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July 12, 2009
Climate Change Prevented
The G8 last week decreed that the governments of the world were going to work real hard to prevent the global temperature from rising more than 2° C. When King Canute of lore wanted to teach his citizens a lesson, he set his throne by the seashore and commanded the tides to roll out. Canute's spirit was back in business this week at the G-8 summit in Italy, where the assembled leaders declared that the world's temperature shall not rise: "We recognize the scientific view that the increase in global average temperature above pre-industrial levels ought not to exceed 2 degrees [Celsius]," or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, said the summit declaration.Hmm. Pre-industrial levels. Well let us have a look at pre-industrial levels. Fortunately I have a chart.  From the chart we see that the current global temperature is about 12° C and in pre-industrial times it was as high as 22° C. So to rise no more than 2° C above the pre-industrial era all we have to do is keep the global temperatures below 24° C. Since according to the chart global temperatures have never risen above 22° C - problem solved. This is wonderful news. No carbon taxing scheme will be required. Quick - some one tell Congress before Cap and Trade passes. Cross Posted at Power and Control posted by Simon on 07.12.09 at 10:57 AM |
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Carbon taxing or some other means of extending government by citing science arguments is going to proceed. Science does not mandate government action. It is used to justify it.
If scientific opinion shifted and held that man-made CO2 is not a problem nothing would change.
Distinguish between the scientist and the scientific industry and politics. It is very hard to do.
Regardless of what the final evidence will show about Global Warming - and I don't pretend to know - or whether we call it Climate Change instead, scientists will want more money and research.
That is not evil or greed, scientists want to learn and if they are generously funded that makes doing so easier. Call this micro science.
But there is also Big Science to consider. Economists speak of macro and micro economic activity. To grasp why science policy is so fragmented and contentious we need to look at macro science.
Macro science includes huge national laboratories, NASA, the NIH, many universities, and many other agencies. It is hard to find agencies not involved. It is even harder to find any facility that has ever closed or completed its mission.
Perhaps hardest of all would be to find some Representative or Senator who is not determined to direct more science funding, of any type or for any purpose, to his home district or state.
Besides the administrators of those agencies we should also include the government workers who decide what is funded and endlessly look at the results. And we must include the very substantial funding that is provided to industry for specific research related programs.
Big Science or macro science is concerned with ensuring the continuation of Big Science. That may bring a better world, it may be good or bad, but saying it is not so is foolish.
The continuation of a given domain, defending one's turf, in Big Science depends upon political support. The big money must come from Washington. And it comes to those who please Washington.