The Cost of Global Warming
Some of you, like me, may recall growing up and seeing David Bellamy on nature TV shows. He is a renowned botanist and environmentalist that has written numerous books and hosted hundreds of television shows. Ever wonder what happened to him? Well, it seems that he has been blacklisted because he does not believe in global warming.
“According to official data, in every year since 1998, world temperatures have been getting colder, and in 2002 Arctic ice actually increased. Why, then, do we not hear about that? The sad fact is that since I said I didn’t believe human beings caused global warming, I’ve not been allowed to make a television program.”
Science is about sharing dissenting opinions and theories and putting them to the test. This is what transforms theories into scientific fact. When politics, media, and popular opinion are allowed to stand in the way and influence the scientific method, real science suffers. As Bellamy says in regards to the global warming theory: “The science has, quite simply, gone awry.”
It’s good to see some scientists making a stand despite the blacklisting. The more the global warming hype is allowed to continue unchecked, the more real environmental issues are allowed to fall by the wayside.
“The thing that annoys me most is that there are genuine environmental problems that desperately require attention. I’m still an environmentalist, I’m still a Green and I’m still campaigning to stop the destruction of the biodiversity of the world. But money will be wasted on trying to solve this global warming “problem” that I would much rather was used for looking after the people of the world.”
We need more David Bellamys in this world….a lot more. This guy has nailed it right on the head when he refers to the media, popular opinion, and what the “in” problem is right now. This story only further confirms my belief that the media needs to be checked and balanced a hell of a lot more than it has been. Politics and media have already proven to be a disastrous partnership (not because who was elected, but how the president elect was treated) in that the real truth of a matter are not being reported. Instead the media (newspapers, editorials, magazines, TV) are choosing to only report to you and show you what will further support a view “they” support. How sad that someone of such high morals and passion for the environment is being kept off of TV. Why can we not hear or know about all angles of a topic? Why? Because that would let us make informed decisions on something that we as a people could support or not support as far as legislation. In this very sense, the media has successfully over the years created a society of people that are what I like to call “mushrooms”. We are kept in the dark and fed crap. What’s worse is the opportunities for those of us who have differing opinions to communicate and air those opinions are few and far between these days. Why? Because it’s clear that it’s not okay in America to have a different opinion from the “majority” (I use that term loosely). Where did the freedom of speech go? I wish I knew. Check out a past blog post on this topic.