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Entertaining for some, infuriating for others, science for none
Years ago I remember reading an amusing article on the John Birch society which was written as if by a supporter; what made the piece fun was that it took serious thought to determine whether you were reading something that was truly by JBS supporter or just a clever satirist. Why do I bring this up in reviewing Horner's "Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming?" Because were it not for the context, you might think Mr. Horner was engaging more in an act of satirizing the style of a frothing conservative ideologue instead of actually being one. Then you realize Mr. Horner works for the corporately funded Competitive Enterprise Institute, not a group known for their sense of humor or self deprecation. Oh, well, it was more entertaining the other way.
One should first realize that Mr. Horner is not a scientist but not an attorney, and brings a zealous style to the defense of his client, giving little thought to truth or falsehood, guilt or innocence. A scientist might be constrained by methodology, data, and research, not so an attorney mounting a vigorous defense despite the evidence stacked against it. Time and again Mr. Horner skirts the truth in a way he could not were he in a courtroom, his evidence up for cross examination. Thus, he points to the growth of the Greenland Ice sheet as a refutation against global warming, neglecting to mention that the scientist who wrote the study came to opposite conclusion -- temperature increase led to increased precipitation, leading to ice sheet growth. Mr. Horner also in fine lawyerly fashion engages in appealing leaps of faulty logic, such as the fact that scientists have previously believed the globe is cooling, and thus since they can't both be right we cannot know. One might by the same argument say that people in the Ancient world believed that the earth was flat, then the Greeks proved it round, in the Middle Ages it was again thought flat and then by the 15th Century round again, and therefore the earth's shape is unknowable.
Perhaps what most makes one think Horner's book as similar to other intentionally humorous parodies is his explanation for the scientific consensus he attempts to heap verbiage onto to refute - Communists. Yes, even as China embraces capitalism and two star hotels open in Albania, here we see a wonderful throw back to a reemergent Red Menace, bent on taking away our quality of life, destroying our economy, and dooming our children to poverty and death (let me note here that none of this is an exaggeration of his argument). Why exactly this band of Communists is so committed to doing this evil is less clear; during the Cold War one could at least assert that they wished to see a Soviet victory. Not so now, after the fall of the USSR. The best one can conclude from this work is that they are 1. mean, 2. loony, 3. hate fun.
Mr. Horner does do a fine job pointing out some of the mistakes and oversimplification in the media and popular culture when it comes to global warming, but again all this does is refute the statements of the chattering class, it does not do the same to the underlying consensus science. While he can pick at the data the only people he will likely convince is those already converted, like conservatives watching Fox News and liberals reading The Nation for the pleasure and comfort of having their own views parroted back at them without challenge. Perhaps it is odd or even perverse that I find such tunnel vision humorous. What I can say is that if you want to understand climate science this work has little to offer. If you want to watch someone toss everything up to and including the kitchen sink into an argument hoping something will stick, then this is the book for you.
February 2007 · Books