Thanks Real Climate

I didn't yet know, when postin' the Center for American Progress comic, that my conservative pal, George Will, seems to have fallen off his logic horse in order to post this interesting equivocation about Global Climate Change.

By George F. Will
Sunday, April 2, 2006; Page B07

So, "the debate is over." Time magazine says so. Last week's cover story exhorted readers to "Be Worried. Be Very Worried," and ABC News concurred in several stories. So did Montana's governor, speaking on ABC. And there was polling about global warming, gathered by Time and ABC in collaboration.

Eighty-five percent of Americans say warming is probably happening, and 62 percent say it threatens them personally. The National Academy of Sciences says the rise in the Earth's surface temperature has been about one degree Fahrenheit in the past century. Did 85 percent of Americans notice? Of course not. They got their anxiety from journalism calculated to produce it. Never mind that one degree might be the margin of error when measuring the planet's temperature. To take a person's temperature, you put a thermometer in an orifice or under an arm. Taking the temperature of our churning planet, with its tectonic plates sliding around over a molten core, involves limited precision.

Why have Americans been dilatory about becoming as worried -- as very worried -- as Time and ABC think proper? An article on ABC's Web site wonders ominously, "Was Confusion Over Global Warming a Con Job?"

To be fair, Will is making an excellent observation on how much, and how readily, our populace takes its cues from the Media. Whether the weather is taking a turn for the This is the End worse, or we can merely look forward to a little bit warmer winters for a few years, (lol! don't I be wishin'!!) the Media is the conduit for information on scientific findings, and that info is "conducted" in whatever way the media directors choose. Regardless of content, they'll generally do what they think will attract the most viewers.

The personal attitudes and understandings of the average person are considered the Media Demand. Thus the Media will supply what it thinks the "average person" wants, almost regardless of what is important to our survival. Almost without ...

I'm glad I linked to Real Climate, because their top post (when I first checked) pertains directly to Will's discussion on the topic the REALITY of Global Climate Change; not just Global Warming. The tone of at least some of the comments on this post mirror my own reaction to Will's commentary fairly well. I recommend as Will's post could be indicative of some backlash against the recent compelling tonnage of evidence showing our world is warming to dangerous levels.

And for info on what Canada's government is doing vis-a-vie our world's climate:

Together, we can do it.

The Kyoto commitment for Canada is one of the greatest and most ambitious in the world. The Government of Canada presents to all Canadians Moving Forward on Climate Change: A Plan for Honouring our Kyoto Commitment.

America is not Canada, no matter how closely interwined our interests are in this part of the planet. It just seems to me that with a bit of education, it starts to become apparent how a single degree warmer - or cooler - per year at the poles is an immediately undesirable development, no matter on which part of the planet you live.

And that's true no matter how the Media spins it.