Real Clear Politics is Real Fuzzy on Climate
In the article Global Warming is So Yesterday, Thomas Lifson misunderstands not only climate science, but also this past weekend’s Live Earth concert.
Lifson botches his introductory hook by demonstrating his climate clueless factor. Lifson accuses alarmists of citing cold weather for the Johannesburg Live Earth concert’s low turnout, which seems to me like a rational reason to not attend an outdoor concert. But then Lifson turns around and cites the cold weather as a negation of global warming, which is way off mark. Cold weather still happens in a warming climate (just less frequently), and Lifson’s accusations are tangled.
Should any educated reader continue, Lifson goes on to bash the Live Earth concert turnout, but again, he misses the mark.
The concerts were about raising awareness and uniting people across the world on the global warming issue via modern day telecommunication, which is why breaks in the U.S. concert were filled with footage from the UK or Rio concerts. For organizers, the turnout wasn’t just about who could physically attend the concerts but who could tune in worldwide (with less of a carbon footprint at that). MSN reported over 9 million online streams not even halfway through the U.S. concert. By those accounts, the concerts met their expectations.
In a sense, global warming is so yesterday because emissions started long ago, and for years we have denied its influence on our ecosystem. But by every other account, global warming is our future, and so is online mobilization.
