It is an amazing evolution. First they say that no global warming exists, that the issue must be ignored. Then they ridicule concerns about global warming. Then they fight the science with all political and industrial means. Then they say that global warming exists, but it is not human fault. Then they say our civilization does warm the planet, but now the warming is so strong that we can’t do anything against. Guess what they say now?

You know Mr Patrick Michaels, the Professor Climatologist of the Cato Institute, right? Together with Bjorn Lomborg and MIT’s Richard Lindzen, he is one of the most influential climate change skeptics.

Two months ago, the next day after Katrina hit New Orleans, Patrick Michaels said this:

Even if you gonna warm up the planet – and we are, and I wish I could say we can stop it, but we can’t…

Two highest category hurricanes in two months later, the conservative NRO website has an article discussing feasibility of controlling hurricanes. They asked Michaels for a judgment as well. (Emphasis mine)

Nonetheless, Michaels, a Cato Institute senior fellow and self-described applied climatologist, welcomes further research and discussion. “A severe hurricane is a political event,” he observes. “In the 21st Century, we are going to develop the technology to give us the climate and the overall global temperature that we want. Anybody who has thought about this is aware of this because of the nature of greenhouse gases and biotechnology. If that’s the future, and I believe it is, is it not legitimate to ask if we should be able to modify tropical cyclones slightly? Could we actually develop that technology? It’s time to get that debate into polite company.”

No kidding. From “we can’t do anything” to “we can do anything we want” in two blinks. “Anybody who has thought about this” knows, Michaels realized last week. “It’s time to debate“, global warming as well?! Could we really develop that climate technology, or not quite that easily? Or perhaps genuine respect for Mother Nature is the best technology we can have?

P.S. Kudos to Mahatma Gandhi’s quote: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.“

P.P.S. Crossposted at European Tribune and DailyKos.

0 0 votes
Article Rating