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In reply to the discussion: [Climate scientist] Peter Gleick Admits to Deception in Obtaining Heartland Climate Files [View all]BadgerKid
(4,552 posts)31. A poster hits nail on the head (for radical RW in general)
The fossil fuel industry and many of the issues that the Right in this country are harping on have an interesting pattern.
They take an issue that could be potentially dangerous to their profits and turn it into an emotional issue - in this case Global Warming - and when it becomes an emotional issue, all reason is thrown out the door and rational discourse becomes impossible.
Global Warming was discovered decades ago. The fossil fuel companies started to become threatened by it. So we go from scientists have data about global warming and what we could possibly do about it to scientists have a Liberal Agenda to destroy capitalism and our Way of Life.
I have a neighbor and in-laws who live on a steady diet of Fox News and Talk Radio; such as Hannity, and if Global Warming comes up, they say words like "hoax", "socialist", "cause higher taxes", "destroying America", "predictions based upon inaccurate computer models", etc .... in very angry tones.
They're thinking emotionally. The anti-global warming crowd did a very good in turning this into a personal emotional issue.
They do this with other issues. Turn an issue from a purely academic one into dumbed down emotional rhetoric, and you got the other guys by the balls.
That's where the climate scientists got screwed. The fossil fuel industry got their PR people on it and then the right wing talking heads grabbed onto it, and now we have this mess of an issue that I for one have given up complete hope that anything can be done now.
tl;dr: industry is great at turning a scientific issue into an emotional one - an "us" vs. "them" issue and neutering the opposition.
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/21/1842221/heartland-institute-document-leaker-comes-forward-maintains-documents-are-real
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[Climate scientist] Peter Gleick Admits to Deception in Obtaining Heartland Climate Files [View all]
salvorhardin
Feb 2012
OP
so the right can steal and misinterpret climate scientist emails, but when we leak
villager
Feb 2012
#1
Has Heartland admitted any such theft in stealing the emails of hundreds of climate scientists?
DCKit
Feb 2012
#2
They may ignore the insignificance of his deception, and just call him dishonest.
tclambert
Feb 2012
#17
Many on BOTH sides of the global warming debate are so flawed, the motives and ethics of BOTH sides
stockholmer
Feb 2012
#8
Global Warming: 1,000 climate scientists for, 1 oil geologist against = "unsettled"
LastLiberal in PalmSprings
Feb 2012
#13
"deniers" - lololol, spoken like a true ayatollah, colour me undecided, I know that is 'heretical'
stockholmer
Feb 2012
#24
I imagine that, when lacking a substantive point, we often resort to melodrama.
LanternWaste
Feb 2012
#25
at the end of the day, it is not settled, sorry, but I wont play the 'pick on side or another' game
stockholmer
Feb 2012
#23
It is actually quite similar to the 1990s early 2000s creationists vs evolution debates.
joshcryer
Feb 2012
#35
no it is fucking settled science. The only reasonable discussions are about
Warren Stupidity
Feb 2012
#37
The science is settled. There is no controversy. Global Climate Change is real.
Ian David
Feb 2012
#18