Legislatures try to square away Global Warming with … votes

Global Warming

Global Warming, just as with Evolution, alongside Gravity, Wave theory of light and Germ Theory, is a science. And as with any science, it is not open to debate or interpretation, and you cannot “solve it” by voting for or against whether it actually exists. The concrete scientific evidence for man-made global warming/climate change is overwhelming and incontrovertible, supported and strengthened by all sorts of various branches of evidence, and whatever noise Global Warming denialists keep introducing into the “debate” to try and muddy up the waters is routinely and thoroughly debunked, time and time (and time) again.

Naturally, though, good science and facts never inhibit legislators with unscientific and politicized agendas from trying to “settle” issues on their own, as though a scientific theory’s validity could be determined by the results of a vote. This time, they’ve taken their crankery and denialism one step further than usual: the State Legislatures of Utah and South Dakota have passed resolutions that basically take a broadside at actual science and condemn so-called Global Warming “alarmism”, even going so far (in the Utah bill) as to outright dub Global Warming as a “conspiracy” (though this has been sneakily edited out).

The Utah bill is basically a demand to the EPA to pretty much halt any and all of its policies and measures taken to try and limit the amounts of C0₂ being chugged into the air, “until climate data and global warming science are substantiated”. You can smell the stench of corporate ass-licking all the way from the Moon. It includes gems such as these:

WHEREAS, proposed cap and trade legislation before the United States Congress, together with potential state actions to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2), would result in significantly higher energy costs to American consumers, business, and industry;

So: because life would become more expensive, Global Warming must be false.

WHEREAS, global temperatures have been level and declining in some areas over the past 12 years;

False! Global temperatures have been steadily warming, according to records dating back to the late 1800s, with the last decade (2000–2009) being the warmest in recorded history.

WHEREAS, the "hockey stick" global warming assertion has been discredited and climate alarmists' carbon dioxide-related global warming hypothesis is unable to account for the current downturn in global temperatures;

Denialists absolutely love to claim how the “hockey stick”, the sharp sudden rise in atmospheric gas levels and temperatures, is supposedly false. Despite their accusations of such being absolute rubbish: the “hockey stick” is perfectly substantiated and supported by loads of credible, peer-reviewed scientific research.

WHEREAS, emails and other communications between climate researchers around the globe, referred to as "Climategate," indicate a well organized and ongoing effort to manipulate H. [ and incorporate "tricks" related to ] .H global temperature data in order to produce a global warming outcome;

Ah. They just had to bring that patently absurd and ridiculously over-hyped pseudo-scandal up, didn’t they? Which, of course, further refutes any notions that they pay any attention to actual scientists, who have thoroughly debunked the notion(s) that “Climategate” either proved or disproved anything at all.

WHEREAS, according to the World Health Organization, 1.6 billion people do not have adequate food and clean water;

Yes, they actually included this as an “argument” against Global Warming. If anyone ever finds what this has to do with anything, do let me know.

As bad as this travesty of a bill may be, its South Dakotan counterpart takes a different route, one that will ring as both amusingly and unpleasantly familiar to those following the Evolution-vs.-Creationism “controversy”:

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Calling for balanced teaching of global warming in the public schools of South Dakota.

Oh, bugger. As if it wasn’t enough of a struggle to try and keep Creationists from injecting their “Goddidit!” nonsense into public science classrooms, now we have to deal with climate change denialists, too. Wonderful.

The bill includes a few of the arguments from the Utah bill that have already eviscerated, and also a few more falsehoods:

WHEREAS, there is no evidence of atmospheric warming in the troposphere where the majority of warming would be taking place;

*BUZZ* Wrong answer! The troposphere is warming.

WHEREAS, historical climatological data shows without question the earth has gone through trends where the climate was much warmer than in our present age.

The existence of previous patterns does not preclude new irregularities from occurring. Just because the Earth has warmed and cooled in a measurable pattern in the planet’s history does not mean that it could suddenly change, especially with an artificial (human) effect.

WHEREAS, carbon dioxide is not a pollutant but rather a highly beneficial ingredient for all plant life on earth. Many scientists refer to carbon dioxide as "the gas of life";

Seriously? This is the same argument that Prom Queen of Wingnuttia High Michele Bachmann used to herself try and discredit Global Warming. And that is about as bad a reference as can be made. The only reason life hasn’t died off from CO₂ poisoning is because it’s at such low levels in the atmosphere (0.03%). Tell ya what: lock these “scientists” in a room and flood it with this “gas of life”. See how lively they are after, say, five minutes. Most scientists – say, 90% (guesstimating here) – prefer to refer to CO₂ as a greenhouse gas.

WHEREAS, more than 31,000 American scientists collectively signed a petition to President Obama stating: "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, or methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the earth's atmosphere and disruption of the earth's climate. […]"

For the love of fuck. Seriously – argumentum ad populum. Because lots of morons say or think something, therefore, it’s true? Not to mention how this hokum has been thoroughly discredited already.

The bill then concludes with these eye-roll-inducing provisions:

(1) That global warming is a scientific theory rather than a proven fact;

Same. Fucking. Thing.

And, now for my (and everyone’s) favorite bit – drum roll, please …

(2) That there are a variety of climatological, meteorological, astrological, thermological, cosmological, and ecological dynamics that can effect world weather phenomena and that the significance and interrelativity of these factors is largely speculative;

Yes. Seriously. They actually added, of all things, astrology as an argument against Global Warming.

I’ll tell you what, South Dakotan legislators: the day when the position of the stars and the alignment of the planets are shown to produce an effect on the Earth’s climate, I’ll stop thinking you’re a bunch of completely incompetent and scientifically illiterate fools.

I think Phil Plait said it best with this picture …

(via Bad Astronomy)