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Sound and Fury: The Science and Politics of Global Warming
The author, an environmental specialist, states his reasons why those scientists who forecast doom and gloom caused by melting snow are wrong
- GenresScience
196 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 1992
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July 26, 2024
A FAMOUS CRITIQUE OF THE "POPULAR VISION" OF GLOBAL WARMING
Author Patrick Michaels wrote in the Preface to this 1992 Cato Institute book, "This volume grew out of a series of lectures that are part of a class I offer on science, politics and the environment. Year after year, the material presented here engenders the same question after approximately 15 lectures, 'If the data-driven argument against environmental apocalypse from global warming seems so compelling and convincing, why have so few people heard it?' I don't know."
He cautions that "any attempt to reduce emissions of those (greenhouse) gases by 60 to 80 percent would dramatically affect our entire culture... the prevention of global warming becomes by far the greatest centrally planned social engineering experiment in history." (Pg. 23) He asserts that Global Climate Models (GCMs) "project considerable differences in behavior between and within hemispheres. If the apocalyptic vision of global warming is to be verified, the earth must warm up in a fashion that is consistent with apocalyptic models. A mere change in the mean annual temperature of the planet... says nothing about that prospect." (Pg. 49)
He asks, "'What is causing the warming?' Answer: no one knows, because the warming shows up on only one of the two northern oceans... 'If the warming is caused by an enhanced greenhouse effect, why is it buried?' Answer: no one knows, but an answer in the affirmative along with a plausible mechanism would probably revolutionize our understanding of the problem." (Pg. 86-87) Later, he admits, "We cannot deny that greenhouse gases have increased dramatically on a global scale... and yet there seems to be scant evidence of any warming that is consistent with the Popular Vision." (Pg. 97)
He summarizes, "The greenhouse effect is real, but its expression at the surface of the planet ... seems to be muted in the Northern Hemisphere... and is perhaps transformed into a benign or beneficial alteration of the atmosphere by the same industrial activity that enhanced it in the first place." (Pg. 129) He concludes caustically, "Now we have three competing environmental apocalypses: global warming, ozone depletion, and acid rain... The interactions in the pollution system are quite obvious but are never factored into policy decisions." (Pg. 167)
Although more than 30 years old, this book is still an excellent summation of the case AGAINST global warming.
Author Patrick Michaels wrote in the Preface to this 1992 Cato Institute book, "This volume grew out of a series of lectures that are part of a class I offer on science, politics and the environment. Year after year, the material presented here engenders the same question after approximately 15 lectures, 'If the data-driven argument against environmental apocalypse from global warming seems so compelling and convincing, why have so few people heard it?' I don't know."
He cautions that "any attempt to reduce emissions of those (greenhouse) gases by 60 to 80 percent would dramatically affect our entire culture... the prevention of global warming becomes by far the greatest centrally planned social engineering experiment in history." (Pg. 23) He asserts that Global Climate Models (GCMs) "project considerable differences in behavior between and within hemispheres. If the apocalyptic vision of global warming is to be verified, the earth must warm up in a fashion that is consistent with apocalyptic models. A mere change in the mean annual temperature of the planet... says nothing about that prospect." (Pg. 49)
He asks, "'What is causing the warming?' Answer: no one knows, because the warming shows up on only one of the two northern oceans... 'If the warming is caused by an enhanced greenhouse effect, why is it buried?' Answer: no one knows, but an answer in the affirmative along with a plausible mechanism would probably revolutionize our understanding of the problem." (Pg. 86-87) Later, he admits, "We cannot deny that greenhouse gases have increased dramatically on a global scale... and yet there seems to be scant evidence of any warming that is consistent with the Popular Vision." (Pg. 97)
He summarizes, "The greenhouse effect is real, but its expression at the surface of the planet ... seems to be muted in the Northern Hemisphere... and is perhaps transformed into a benign or beneficial alteration of the atmosphere by the same industrial activity that enhanced it in the first place." (Pg. 129) He concludes caustically, "Now we have three competing environmental apocalypses: global warming, ozone depletion, and acid rain... The interactions in the pollution system are quite obvious but are never factored into policy decisions." (Pg. 167)
Although more than 30 years old, this book is still an excellent summation of the case AGAINST global warming.
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