"Merchants of Doubt"

It's the end of spring break - not much of a break for me as I was sick for most of it - and since I haven't posted since September I thought I might put this one out there.

While I was sick, I finished an excellent book entitled "Merchants of Doubt..." It's about how the same people who for decades tried to cast doubt on the harmful effects of tobacco are using the same tactics to cast doubt on climate change. And these same folks tried the same stuff with acid rain, the thinning of the ozone layer and pesticide use. What's the connection? The author of the book believes these people are "free market fundamentalists" who view any government regulation as bad. Naturally, industry LOVES these folks and does all kinds of under-handed things to support them.

Science is susceptible to their tactics (the same tactics used by creationists) because nothing is ever proven in science. Thus, one can always say that science hasn't PROVEN that humans are behind climate change.

Let's use a little critical thinking folks! Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas; that's simple physics. The concentration of carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere has almost doubled since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The global temperature has risen dramatically in the last 40 years. You figure it out.