Everyone: Cool it!

I read this interesting article the other day: Thatcher economist de-hypes climate debate

"There is no greater threat to the people of this planet than the retreat from reason we see all around us today."

I, personally, want to poke out my eyes when I read this article - but only because the author has a thesaurus stuck up his ass. What in the hell do ambit and adjure mean? But I do think he captures the subject of his article well. Nigel Lawson's article, The Economics and Politics of Climate Change: An Appeal to Reason is slightly longer at 18 pages, but well worth the read.

Several of his points (he makes others - it is well worth the read):

• the science on climate change is not conclusive
• the debate about climate change is being actively stifled
• the assertion that global warming is all bad is unfounded

I've noticed in all of my interactions with people who feel passionately about global warming that the discussion has taken on the same tone as an abortion debate: emotion rules over reason. Articles that talk about some "effect of global warming" only mention one side of the story. For example: Greenland's Ice Cap is Melting at a Frighteningly Fast Rate only briefly mentions that Antartica's ice sheet is thickening, doesn't mention that melting ice is only a secondary cause of rising sea levels, and throws out a scare about the Gulf Stream disappearing -- an idea that is controversial.

What we need is more nuanced information - The Greenland Ice is interesting - which might actually allow us to think about this. Clearly the extremist argument isn't working - not for the leaders of our nation, and not for the people who continue to buy SUVs.

It's time to sit back, think about things rationally, and cool it.