I’ve read State of Fear
a few years ago. This is by far the most controversial book by Michael
Crichton because it took on Global Warming and implied that it’s a hoax
perpetrated by scientists, environmentalists and politicians with
vested interests. I took Crichton’s rebuttal with an open mind and a
grain of salt. For what it’s worth, Crichton’s book raised my awareness on the issue that he
tried to debunk.
If, like me, you’re overwhelmed by the information and misinformation
about Climate Change, here’s a hint. Don’t get lost in the Climate Change debates
in the U.S. media and websites. Try looking elsewhere for information
(i.e. books [hint: read The Hot Topic], scientific journals, IPCC reports)
and you’ll see that Al
Gore deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. From the perspective of the
international scientific community and most industrialized countries,
the science has been settled. Global Warming is a real
phenomenon and humanity is a big contributor to it because of our
dependence on fossil fuels and agriculture. There are debates alright.
But the debates are not whether Global Warming
is real or not or whether humanity is a big contributor, but what we
can (and should) do
about it.
The more I look into the issue of Climate Change and Global Warming the
more I learn that the state of media and politics in the U.S. is
lagging behind its industrialized neighbors (reminds me of the
universal health care issue as well, but that’s another topic). As one of my readers, Per, had eloquently put it,
"It seems that this is one of the many issues that look very
different in the US from how it looks in most other places in the
world. In Europe, the topic changed many years ago from "does it happen?" to "what can we do and how?"
Exactly. But not only in Europe. Here’s a case in point: British Columbia just introduced Smart Carbon Tax.
"The finance minister of British Columbia, Canada, has just introduced a
new "escalating carbon tax" that will affect most fossil fuels. They
are not the first in the country – that would be Quebec with its ridiculously low and non revenue-neutral carbon tax – but their plan has a better chance to make a difference."
However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Crichton’s State of
Fear, it is to stay alert on the fear-mongering tactics of any
organization be it political, environmental, corporate, or religious.
The State of Fear taught me how to be more level-headed on polarizing
issues — to use critical thinking and data over emotional and
fear-based arguments. As a result I’m using that same critical thinking
to examine whether Crichton’s approach was ethical or not. And according to
this UCTV symposium, Crichton’s book is scientifically unethical and irresponsible. There is no debate among Climate scientists on the issue of Global Warming (see the video Naomi Oreskes talk below; see also this 2004 paper by Oreskes). Check it out and draw your own conclusions.
State of Fear: Hollywood the News Media and Global Warming
"Renowned science scholar Naomi Oreskes and science producer Gene
Rosow discuss how Hollywood and the news media portray global warming
and what responsibility scientists have to educate the public about
global warming."