Saturday, October 24, 2009

Jesus!, is that an alligator coming out of the sewer?!


Spencer: AGW has all the characteristics of an “urban legend”

24 10 2009
An Expensive Urban Legend
by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.

http://www.vaguebuttrue.com/images/1251394834-alligator%20and%20sewerWEBSITE.jpg

Urban legend? Gators don't really live in the sewer.

About.com describes an “urban legend” as an apocryphal (of questionable authenticity), secondhand story, told as true and just plausible enough to be believed, about some horrific…series of events….it’s likely to be framed as a cautionary tale. Whether factual or not, an urban legend is meant to be believed. In lieu of evidence, however, the teller of an urban legend is apt to rely on skillful storytelling and reference to putatively trustworthy sources.

I contend that the belief in human-caused global warming as a dangerous event, either now or in the future, has most of the characteristics of an urban legend. Like other urban legends, it is based upon an element of truth. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas whose concentration in the atmosphere is increasing, and since greenhouse gases warm the lower atmosphere, more CO2 can be expected, at least theoretically, to result in some level of warming.

But skillful storytelling has elevated the danger from a theoretical one to one of near-certainty. The actual scientific basis for the plausible hypothesis that humans could be responsible for most recent warming is contained in the cautious scientific language of many scientific papers. Unfortunately, most of the uncertainties and caveats are then minimized with artfully designed prose contained in the Summary for Policymakers (SP) portion of the report of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This Summary was clearly meant to instill maximum alarm from a minimum amount of direct evidence.

The full article here

Posted via email from Garth's posterous

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Normally when things are in the shade, they don't have the sun on their back. Shiney crock in the shade of a tree in the inner city?

Nah.

thethe said...

vous pouvez regarder ici dolabuy louis vuitton top article meilleurs sacs de répliques cliquez sur ce site Dolabuy YSL

seneeh said...

read this best replica bags online 2018 Get More Info zeal replica bags reviews important site replica bags vancouver

Unknown said...

louis vuitton replica bags neverfull visit k5i01t1y33 replica bags in china replica bags pakistan navigate to these guys w3c85x6y26 replica bags vuitton look at these guys z9y63i2z35 replica louis vuitton bag replica bags china