The ghosts of global warming
Hat tip to Terje. A slighted edited version of this post was published in the weekly “ideas@centre” e-mail sent out by the Centre for Independent Studies. If you haven’t signed up, you should.
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In just over a month, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to work out a plan of action to tackle climate change. But something spooky is happening in America that may get in the way of an agreement.
According to the latest Pew poll on climate, only 36% of Americans agree that the earth is warming and that humans are responsible.
By comparison, a Gallup poll has found that 37% of Americans believe that houses can be haunted.
At first the two issues don’t seem linked – but there are some similarities between global warming and ghost stories. Both are dangerous. Both are hard to see. Both are used to frighten children and simple-minded people.
Stephen King has made a fortune writing about haunted houses (and won many awards in the process), while Al Gore has made a fortune talking about global warming (and won a Nobel Encouragement Award Peace Prize).
But there is a very important difference.
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