BIG OIL

Let's not get confused here.

This debate is not about science or education or evidence or hypotheses or data.

It's about money, lots and lots of money.

Opposition to beliefs about global warming doesn't just spring up from nowhere. Global warming and especially public policies to mitigate global warming represent a direct threat to the income levels of the world's biggest and wealthiest corporations. And so we see the backlash - designed to confuse and especially to delay any effective public policies to reduce fossil fuel use.

Is there a controversy? No. It's very clear that adding components to the atmosphere that absorb infrared will trap solar energy and that this added heat will cause temperatures to rise.

Don't believe that? Try a test yourself. Park your car in bright summer sunlight with the windows open. You're now experiencing how effective 100 miles of atmosphere is at trapping solar energy. Now roll up all the windows. And wait. Even a fraction of an inch of solid glass is more effective at trapping infrared radiation than our atmosphere. It just doesn't get out. See how long you can stand it in there. (Don't take any small children or pets with you.)

Nobody knows what the long term effects will be from the energy being trapped by increased levels of greenhouse gases. Will the Arctic ice cap disappear in a few years? Probably. Its total area and average thickness are as small as human beings have ever witnessed. Will sea coast cities see more powerful storms that cause terrible destruction? Probably. Who's next after New Orleans? Will the Sahara migrate northwards to Europe and the Mojave to Sacramento? Maybe. It seems Australia is already running out of water in many places.

So the safe thing to do is to minimize fossil fuel burning and try to keep things the way they are. You might even say that was the conservative approach.

But these days, conservative means selling out to big money, in this case, Big Oil and Big Coal.

There's a better term for an unholy alliance between corporations and government, coined by Benito Mussolini in reference to the Roman fasces weapon.

How sad that one generation of Americans went to war to protect us from fascism, and that the present generation of Americans includes so many who embrace it.