"Refudiate, misunderestimate, wee-wee'd up. English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!" - Sarah Palin responds to criticism for inventing the word "refudiate", by proudly mistaking her illiteracy for literary genius, July 18, 2010.
Last week, I posted comments that were critical of author Steve Goreham and his definition for the term climatism; a term coined by Goreham. In my post, I called Goreham's definition a strawman, and stated that that alone was sufficient reason to dismiss without further comment his first book Climatism! Science, Common Sense, and the 21st Century's Hottest Topic. Goreham took issue with my characterization of his definition, so in an attempt to defend it, he stopped by this blog and left a comment. The comment wasn't much of an argument though, as it consisted of 7 quotes that Goreham had extracted from speeches made by various public figures. Presumably, Goreham hoped to demonstrate with those quotes the existence of individuals who fit his definition of climatism, which could only mean that my characterization was wrong.But that's not how things played out.
Here is Steve's quote in it's entirety, the emphasis included is mine:
Regarding the definition of Climatism, the belief that man-made greenhouse gases are destroying Earth's climate, see the following quotes from Al Gore, James Hansen, Tim Flannery, Jonathan Overpeck, Joseph Romm, and Evo Morales. They talk about destroying the climate, the Earth, civilization, coastal cities, cultures, and nations from man-made climate change. As you can see, "destroy" is a favorite word of those supporting the theory of catastrophic man-made warming.
"We have arrived at a moment of decision. Our home--Earth--is in danger. What is at risk of being destroyed is not the planet itself, of course, but the conditions that have made it hospitable for human beings." --Al Gore, statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jan. 28, 2009
"We the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency--a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential...the earth has a fever. And the fever is rising...indeed, without realizing it, we have begun to wage war on the earth itself." -- Al Gore, Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Dec. 10, 2007
"Burning all the fossil fuels will destroy the planet we know, Creation, the planet of stable climate in which civilization developed." --Dr James Hansen, letter to Barack and Michelle Obama, Dec. 29, 2008
"One problem facing humanity is now so urgent that, unless it is resolved in the next two decades, it will destroy our global civilization: the climate crisis." --Dr Tim Flannery, Now or Never. Why We Must Act to End Climate Change and Create a Sustainable Future, 2009, p.14
"The consequences would be catastrophic. Even with a small sea-level rise, we're going to destroy whole nations and their cultures that have existed for thousands of years." --Dr. Jonathan Overpeck, National Geographic News, Apr. 26, 2004
"Protecting dozens of major coastal cities from future flooding will be challenging enough--rebuilding major coastal cities destroyed by super-hurricanes will be an almost impossible task." --Joseph Romm, Hell and High Water: Global Warming--theSolution and the Politics--and What We Should Do, 2007, p.90
"Capitalism and the thirst for profit without limits of the capitalist system are destroying the planet...Climate change has placed all humankind before a great choice: to continue in the ways of capitalism and death, or to start down the path of harmony with nature and respect for life." --Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal, Nov. 28, 2008
Cheers!While reading Steve's quotes, two things occurred to me:
First, all of the quotes use variations of the word destroy, but none speak to the destruction of the Earth's climate. Not a single one. Steve obviously sees things that just aren't there.
Second, Steve claims to be a full time researcher; a claim which carries with it all that is implied by those who conduct research, including the assumption that said researcher accounts for the full body of evidence, not just those things that reinforce their preconceived notions. Yet, here he is, thinking that a single quote from one speech on one specific date can be used to establish belief, even when the quote is only peripherally related. And this guy wants to sell books based on his research? Pathetic.
Obviously, Steve had taken his best shot, and he couldn't produce a solitary example of a person expressing a belief that man-made greenhouse gases would destroy the Earth's climate. So I replied to Steve's comment, explaining that his group of quotes had failed to justify his definition, to which he replied with the following:
I recommend that you re-read those quotes again. One of the quotes by Gore was in testimony to the United States Senate. The quote by Dr. James Hansen was in a letter to President Obama. I don't hink either person was kidding. One of the marks of a Climatist is that, when evidence is presented, they are unable to admit when they are wrong.
I'm not sure which made me laugh more; the fact that Steve considers his quotes to be convincing evidence for his claim, or his newly expanded definition for climatism that includes anyone who disagrees with him, even when he's demonstrably wrong. So I replied again with the following:Cheers!
Hansen and Gore are not referring to the destruction of the Earth's climate, they are referring to the destruction of the climatic conditions that we as humans are used to, and that are hospitable to us. Those are different things Steve, re-reading the quotes doesn't change that fact. Of course, there is a way to settle this bit of disagreement. If you redefine the term climatism so that it describes the position of real flesh and blood people, I'll have no choice but to quit referring to it as a strawman. Let me know if that is a satisfactory proposal Steve.No word back from Steve yet regarding my proposal.
Normally, when I look into the background and funding of climate deniers... I eventually find big oil. Do you happen to know if that is true for Steve Goreham??
ReplyDeleteHi West, thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI don't have any personal knowledge of Goreham's funding sources. However, he does have ties with the Heartland Institute, and that alone should raise any thinking person's eyebrows.
I think you're taking too literally the compositional intent of the phrase 'destroy Earth's climate'. It's not an especially hyperbolic bit of rhetoric. Any planet with an atmosphere is going to have some sort of 'climate', and neither he, nor his targets, should be taken to think that they do not.
ReplyDelete-danR, Vancouver.
Hi danR, welcome to my facepalm.
DeleteThe sole reason Steve Goreham writes books and makes appearances on Fox affiliated media outlets, is to influence the thoughts of others. For that reason, what he thinks, or should think, is completely irrelevant. What is relevant is what he intends for his audience to think.
By labeling his opponents with the term climatist, or as he defines it, "people who believe that man-made greenhouse gases are destroying Earth's climate", Goreham is using a cheap rhetorical trick (strawman) to score points with gullible audiences who WILL take his point literally. By using this label, Goreham is essentially calling his opponents idiots, since only an idiot would believe that greenhouse gases will destroy the Earth's climate.
I think it's also important to recognize that Goreham had the opportunity to set the record straight when he responded to my post. If I was taking the term too literally, he could have offered some sort of clarification. But rather than do that, he simply doubled down. This leads me to believe that I'm interpreting the term exactly as it was intended to be interpreted.
Cheers!