The Great Green Hope

Are dishonest businessmen and Republicans "helping" Al Gore's tedious film become a success? Or is it just the same old Bush hatred that drives Michael Moore's hate-fests. The problem with this global warming stuff is that, when you boil it all down, it's based on computer models predicting conditions 20, 50 and 100 years out--models of one of the most complex systems known to mankind. A dynamic system is one in which every factor that changes can effect every other one. These models can work where the physics are well-understood, as with fluid dynamics and airplanes, but the earth is one of the prime examples of chaos, where the most that can really be predicted is a range of outcomes. This is the source of the famous claim that a butterfly flapping its wings in the northern hemisphere can result in a hurricane later in the southern hemisphere. I doubt that's true, but it illustrates a principle: some things you just can't know in advance.

The global warming scenario is perfect for environmentalists to use for fundraising. I knew that before I read Michael Crichton's book. Imagine. A gas we all breathe out is breathed in by every green plant on the planet is the culprit and, coincidentally, it's created by every form of combustion. As long as people burn anything for energy other than pure hydrogen it threatens the planet! That's a fundraising gold mine.

Al Gore is thought to be one of the brighter lights on the left, but if he really were, he'd be exposing the problems with GW theory instead of preaching on its behalf.