America's ruling party is pursuing a strategy of denial and deception: "Before last year's elections Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster, wrote a remarkable memo about how to neutralize public perceptions that the party was anti-environmental. Here's what it said about global warming: 'The scientific debate is closing [against us] but is not yet closed. There is still an opportunity to challenge the science.' And it advised Republicans to play up the appearance of scientific uncertainty.
But as a recent article in Salon reminds us, this appearance of uncertainty is 'manufactured.' Very few independent experts now dispute that manmade global warming is happening, and represents a serious threat. Almost all the skeptics are directly or indirectly on the payroll of the oil, coal and auto industries. And before you accuse me of a conspiracy theory, listen to what the other side says. Here's Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma: 'Could it be that manmade global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people? It sure sounds like it.'
The point is that when it comes to evidence of danger from emissions ? as opposed to, say, Iraqi nukes ? the people now running our country won't take yes for an answer. "
- posted by geoff @ #