Posted on 09/27/2013 7:47:01 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Events have failed to fulfill the prophecy. Preachers have suddenly been struck dumb by uncertainty. Believers are understandably nervous and some, under their breath, are abandoning the dogma.
These sentences could have been written at the end of the day on October 22, 1844, about the Millerites, a religious sect started in upstate New York. Preachers had told their followers that Jesus would return to earth that day. He failed to show.
But the subject here is not Millerism, but another kind of religious faith: the faith of the global-warming alarmists. And while it’s not likely to have the impact of the Millerites’ Great Disappointment, we could be seeing the beginning of something similar on September 27, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issues its fifth assessment report in Stockholm.
A preview is provided by science writer Matt Ridley in the Wall Street Journal, who has “had a glimpse of the key prediction at the heart of the document.”
“The big news,” Ridley writes, “is that, for the first time since these reports started coming out in 1990, the new one dials back the alarm. It states that the temperature rise we can expect as a result of man-made emissions of carbon dioxide is lower than the IPCC thought in 2007.”
Ridley admits that the change is small. And he does not deny that increased carbon emissions could increase global temperatures by some significant amount. They would certainly do so if carbon emissions were the only thing affecting climate.
But there may be other things, such as variations in sun activity. “The most plausible explanation of the pause,” Ridley writes, “is simply that climate sensitivity was overestimated in the models because of faulty assumptions about net amplification through water-vapor feedback.”
The pause referred to is the fact that global temperatures haven’t increased over the last 15 years. Global-warming models predicted they would. The models’ failure is not as stark as the Great Disappointment, but it’s a failure nonetheless.
The religious analogy is appropriate because belief in global warming has taken on the trappings of traditional religion. Alarmists like to say the science is settled — which is nonsense, since science is a series of theories that can be tested by observations. When Einstein presented his theory of relativity, he showed how it could be tested during astronomical events in the next decade. The theory passed. Saying the science is settled is like demanding what religions demand — that you have faith.
Religion has ritual. Global-warming alarmism has recycling and Earth Day celebrations. Some religions persecute heretics. Some global-warming alarmists identify “denialists” and liken them to Holocaust deniers. Religions build grand places of worship. Global-warming alarmists promote the construction of windmills and solar farms that uneconomically produce intermittent electricity. Global-warming alarmism even has indulgences like the ones Martin Luther protested. You can buy carbon offsets to gain forgiveness for travel on carbon-emitting private jet aircraft.
Some religions ban vulgar pleasures, as the New England Puritan sumptuary laws did in banning luxuries. Some global-warming alarmists want to force most Americans out of big-lawn suburbs and into high-rise apartments clustered around mass-transit stations. This last element seems to be dominant among many global-warming alarmists. Stop the vulgar masses from living their tacky lifestyles of driving those horrid SUVs. They must be made to repent, conform, and then be saved.
The signs that the threat of global warming has been exaggerated come after the public here and abroad have rejected alarmists’ demands for vast carbon-emission reductions. The European Union’s carbon-reduction program is in shambles, and the United States has actually reduced emissions more, thanks to cheap natural gas produced by fracking. Windmills and solar panels are not economic or dependable sources of electricity. China and India are not going to stifle the economic growth that is lifting millions out of poverty with carbon-emissions caps.
History teaches that climate can change, and it makes sense to fund research to determine how to mitigate possible harms (and capitalize on possible benefits). Unfortunately, most government and nonprofit funding has gone to global-warming alarmists. But apparently even these priests understand that their prophecies have not been fulfilled. Redemption is possible. Some Millerites formed the Seventh-day Adventist church, which has built fine medical schools and hospitals. Global-warming alarmists might consider their example.
— Michael Barone is senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner.
Perhaps we shall put that on their tombstones.
Gore reminds me of one of those kook preachers who go their scriptures, charts, interpretations, and predict the rapture will occur on such and such a day, at such and such hour, according to what time it will be at a given place. Of course there are always adjustments that can be made when it doesn’t happen when it is supposed to. ...Poor Gore should never have depended upon the IPCC as his bible, nor faux science as his god. He should have known that only a measly god would allow an idiot like him to be a prophet.
The Gore’s have been out trying to SAVE THE AGW SHIP from sinking for some time now. They might as well JUMP SHIP NOW. Their argument has gone from SCIENTIFIC CERTAINTY to WE’RE 95% sure, what else could it be.(I believe they have left out one decimal 9.5% is more like it) The AGW POLITICAL SCAM was based on MANIPULATED DATA. It was just a matter of time until these socialist frauds were exposed.
*9.5% is more like it*
I think the certainty (For Them)is more like .00095% to negative 9.5%.
I am 100% certain that it is a hoax to promote Socialism.
*9.5% is more like it*
I think the certainty (For Them)is more like .00095% to negative 9.5%.
I am 100% certain that it is a hoax to promote Socialism.
Warming is continuing and will continue to increase.
Frequency and severity of hurricanes has increased and will continue to increase.
Rainfall will increase.
This is all due to human releases of CO2 from coal, oil and natural gas.
Unless something is done we will reach a tipping point by 2030, after which nothing can be done to stop catastrophe.
Needless to say, every one of his statements about what is happening is false. The last one can't be proven or disproven until 2030. But we all know the Weather Channel folks are shills for AGW. I just hope their weather maps are more accurate than their climate predictions.
Oh good watchamacallit - globull warming is a religon?
I guess this means: Do I have faith in God or in Algore?
for me, the former.
*ping to post #7*
I thought you’d like the cartoon. ;-)
Yep ... a god-less religion.
Ain’t no way I’d be gettin’ into that thing with that guy!
;D
The latest ICC report ignores the last 15 year because it is too short of time, yet they got hysterical over the previous 15 year period. Not exactly consistent.
An excellent point. That is what the global warming lobby was counting on - the legislation of such taxes, and also the enforcement of international treaties such as the Kyoto agreement.
They could then trumpet about how effective they were, and how it all ‘must continue.’
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.