[geeks] Global warming, was Mr Bill?

[Shannon Hendrix]

On Sep 19, 2008, at 21:39 , wa2egp at att.net wrote:

> -
>> I'd be careful there.
>>
>> A lot of scientists are just as bad as economists/finance guys on
>> stuff like this.
>
> How do you know it's "a lot"?

You just have to read their papers, especially the ones with corporate  
logos on them, or do a simple check on who's paying them.

Years ago, it was probably true that most scientists worked  
independent of corporate interests.

The opposite is true today.

>> I've seen scientists thoughtlessly jump on one bandwagon after  
>> another
>> for years.
>
> Not as much as nonscientists.  Most don't do it "thoughtlessly".   
> That's your spin.

No, it isn't a spin, it is an observation.

The ratio between them and others is irrelevant.

>> Doctors do it too, as you can see by the massive fraud and  
>> malpractice
>> in the pharmaceutical industry.
>
> Doctors are not scientists.

Since when were they not scientists?

Not all of them practice science as opposed to applying it, but a  
great many of them do.  Many do both.

Just like physicists, chemists, etc.

>> When I was growing up, the "consensus" among scientists was that I'd
>> see an ice age before I was 40.  One of my professors in college told
>> us about it, and how many of his colleagues got sucked into it  
>> without
>> really doing their own work.  He had himself done work that suggested
>> it could be happening, but avoided the popularity contest that
>> consensus had become back then.
>
> They probably read the article that someone wrote, figured it  
> sounded logical from the data they had before them and accepted the  
> possibility.  Since then, the model got better or the data changed  
> and now it doesn't look likely.  So?  Big deal.  The problem/mistake  
> was corrected.  You have a problem with that?

I'm just pointing out that consensus is meaningless.

>> Global warming, regardless of what caused it or if it exists, is big
>> business and big political power.
>
> So is the lack of global warming.  The oil companies don't want it  
> to be true.  They would financially support scientists who were  
> against it.

Oil companies don't just make oil products.

They are also invested in alternative energy and they fund research on  
global warming, including that which points the finger at them.

I've been to events on global warming, and the oil companies are  
frequently paying a good part of the bill for them.  I've seen several  
that were sponsored by companies like Sunoco and other oil and energy  
companies.

They are paying for a lot off the global warming television spots and  
other media presentations.  Sometimes you can easily tell because  
their logo is on them.


-- 
Shannon Hendrix
shannon at widomaker.com