research associate at Columbia by the name of Dr. James Hanson.

Go figure.

A couple of obersvations: First, isn't it interesting that the evil culprit for every environmental calamity is always the same thing, fossil fuels? It's even more amazing when the pending catastrophes are complete and total opposites!

Second, in the course of a couple of decades Hanson swung from cataclysmic global cooling to cataclysmic global warming!

And we're supposed to believe anything this man spews?

For a good analysis of the accuracy (or lack thereof) of his dire predictions on warming, read Anthony Watts' review of his 1988 projections compared to temperature reality.

He's a complete and total embarrassment to NASA and the entire scientific community. Only a U.S. Congress with a 18% approval rating would even consider hosting him for a hearing on climate change.

3 comments:

Paul Zannucci said...

You could make the argument, though I won't to avoid annoying my fundamentalist friends, that man's blaming himself for climate began with all the tribal stories, such as Noah's flood, and continued on down through offering human sacrifices to please the gods in order to get rain, and finally to make massive economic sacrifices to please Mother Gaia who has decided she suddenly doesn't like carbon after all.

Lost Conservative said...

Or you could argue it's just the same old socialist agenda to steal from the rich and give to the poor while skimming a small "handling fee" for themselves!

Paul Zannucci said...

Here, I wrote an article just for you...

http://americansentinel.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/years-of-explosive-searing-hot-volcanoes-below-the-arctic-have-nothing-to-do-with-melting-ice-over-the-north-pole/