Aliens Cause Global Warming - Michael Crichton (Great Read)

California Institute of Technology ^ | 01 17 08 | Michael Crichton

[Notoriously Conservative]

I saw this was posted once already (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128203/posts), but that was a month ago, so I thought it was worth reposting:

A lecture by Michael Crichton

California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA January 17, 2003

My topic today sounds humorous but unfortunately I am serious. I am going to argue that extraterrestrials lie behind global warming. Or to speak more precisely, I will argue that a belief in extraterrestrials has paved the way, in a progression of steps, to a belief in global warming. Charting this progression of belief will be my task today.

Let me say at once that I have no desire to discourage anyone from believing in either extraterrestrials or global warming. That would be quite impossible to do. Rather, I want to discuss the history of several widely-publicized beliefs and to point to what I consider an emerging crisis in the whole enterprise of sciencenamely the increasingly uneasy relationship between hard science and public policy.

I have a special interest in this because of my own upbringing. I was born in the midst of World War II, and passed my formative years at the height of the Cold War. In school drills, I dutifully crawled under my desk in preparation for a nuclear attack.

It was a time of widespread fear and uncertainty, but even as a child I believed that science represented the best and greatest hope for mankind. Even to a child, the contrast was clear between the world of politics-a world of hate and danger, of irrational beliefs and fears, of mass manipulation and disgraceful blots on human history. In contrast, science held different values-international in scope, forging friendships and working relationships across national boundaries and political systems, encouraging...

[Notoriously Conservative]

Best quote from the lecture: "Let's think back to people in 1900 in, say, New York. If they worried about people in 2000, what would they worry about? Probably: Where would people get enough horses? And what would they do about all the horsesh**? Horse pollution was bad in 1900, think how much worse it would be a century later, with so many more people riding horses?"

[Vaquero]

RIP Michael, I wonder if you weren’t offed by the loonies on the left.

[neodad]

I saw this was posted once already (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128203/posts), but that was a month ago, so I thought it was worth reposting:

Did you run that by the posting police?

[Lurker]

If you read the book "Devil In The White City" you'll find that during the 1893 Worlds Fair in Chicago just such a survey was done.

And the biggest concern was "What will we do with all the horsecrap?"

Fortunately we in Chicago have found somewhere to dump it.

Washington DC.

[Star Traveler]

You’ve got the publish date wrong, at the top, next to the source link. You might want to have that corrected, as you’ve indicated it’s 2008 (when it’s actually 2003).

I know you’ve indicated elsewhere, but this is where people will look for the date of the article being referenced...

[ensignbay]

Crichton’s logic and reason are so refreshing. He sure exposes the unthinking religious-like zealots of the Left on this issue.

I am completely irritated when Republicans buy in to the global warming Marxists crap. Ronald Reagan was a conservationist, but he reasonably and rightly refused to hurt the economy over the environment.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/we-demand-true-conservative-leadership.html

[onedoug]

Caltech bump!

[griswold3]

Who’s gonna fill those shoes?
RIP, Michael.

[Notoriously Conservative]

Oops, you are right. I even looked it up so I could indicate it in the correct place, but I didn’t. Must have been a momentary lapse.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Interesting article.

I find it curious that, historically, most of the “bad science” supports the aims and goals of the globalist socialist agenda.

[Positive]

Ping

[31R1O]

Ha ha! My econ professor shared this with us in class the other day. The topic we were discussing was economic and climate modeling.

[reg45]

and Springfield, Illinois

[Don Carlos]

Bookmark

[Mamzelle]

bump. Crichton, RIP.

[delphirogatio]

I read this about a month ago and found it a lovely read. I so enjoyed Mr. Crichton’s work. I will miss it.

With regard to another freeper’s remark...all the horsecrap is being peddled as “Science” supporting globull warming, methinks.

[kanawa]

For reference, Frank Beckman of WJR in Detroit has compiled a number
of links, including one of Crichton's, into a Global Warming Library

[AggieMom x 3]

Bookmark

[devere]

Almost all of Dr. Crichton’s speeches are worth reading closely. They can be found here:

http://www.michaelcrichton.com/speeches.html

Like George Orwell, Michael Crichton combined a penetrating mind with a disgust for sophisticated mendacity. He understood the truth, and took the time to enlighten the rest of us.

[ReeseBN38416]

That is a fantastic read and this quote is one for the ages:

"Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had.”