Fact of the Day: Tuesday, May 09, 2006

KRUGMAN’S “CONSPIRACY”

Paul Krugman of the New York Times writes in his column this week that conservatives who agree with Senator Inhofe that “man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” believe in a “bizarre conspiracy theory.” In other words, according to Krugman, it’s unconscionable to even raise questions about the science behind climate change, and those who do risk alienation by at least one liberal columnist.

FACT: Senator Inhofe called man-made global warming a hoax, not a conspiracy. To perpetrate a hoax is to actively promote a falsehood for some purpose, while a conspiracy requires secrecy. But there is nothing secretive about global-warming alarmists' claims that the science is settled, and those claims are false. In an open letter sent last month from 60 top climate scientists to Prime Minister Harper of Canada is simply more proof that there is no consensus regarding the science behind climate change. In part, that letter reads:

While the confident pronouncements of scientifically unqualified environmental groups may provide for sensational headlines, they are no basis for mature policy formulation. The study of global climate change is, as you have said, an ‘emerging science,’ one that is perhaps the most complex ever tackled…

‘Climate change is real’ is a meaningless phrase used repeatedly by activists to convince the public that a climate catastrophe is looming and humanity is the cause. Neither of these fears is justified. Global climate changes all the time due to natural causes and the human impact still remains impossible to distinguish from this natural ‘noise.’

Furthermore, while Senator Inhofe has given several speeches about the science behind climate change, Mr. Krugman simply resorts to name-calling instead of offering a single rebuttal in his columns. From what New York Times ombudsman Daniel Okrent wrote in his column on May 22, 2005 it’s not surprising: “Op-Ed columnist Paul Krugman has the disturbing habit of shaping, slicing and selectively citing numbers in a fashion that pleases his acolytes but leaves him open to substantive assaults.” Therefore it’s laughable when Krugman writes, “Instead of facing up to hard questions, they (conservatives) try to suggest that anyone who asks those questions is crazy.” With that said, it appears Krugman should be his own biggest critic.

###