The Perfect Political Bludgeon
I am often asked, "why, if the threat of global warming is really so overstated, does the issue have such legs with politicians, media, and activists?"
Answer: Because it is the perfect political bludgeon. One of the reasons I felt like high school debate really was broken (I don't know if it has been fixed since) was because every single debate eventually devolved into which side was more likely to cause a nuclear war. It didn't matter if you were arguing about energy policy or the presidential primary system, no good debate case stopped short of blaming the other side for nuclear war.
Today, with nuclear weapons mostly forgotten (unfortunately not gone), global warming is the new nuclear war. It doesn't matter what you are arguing about:
There was Clare Short, a member of the British Parliament and Secretary
for International Development under Prime Minister Tony Blair until she
resigned in 2003 over the Iraq war. Claiming that Israel is actually
"much worse than the original apartheid state" and accusing it of
"killing (Palestinian) political leaders," Ms. Short charged the Jewish
state with the ultimate crime: Israel "undermines the international
community's reaction to global warming." According to Ms. Short, the
Middle East conflict distracts the world from the real problem:
man-made climate change. If extreme weather will lead to the "end of
the human race," as Ms. Short warned it could, add this to the list of
the crimes of Israel.
CRC:
I say it is a control play (as is the health care "crisis").
Think about it.
Between nationalizing health care and defining carbon emission as a threat to the entire world, name one thing that couldn't be rationalized for control by our health and environmental overlords in the name of reducing health care costs and/or carbon emissions.
Almost any activity can be shown to have a (direct or indirect) "carbon footprint" and almost every activity can be shown to have an impact on health care costs and thus can be rationalized as subject to control because (assuming health care gets nationalized) the government is paying for it or it must control how your actions are threatening the entire world.
September 4, 2007, 7:57 pmZach:
Come to East Kansas. We coaches, assistant coaches, and mommy/daddy judges don't put up with stupid ass nuclear war disads.
I think we're the odd one out though.
September 5, 2007, 8:25 amAnonymous:
Ms. Short has some serious problems. She should visit Yad Vashem and meet with people with similar views in their photos - of how Jews cause the worlds problems. All 12 Million of us in the world and Israel the size of New Jersey is running the world agenda and no one else has self control to decide priorities? Amazing how the old stereotypes of the Holocaust get regenerated over and over. Good thing she resigned - leadership filled with hate like that and false propoganda (toward anyone), no one needs.
What does this quote have to do with global warming as a real threat vs. as a new topic to pin all attention onto?
March 8, 2008, 2:22 pm