Foolish Fears / The Big Lie coming up on 20/20 with John Stossel

ABC TV - 20/20 ^ | Dec. 10, 2004 | Michael Crighton with John Stossel

[Eva]

The WSJ reviewed this book today and I just bought it for my brother for Christmas at Costco. It sounds great. It's amazing how the mainstream media ignores the books that don't fit their agenda. I hadn't heard anything about this book, nor about the new DeMille book that is based on the TWA 800 story.

[TomB]

bump

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

"My view of this is that the media is like the guy going down the street with a sign that says 'The End of the World is Near,' and he picks a date and the day comes and goes, and the world doesn't end. So he doesn't stop with the sign. He goes home, makes another sign, puts a new date on it, and starts marching again. That's the way the media is," Crichton said.

He argues that researchers who study global warming often exaggerate the problem in order to get grants, often using celebrities to promote their cause.

Why Broadcast Journalism is
Unnecessary and Illegitimate

[E.G.C.]

Media bias bump.

[mamapajamas]

re:"It would probably be more accurate to state that


"A Grand concensus among scientists, who receive their salaries from organizations funded by Global Warming grants, agree that global warming is a real danger.""

Bingo! I think you've hit the nail on the head. After all, how many world governments would fund a project set up to discover that "maybe nothing's wrong"? They have to keep the crisis alive, or they lose their income.

[delacoert]

And thanks for the stimulating round of "I-know-something-you-don't-neener-neener-neener". It's not often I get to stoop to the level of a teenager.

Glad to be of service.

[Playdoh7]

Actually, even Crighton admits that Global Warming is a real phenomenon. He just points out that in his view there is no hard proof that it is not a natural phenomenon. Most of the research conducted in this area is necessary if we are going to understand future environmental trends on the planet. Considering the huge number of environmental changes that have occurred in the recent past it would be foolish to not research this area. Most evidence points that past Ice ages and world wide heat waves occurred very quickly (in a matter of just a few years or months). One thing is certain the earths climate changes continually over time, and research into that change will be the only thing that saves all of mankind when the next big change occurs (whether it be in 15,000 years or in 2006).
I'm sure Mr. Crighton's latest work of fiction is a fun ride as I have enjoyed most of his other books, and I can't wait to read it. The point of the book from the excerpt I've read seems to be that he finds Scientific claims of man made global warming to be flawed, and that he blames Pseudoscience for creating hysteria which can lead to environmental extremist movements and left wing terrorism. My two issues with this line of reasoning is that as Mr. Crighton has been a leading champion of biogenetics, quantum physics, string theory, and nanotechnology he has embraced many ideas which had previously been considered pseudoscience. One would think from his work that he supports the idea of pure research. Indeed in his last book "Prey" he took the position that it was necessary to allow science to freely explore such area because no one can never predict what benefits will be derived from any research. One is just as likely to find the cure for cancer by studying bat guano as they are by studying embryonic cells. My second objection is that the danger to the future of our society is from extremists and extremism not what they choose to be extreme about. Someone is just as likely to blow up a building because they are a right-wing militia-loving gun nut as if they were a left-wing tree hugging environut. The danger we face is by not making efforts through education to have civil discourse on the real issues of our time, and instead getting our information from entertainment driven media such as the latest Michael Crighton book or pseudo-news programs such as Crossfire, Rush Limbaugh, Al Franken, and Hannity and Combs. Talk about creating extremists!

[LanPB01]

Potential troll alert.

[Ditto]

We hope Michael Crichton fans enjoy his new science-fiction thriller, while keeping in mind there is a very strong consensus among the vast majority of climate scientists that global warming is under way and human activity is a primary cause.

This is simply NOT TRUE. If there is any consensus, it is the opposite. The fact is, climate scientists do not even agree that there is warming and the majority reject the concept that warming could be caused by human activity. See the Oregon Petition