state of fear

OK mom, you brought it up again. :-)

So why am I so torqued about a silly book? I'll try to explain...

First, for anyone who doesn't know, State of Fear is a book by Michael Crichton where he weaves a story about scientists who are involved in some terrorist plot by faking global warming. (for the sake of honesty, I must add that I haven't read the book and have no intention of doing so) But the thing is, he uses all kinds of scientific papers and references to "back up" his opinion that global warming worries are blown out of proportion, and he includes an appendix stating this and explaining (using several scientific papers as references) why we're all worrying too much about global warming and that it's essentially a non-problem.

But this is why I worry about this book, despite its being simply a work of fiction. Senator Jame Inhofe (R-OK), who is the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, has recommended that people who wish to learn about the science of climate change theory read this book. So - he's recommending that folks quit listening to the scientists and instead listen to a fiction writer. By the way, there are IPCC reports out there that are meant for policymakers and the public to explain climate change. It's too bad that our government representatives choose to use a work of fiction rather than government-supported research summaries to get scientific information out to the public.

So from just that, I can't wave it off as a harmless a work of fiction. I of all people know that scientists are simply horrible at speaking to the public. Journalists must cry when they are assigned an interview with one. They're boring and essentially speak a different language. But from my experience, they are SMART. And I guarantee you that 99.7% or 99.8% of the scientists I have met really are agenda-free. There is an honest curiosity there, and even more, an honest dedication to truth. But since they're so...weird...the public doesn't have the patience to listen. And this creates the perfect opportunity for someone with a gift of communication (fiction writer) to get their opinion out there where it will have broad appeal. (And to be really cynical here, remember that Michael Crichton is selling books too - I don't even want to know how much more money he makes than a scientist's salary). And, unlike every piece of work that I publish which must go through anonymous peer review and extensive checks for accuracy before I can publish it, Michael Crichton can just put it out there his way.

I'm bothered by all the references and footnotes he uses, as well, which lends a sense of credibility to his writing. But is anyone going to go actually *read* these references and see that he has misrepresented (a few times blatently) a lot of the data? Nah - probably not.

Here's a website "RealClimate: Climate science from climate scientists" that addresses many of the inaccuracies and misinterpretations of the science in the book. If anyone has read the State of Fear and is concerned by some of the scepticism he puts out there about global warming and climate change, I hope you'll check out this site to see if these guys can clear things up. And I hope people remember that scientists really aren't stupid. Most of the controversies he brings up really have been already researched extensively by many many very intelligent people. These things have been thought about for a long time - nothing he brings out is a surprise or is new here.

The thing is, climate change is an issue that really really concerns me. I think we are irresponsible if we continue to selfishly live as we do without trying to understand the consequences of climate change on our grandchildren. There is really pretty much a consensus among scientists that human emissions of CO2 are causing the temperature of the globe to increase, and this is going to lead to some changes in our climate and impact us in ways we haven't even thought about yet. I don't know how extreme it's going to be...but particularly in today's political climate where our budget for researching the chemistry of the atmosphere is being cut, I worry about things like A State of Fear, which can impact the general public perception about research that is crucial.

So that's why I'm um...less than pleased...with the book.