What can only be called a fundamentalist wing has developed within the global warming movement. One attribute of fundamentalism is a focus—and for some, an hysterical obsession—with end-of-the-world fear mongering, as in the warning just issued by “Nobel Laureates” that the dangers of climate change are as dire as those of a nuclear war between the Soviet and the United States. From the St. James Palace Memorandum issued at the St. James’ Nobel Laureate Symposium, May 26-28, 2009:
The solutions to the extraordinary environmental, economic and human crises of this century will not be found in the political arena alone. Stimulated by the manifesto of Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein, the first Pugwash gathering of 1957 united scientists of all political persuasions to discuss the threat posed to civilization by the advent of thermonuclear weapons. Global climate change represents a threat of similar proportions, and should be addressed in a similar manner.
Really? A nuclear war could literally have destroyed all but the most rudimentary life on the planet. The earth has been much warmer before than now, and life thrived.
The theme of the document is “the fierce urgency of now,” so every time the word “now” appears, it is underlined, as in:
We must recognize the fierce urgency of now...A zero carbon economy is an ultimate necessity and must be seriously explored now...A long-term commitment under the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is now urgently required.
Since hysteria is the watchword of the day, why didn’t they just write the whole thing in capital letters?
This isn’t science, it is ideology, scientism run amok, that undermines science. Not surprisingly, the shebang was hosted by Prince Charles—long live the queen! (Was Al Gore part of the preparation of this screed? It sure emits his sweaty pheromones.) No wonder an increasing number of people are growing more skeptical of the threat and proposed solution to the “crisis.”
