Unsettling The Science: David Suzuki & The AGW Orthodoxy

Hmm. Jailing politicians and scientists for failing to conform to the orthodoxy. Doesn't that sound familiar? At least one journalist thinks it does.

The Calgary Herald reports:

David Suzuki may be right about global warming. He also may be only partially right, and there's a faction of actual climate scientists who think he's dead wrong.

Science, by it's very nature, should never be held hostage to orthodoxy of thought -- unless that orthodoxy has to do with remaining open-minded and embracing the scientific method and scientific enquiry.

Yet, what sort of enquiry will take place if people are jailed for holding "wrong" scientific opinions -- as Suzuki now proposes for politicians who ignore the particular view of the world he holds? History provides the answer. In 1633, in Italy the Vatican asserted the sun revolved around the Earth rather than vice versa, and ordered heliocentrism's chief prophet Galileo to answer for his views to the Inquisition.

As enforcers of orthodox conventional wisdom, the Inquisition had something in common with today's human rights commissions, except that it could also torture people. No fool was Galileo, who made a strategic recantation.

(Although, he ended up under house arrest for the rest of his life, anyway.) Other Italian astronomers took the hint, and that was that for science in Italy for a while.

No time for scientific discourse. The apocalypse is nigh!

David Suzuki: "Politicians Who Ignore Global Warming Should Be Jailed"

'Twas the night before Super Tuesday and all through the house, not a moonbat was stirring except for ... David Suzuki.

That's honestly the best I can do today. Rhyming is difficult. And nothing rhymes with 'Suzuki' anyway.

At a speech given at McGill University, David Suzuki boldly declared that "politicians who never see beyond the next election, are committing a criminal act by ignoring science." He went on to suggest that today's youth should find a way to jail these politicians since, as we all know, global warming is "settled science" and anyone who doesn't fall in line is a heretic who deserves jailing.

Here's what he had to say:

“No more than one or a few decades remain before the chance to avert the threats we now confront will be lost and the prospects for humanity immeasurably diminished,”

...

He urged today’s youth to speak out against politicians complicit in climate change, even suggesting they look for a legal way to throw our current political leaders in jail for ignoring science – drawing rounds of cheering and applause. Suzuki said that politicians, who never see beyond the next election, are committing a criminal act by ignoring science.

He criticized the short-sightedness of economists and their constant need for increased growth, which will eventually be impossible. “We live within the biosphere. It can’t grow, it’s fixed!” he exclaimed.

“We’ve been using up our biological capital for over 20 years. The reason we maintain our illusion of biological plentitude is because we are using up the rightful legacy of our children and grandchildren,” he said.

Suzuki also faulted the use of the Gross Domestic Product – which increases after oil spills and health crises – as a “nutty” indicator of growth.

“[Using the GDP], an outrageous disaster becomes a phenomenal success.”

He gave a scathing critique of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, chastising them for neglecting the environment in favour of economic growth and development of the tar sands.

“It is an intergenerational crime that in the face of the work of scientists over the last 20 years, they keep dithering as they are,” he said

At any rate, I'm not going to bother getting into it. If you're interested, The McGill Daily has the article here.


UPDATE: Bill MacLean put together an interesting study of carbon emissions in Canada. Worth a look. Follow the link.