7/27/2019 Environment Fraud Issues - Flawed reasoning and junk science in ideology of climate-change denial

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Flawed reasoning and junk science in ideology of climate-

change denial

The prospect of writer Frank Gue (Climate-change skeptics responsible scientists,

June 22) and his select group of "responsible climate-change skeptics" rolling the dice

on Mother Earth is not a reassuring thought. He decries the term "climate change

denier", but he presents as a devoted disciple of the denier industry.

Gue states that, "No one has proven that this (global climate) change is man-made." I

would suggest the correct statement is "No one has proven that climate change is not

man-made." The deniers certainly have not proven it. In fact, the deniers never prove

anything, because they cannot. They exhibit wilful blindness or, in scientific parlance,

"observational selection." It is impossible to study even a small cross-section of the

research available on global climate change by qualified and credible multidisciplinary

researchers and organizations and then to honestly deny there is a serious problem

looming on our very doorstep.

It is flawed reasoning some might say junk science to point to the injection of

higher levels of CO2 into greenhouses, so-called "CO2 fertilization", as proof that the

global climate needs more CO2. Gue neglects to mention that in the controlled

greenhouse microclimate, ideal air temperature for most food crops is in the range of

25C; over 30C is considered the danger range. How does a brave new world of global

CO2 "enrichment" and resultant global warming deal with this inconvenient fact?

Ironically, Gue mentions that, during the Renaissance, belief prevailed in a "flat

earth", from which we were rescued by his heroic skeptical forebears. Does he not

know that is a hoary myth? The spherical nature of the earth was known as early asthe 6th century BC. The "flat earth" inquisitors who supposedly confronted

Christopher Columbus were part of a fiction written by Washington Irving in 1828. It

never happened. Does anyone imagine that Columbus would have been provided with

buckets of cash to purchase boats and supplies just to have them sail over the edge of

the earth?

Several climate-change deniers first gained prominence, or notoriety, as tobacco

industry "experts" who denied health problems from second-hand smoke. When that

source of income dried up, they reinvented themselves as climate-change deniers to

serve a new master the oil industry. It is a good fit, because Big Oil uses the same

tactics developed and refined by Big Tobacco. Their modus operandi is to sow doubt,confusion and fear among the public by defaming credible science. They rely on

strident attacks, misinformation and downright lies to promote their anti-climate

change message. They are especially inclined to take negative consequences and

recast them as positives: Accelerated release of CO2 into the environment? Global

temperature rise? Increased ocean acidity from CO2? Relax, it's all good. We need

more of the same.

http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/3917794-flawed-reasoning-and-junk-science-in-ideology-of-climate-change-denial/http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/3917794-flawed-reasoning-and-junk-science-in-ideology-of-climate-change-denial/http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/3917794-flawed-reasoning-and-junk-science-in-ideology-of-climate-change-denial/http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/3917794-flawed-reasoning-and-junk-science-in-ideology-of-climate-change-denial/

7/27/2019 Environment Fraud Issues - Flawed reasoning and junk science in ideology of climate-change denial

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Research scientists excel at investigation, but they are not always effective at

expressing their message to the public. Climate change deniers, while earning failing

grades on science, are very good at public relations. They target the public and, when

they make sufficient inroads, legislators in the provincial/state and federalgovernments are more receptive to the overtures of lobbyists for the resource

extraction industries.

When scientists present their findings to the public, they frequently append the

comment, "More research is needed." This is not a make-work pitch for scientists; it is

part of the scientific mindset that there always is more to be learned. Deniers

capitalize on this by presenting their propaganda as unequivocal black and white;

no shades of grey. This resonates with many ordinary citizens who prefer to hear

certainty from perceived "voices of authority". A forceful message presented with great

conviction by someone bearing the honorific "Doctor" or "Professor" receives greater

uncritical public acceptance than less media savvy scientists who comment that morequestions remain to be answered.

Gue urges us to search the Internet using phrases such as "climate change fraud

(hoax)". Well, if you search "ideology of climate-change deniers" you will get a lot more

hits, and from a wider variety of sources.

The effects of elevated levels of CO2 have been studied in key field crops that feed 75

per cent of the world population either directly, or indirectly as meat: wheat, rice, corn

and soybeans. The subject is extremely complex but, in the most general terms, rice

and soybeans saw some increase in yields, but wheat and corn did not. In the case of

wheat, the increase in yield (3 per cent) was offset by the increased temperature. Cornuses a different type of photosynthesis that is much less sensitive to increased CO2.

Not surprisingly, more research is needed.

Monsanto, a prominent agricultural biotechnology multinational, has invested heavily

in developing corn and soybean strains that can tolerate higher temperatures. I

wonder what Monsanto knows that climate change deniers cannot grasp?

Bob Gaunt is a retired mechanical engineer. He lives in Hagersville.

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