20 August 2011
John Huntsman Is Smart to Acnowledge Global Warming
The scientific community recognizes that the world's climate had been warming--this cannot be denied by anyone with a smattering of intelligence. Therefore, it is not "crazy" for Huntsman and Romney to accept it as fact. Whether or not human activity is responsible for the current spate of global warming has not been proven. After all, global warming has occurred in the past, long before the industrial revolution. Perhaps the flattulence of the dinosaurs contributed to at least one round of increased greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
And that's the reason we ought to be concerned about possible human contributions to global warming today. The world's climate probably inexplicably changes in cycles anyway. The difference is that what happened eons ago is only of historical and scientific interest to us, but what is happening now is partially under our control. Moreover, we have a lot to lose if we don't take reasonable steps to reduce the consequences of human activity that actually or possibly make global warming worse.
It isn't that human progress is responsible for the destructive effects of global warming; it's just dumb to let global warming happen when we have the power to take measures that could reduce the harm it may do to our standards of living.
The scientific community recognizes that the world's climate had been warming--this cannot be denied by anyone with a smattering of intelligence. Therefore, it is not "crazy" for Huntsman and Romney to accept it as fact. Whether or not human activity is responsible for the current spate of global warming has not been proven. After all, global warming has occurred in the past, long before the industrial revolution. Perhaps the flattulence of the dinosaurs contributed to at least one round of increased greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
And that's the reason we ought to be concerned about possible human contributions to global warming today. The world's climate probably inexplicably changes in cycles anyway. The difference is that what happened eons ago is only of historical and scientific interest to us, but what is happening now is partially under our control. Moreover, we have a lot to lose if we don't take reasonable steps to reduce the consequences of human activity that actually or possibly make global warming worse.
It isn't that human progress is responsible for the destructive effects of global warming; it's just dumb to let global warming happen when we have the power to take measures that could reduce the harm it may do to our standards of living.
05 August 2011
Un-American Majority Action?
The non-profit organization, American Majority Action, appears to be a nativist group, founded by Drew Ryun last year, and affiliated with his brother, Ned’s organization, American Action. The sons of Rep. Jim Ryun (R), the former track athlete, are outspoken defenders of religious right positions, including denial of global warming.
They have been trying to enable conservative citizens to organize in opposition to “Voter Fraud” by unqualified participants in local, state, and federal elections. They have created an app for smart phones that allows citizens to record instances of such violations at polling places and to post their accounts online as part of an action committee effort to map those occurrences across the country. This is ingenious, but it smacks of xenophobia.
AMA has also begun to take on T. Boone Pickens by enlisting private citizen opposition to HR 1380 that would tax-favor the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel. This doesn’t appear to be totally consistent with their fear of non-American domination of our political system; after all, one of Pickens’ arguments in favor of increased reliance on natural gas is how it would reduce our dependence on imported oil.
Nothing is more American than resentment of the use of private funds to influence the Congress to adopt a measure that would favor the commercial interests of that lobbyist. There is nothing more American, however, than such a use of private funds.
The non-profit organization, American Majority Action, appears to be a nativist group, founded by Drew Ryun last year, and affiliated with his brother, Ned’s organization, American Action. The sons of Rep. Jim Ryun (R), the former track athlete, are outspoken defenders of religious right positions, including denial of global warming.
They have been trying to enable conservative citizens to organize in opposition to “Voter Fraud” by unqualified participants in local, state, and federal elections. They have created an app for smart phones that allows citizens to record instances of such violations at polling places and to post their accounts online as part of an action committee effort to map those occurrences across the country. This is ingenious, but it smacks of xenophobia.
AMA has also begun to take on T. Boone Pickens by enlisting private citizen opposition to HR 1380 that would tax-favor the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel. This doesn’t appear to be totally consistent with their fear of non-American domination of our political system; after all, one of Pickens’ arguments in favor of increased reliance on natural gas is how it would reduce our dependence on imported oil.
Nothing is more American than resentment of the use of private funds to influence the Congress to adopt a measure that would favor the commercial interests of that lobbyist. There is nothing more American, however, than such a use of private funds.
