Activism without
Thought:
College Students’ Support of Global Warming Propaganda
GrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary
By Gennady Stolyarov II
04-04-07
In order for
one to need to “do something” about a crisis, there must be a crisis
in the first place, right? At least there must be reasonable and
fairly well-established evidence that a crisis exists and a cause
for the crisis is known. While it might be common sense to some,
many college students around the country seem to be ignorant of this
principle—especially when it comes to their prominent efforts toward
“stopping” the alleged phenomenon of manmade global warming.
Global warming propagandists like Al Gore and the socialists at the
United Nations seem to be having their way in molding public
opinion—especially among average well-intentioned but impressionable
and easily manipulable college students. An alarming report in The
Daily Gazette of Union College, entitled, “Global warming energizes
students,” is testimony to a rising tide of college campus activism
efforts to combat the specter of anthropogenic warming of the Earth.
Keep in mind: this article was not published as an editorial; it is
not somebody expressing an opinion that global warming is happening
and that students need to do something about it. Rather, The Daily
Gazette published it as a news article—under the assumption that
everything in it is factually based and attempts to equitably
portray all sides of the issue. This basic standard of journalistic
integrity was in fact altogether flouted by the Gazette’s report.
Frighteningly enough, the article does not mention a single student
or expert debating the issue of global warming—whether it is
happening and, if it is, what its causes might be. Instead, the
article included the following extremely ill-informed and
discussion-quashing comment by 21-year-old student Stephen Po-Chedley:
“In the last couple years, the science has become pretty firm.”
“The science has become pretty firm.” And this is it? This is all
the “evidence” needed to assume that not only is the Earth headed
for a climatic disaster but that advanced industrial technology is
somehow responsible for it? I am sure that Mr. Po-Chedley has never
read or even heard of the thousands of highly learned, respectable
climatologists—prominent researchers in their field—who strongly
dispute the anthropogenic global warming thesis.
Why did the article not mention such experts as Richard Lindzen,
Professor of Meteorology at MIT, S. Fred Singer, Professor emeritus
of Environmental Science at the University of Virginia, or even
Patrick Moore—a co-founder of Greenpeace—all of whom consider the
Gore/U.N. position on global warming to be utterly devoid of genuine
scientific backing? Why did the article not consider the Heidelberg
Appeal, signed by hundreds of scientists as far back as 1992,
condemning global warming alarmism as "an irrational ideology which
is opposed to scientific and industrial progress, and impedes
economic and social development"? Why was no mention made of any
commentators, public figures, or media sources portraying the other
side of the issue—such as the writings of Alan Caruba, Tom DeWeese,
and Paul Driessen, the courageous French ex-minister of education
Claude Allègre, or the BBC Documentary, The Great Global Warming
Swindle? Why did the Gazette not interview any students who were
exposed to these sources and at least recognized that legitimate
views skeptical of manmade global warming exist?
It does not take extensive special scientific training to know that
fundamental and legitimate debate exists on the global warming
issue. It only takes a basic awareness of the arguments made on both
sides and a skeptical, inquiring mind devoted to the pursuit of
truth and objectivity. Yet the students who jump on the global
warming bandwagon do not seem to have even that basic level of
exposure to the issue. Rather, all they know is the propaganda they
have been spoon-fed by certain ideologically-minded instructors,
like Riobart Breen, Union College’s assistant professor in political
science and environmental studies, whom the article quoted as
saying, “We want to start a movement on campus. We want students to
take the lead.” Dr. Breen does not seem to be interested in getting
students to think for themselves as to whether manmade global
warming is happening. Rather, he wants them to assume that it is
happening and join the “movement” he wishes to start to address it.
Dr. Breen expects students to lead a movement without questioning
the truth of its underlying assumptions and the desirability of its
purposes. What a great insult to expect students to be pack
followers rather than autonomous thinkers!
Saving the world is not easy. It is not enough to just
act—especially if one acts while informed solely by the mainstream
media and the popular culture. Indeed, most of the problems in the
world today come not despite extensive efforts to “save” it, but
because of such efforts, wrongly directed. If well-meaning but
ill-informed students conscientiously try to solve a problem that
does not exist, they will not only do no real good; they will
inflict positive harm. Technological progress and economic freedom
are the lifeblood of American prosperity, comfort, and security.
They are endangered by global warming alarmism. With enough popular
support, the global warming propagandists will succeed in
obstructing the use of industrial technologies that separate our
quality of life from the nasty, brutish, and short existence of
people in parts of the Third World today and our ancestors as late
as one century ago.
Students throughout the country urgently need to think before
acting, do research before assuming, question before accepting. Too
much is at stake to allow one side of the debate to be silenced
while the other shoves greatly distorted information onto
impressionable young minds.
Gennady Stolyarov II is
Editor-in-Chief of
The Rational Argumentator, a magazine championing the principles
or Reason, Rights, and Progress. His works have been published by
Le Quebecois Libre,
Enter Stage Right Magazine, the
Ludwig von Mises Institute,
Rebirth of Reason, and other organizations. Mr. Stolyarov can be
contacted at
gennadystolyarovii@yahoo.com.
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GrasstopsUSA.com 2007
