In a recent column in ”’Hawaii Reporter”’ entitled “Global Warming Orthodoxy” columnist Don Newman once again slams into scientific consensus regarding global warming. Here, I offer several points showing that his concerns are either unfounded or ill-founded.
Mr. Newman’s main thesis is this: the sole reason climatologists support the notion of global warming is to gain research grants! In his view, advocating an “alarmist scenario” is the surest way to keep taxpayer dollars flowing toward their research. This opinion is ludicrous for two reasons. First, Mr. Newman is essentially stating that climatologists are liars, who are knowingly misleading folks simply to gain funds. This cynical opinion is not supported by fact. Why doesn’t Mr. Newman supply an example of scientific fraud if it is so rampant? Where is any proof of widespread deceit? Second, the number of scientists working on global climate is so large that it is extremely difficult to imagine collusion on the grand scale imagined by Mr. Newman. For example, a widely cited report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was assembled by 515 contributing authors from many different countries. Are we supposed to believe that these workers (most of whom probably do not know each other personally) conspired to create a global warming hoax? Ultimately, Mr. Newman’s thesis is nothing more than an empty accusation, devoid of any evidence or proof.
As a small aside, Mr. Newman sees conspiracies everywhere. According to him, the mainstream media is in cahoots with the climatologists, because alarmism helps sell advertisements. Once again, this is a hollow claim. No evidence is given – no names, no dates, no nothing. Making unsupported attacks is easy but ultimately uninteresting. Without the constraint of truth, the floodgates are open, and anybody can claim something about anything.
Mr. Newman claims that the false orthodoxy has extinguished dissent. He writes, “