For progressives, any change is catastrophic. The basis of their argument is that 97% of scientists believe humans influence the climate (probably closer to 100%)
From that nearly meaningless talking point, they conclude that almost all scientists think the climate is about to “collapse.” Propaganda which would make Goebbels blush.
It’s so sad that environmentalism has hitched its wagon to the climate catastrophe star, when other pressing problems could have been effectively addressed.
Like a climate “scientist” could actually design something useful like a bridge….
Bridges in the industrialized world are designed and scrutinized by professional engineers, liability experts, etc, etc. to the point where they rarely fail (in recent times, if properly maintained).
Yes, one did fail up in Minnesota a few years back, turns out it had a latent design flaw that dated from before the widespread use of computers for bridge design. Nobody (including climate scientists) noticed the flaw for several decades.
So you can be AFRAID of every bridge you see, or as the climate “scientist” community desires you can be TERRIFIED of every cloud you see (is that one the “killer” storm Al Bore talked about ???).
Me, I cross the bridges and watch the clouds with very little concern. A climate “scientist” would probably say; “don’t cross the river here, this bridge is no good, and that other one over there looks shaky too, maybe you should try swimming across, that usually works, or just stay on this side, can never be too careful you know, our models SAY……”
Cheers, Kevin
Actually almost all bridges will eventually collapse, the real question is when and why. That the problem with the climate debate it not whether the climate will warm, the real question is when and why. If we fallowed the warmest logic we would never cross any bridge after all it going to collapse.
Or when it will cool and why. Mother Earth will continue doing things its way. We are merely along for the ride.
I think the only appropriate response to this ad is to ask, “Collapse? Really? When? Oh, and would you explain what you mean by ‘Collapse’ exactly?
Collapse? Really? What kind of question is that? All Progressives know since kindergarten what’s a collapsed climate!
It’s not pining for the fjords, it’s passed on. It is no more. It has ceased to be. It’s expired and gone to meet its maker. It is a late climate! It’s a stiff, bereft of life, it rests in peace. If they hadn’t nailed it to the AR5 it’d be pushing up the daisies. It’s rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. It is an ex-climate!
When 97% of the employed toadies say something, I figure it is their paycheck talking.
Now, that’s quite an accomplishment. Equating our climate to a rickety wooden bridge.
Actually it looks to be in fairly good shape. You can tell it was an ad put together by city folk since the country folks would have the same reaction I did.
A similar bridge a half mile from my home is a heck of a lot scarier looking. Maybe I can sell a good picture of it… {:>D
Looks like a former railroad bridge with wood cribbing in place of the rails. Should be able to take a couple hundred tons even when half rotted.
Also, if that auto is a typical ~5′ track width, that is probably not an African bridge (or it’d likely be sized for the ol’ 3’6″ cape gauge). Maybe Russian 5′?
Probably American. I have crossed more than one of those bridges while cave hunting
There was a bridge that looked like that over the Tombigbee river near Pennington. If 97% of ‘scientists’ said that bridge was going to collapse and 3% said it was just fine, I’d ask the engineers to take a look at it before I’d take the word of a ‘scientist’.
cdquarles Good answer.
Hey; rickety bridge, rickety science.
Fear, sacrifice, obedience.
If you can’t get your message across, take it to Broadway! Well, off off Broadway.
http://www.broadwayworld.com/off-off-broadway/article/New-Eco-Drama-EXTREME-WHETHER-to-Run-102-26-at-TNC-20140826#.U_6De2K9KSN
That stupid play is paid for by us taxpayers, too.
I’d retort with: 99.9999% of scientists said continents don’t drift; (at least) one did. Would you use the “consensus” principle in order to gamble with human lives, or some other method?
Hand washing. They went by consensus and people continued to die for a long time there after until it was proven doctors should wash their hands.
Using Progressive Climate Science in reverse…. The weather before 1950 must have been very serine. .. CO2 the driving factor for all weather/temperature was 350ppm. ..
Yet that wasn’t the case… as outlined on here regarding g Hurricane, tornado, and massive drought all occurred when CO2 was at the ‘right’ levels…
Over 90% of Medical authorities worldwide said that peptic ulcers were caused by excess acid and genetic disposition. If it were not for the heroic fight that occurred against ingrained consensus thinking of the Medical establishment, when two two Australian scientists, Robin Warren and Barry J. Marshall, revolutionized the treatment of Peptic ulcers.
Sadly 20 years earlier the originator of the idea lost his livelyhood for going against the consensus as he was a mere Greek pharmacist called John Lykoudis.
Warren and Marshall were awarded the Noble prize, John Lykoudis is consigned to a footnote in history.
http://www.news-medical.net/health/Peptic-Ulcer-History.aspx
97% of scientists say that this bridge is likely to collapse*! PANIC!
*some time prior to the eventual heat-death of the universe in the next few trillion years.
97% of insane people say that they are completely sane. One guy said he’s a mushroom.
And 97% of civil engineers think climate science is crap. Just ask them.
Most engineers after they have had a look think CAGW is crap.
This controls systems engineer is convinced that CAGW is crap.
Sophisticated temperature control systems have been a specialty of mine. And CAGW fails the smell test.
97% of all ‘Experts’ of a small group of radical activists that reject all existing engineering concepts and historically proven design say tear down all existing bridges or…
In the case of the bridge given enough time the bridge will collapse. Historically bridges collapse if not maintained. The thing is that the there is no evidence of climate collapse in the past.
Given the choice of crossing the bridge against the advice of the experts, or fording a 3′ deep crocodile infested river, or a 500 mile detour, I’d probably make up my own mind.
Very simply, I’d get out and inspect the bridge myself, then make my own decision.
Would you believe those experts if they turned out to be climate scientists? They get even climate wrong…
Just for once, JUST FOR ONCE, I would love to see the warmistas back up their “97%” with the data that were used to produce that figure: ~10,000 two-question surveys sent, ~3,100 returned, 79 “climate scientists’ ” answers SELECTED of the surveys returned, 77 of those agreed with the second question (if I remember correctly) that human activity produced CO2 that was causing the world to warm. This is science???
I don’t have the specifics of that survey, but I think that’s close. What insane garbage!!!
The poster is wrong for a second reason. They never say “will”. They hem-haw and say “might”, “could”, “may”, and the error bounds usually exceed the metric of concern.
It would be more accurate to say, “The government has $50bn to spend replacing this bridge, if it’s about to collapse. They asked 100 bridge contractors whether it was going to collapse and 97 said yes.”
Here are your links:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/18/about-that-overwhelming-98-number-of-scientists-consensus/
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/12/10/an-oopsie-in-the-doranzimmerman-97-consensus-claim/
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/18/what-else-did-the-97-of-scientists-say/
The building contractors will never acknowledge that there are already seven bridges to the desired destination, will never acknowledge that the bridge they are fixing goes nowhere, and ignore any evidence to the contrary from top engineers in the field that say the bridge meets or exceeds capacity requirements.
Everyone knows skeptical engineers are in the pocket of “Big Ferry”.