Fiction author Michael Crichton to address Senate panel Wednesday on global warming
[From Think Progress]
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, led by anti-environment champion James Inhofe (R-OK), will hold a hearing to "discuss the role of science in environmental policy making."....It's an important topic, given the tendency in Washington to choose ideology over facts. Unfortunately, Inhof's witness list wasn't available on the committee's website, so we called today to find out who would be speaking...
The featured witness isn't a noted environmental scientist, or an expert in regulatory policy. It's Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton.
And why would Inhofe invite a fiction author to testify on the role of science in environmental policy making? We think you’ll understand after reading a synopsis of Crichton's latest book, State of Fear, about a scientist named Nicholas Drake:
Drake is frustrated by the public's lack of fear about global warming and, hence, lack of enthusiasm for funding NERF [the environmental group Drake runs]. To remedy the situation, he plans a high-profile conference on "abrupt climate change," a phenomenon that is essentially fabricated. To make sure folks are good and scared about the imaginary threat, he contracts with the Environmental Liberation Front (ELF) — ... a sophisticated, highly coordinated, techno-savvy worldwide terrorist network of dreadlocked hippies — to create a series of floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis that will devastate the world on the eve of the conference.
Maybe next, we can have Stephen King lecture the Senate about the war in Iraq. He is a horror writer after all. Or how about J.K. Rowling speaking on the magical disappearance of Bush during the early days of Katrina? Dr. Seuss on our extradition policy? Nora Roberts on Homeland Security threats? I suppose we shouldn't be surprised by this. The Republicans on Capital Hill love creating fiction themselves.
Comments
To those who think that this is not usual, you may remember that Clinton used Richard Preston's "The Cobra Event" to shape his bioterrorism policy. The DoD often uses fiction writer such and Clancy and Cussler to come up scenarios that would challenge the governments responses to make them more flexible. The creativity of fiction writers and not thinking along the mainstream lines is a good whichever side you believe. Either it will help to reinforce a current belief by being disproven, or it will shed light on not-so-true beliefs that some people have.
Posted by: Ryan Stevenson | September 29, 2005 06:36 PM
I love how virtually every civilized country in the world besides ours takes global warming seriously and so many people here just believe that they are ALL WRONG. That every country besides the US is a sucker or something. It's absurd.
I got into an argument with my dad about global warming and he told me to read "State of Fear," and I asked him if he was serious. I read the first two chapters and it was terrible. I wish I had it infront of me to quote from because it was fully of syntax errors and poor word choices, which my dad actually warned me of ahead of time. It just blows me away that scientists from all over the world are desperate for people to beleive what is to them an obvious truth while those who don't believe can only (and do) call only upon third rate fiction writers to their defense-- fiction being the operative word.
Posted by: G. | September 29, 2005 11:57 AM
Mike D-
Are you a scientist studying climate change? There is a consensus among scientist that global warming will occur because of the greenhouse effect, if it hasn't already as this report suggests.
Posted by: Anonymous | September 28, 2005 10:05 AM
yo state of fear was a good book.
yeah.
i dont really believe in the whole "global warming caused by humans" thing. but not because of that book.
Posted by: mike d | September 27, 2005 10:46 PM