President Obama brings science back
The local debates and discussion that occur regarding our environmental and ecological health are the roots for the larger debate that takes place in the highest levels of government in Washington D.C. Sadly, in the last few years, the debate has moved away from scientific discussion and into a discourse rooted in political or religious viewpoints rather than fact and proven experimentation.
Recently, the Texas Board of Education took up the cause to repaint our Founding Fathers as practicing Evangelical Christians much like themselves and in doing so they seek to change the text of social studies books at our earliest levels of public education. This influential group also brought the evolution versus intelligent design debate to the forefront of national discussion a few years ago by demanding that intelligent design, a religious based belief system, be taught in a science class.
The anti science movement is at a blood roar in the conventions and meetings of the recently founded reactionary Tea Party. The queen of the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, famously derides science that supports the idea of climate change as “snake oil”. Palin has also advocating drilling in the Arctic National Refuge for oil rather than explore and develop alternative energy sources to waylay our dependence on foreign oil.
Palin and her Tea Party have thrown science out the window.
Regardless of the climate change debate, excess pollution is bad for the planet. It’s a fact folks and the outdated modes of the combustion of fossil fuels to create energy are harmful to the environment. That is the bottom line, global warming or not. We are not living, as a species, in a sustainable way. The fledging “green” movement is like pouring a glass of water on a tire fire and expecting the flames to be extinguished.
As a planet, earth is an entity of cycles. Everything on this plant is recycled over and over again, for god’s sake, the water in the oceans has always been the water on this planet. Whatever we touch, our fingerprint remains on it for thousands of years. Unfortunately, Sarah Palin can’t see past her shoes.
President Obama has been surprisingly environmentally sensible in his first year. Yesterday, the President directly spoke about the science of Climate Change and in doing so, became the first president to take a stand against the anti science language of the Evangelical Right.
The President has started something. His administration needs to continue a dialogue steeped in the language of science. Our planet and in turn, our species is in danger. Bats, fruitflies, honey bees, every year, every month some organism instrumental in the perpetuation of the biosphere is announced on the news as dying or threatened. The signs of our environmental ignorance are unmistakable and are all around us. The President has finally brought the issue to the White House, and now, it is time to change the dialogue across America and begin the consideration of a different future without the combustion of fossil fuels pushing us there.
Recently, the Texas Board of Education took up the cause to repaint our Founding Fathers as practicing Evangelical Christians much like themselves and in doing so they seek to change the text of social studies books at our earliest levels of public education. This influential group also brought the evolution versus intelligent design debate to the forefront of national discussion a few years ago by demanding that intelligent design, a religious based belief system, be taught in a science class.
The anti science movement is at a blood roar in the conventions and meetings of the recently founded reactionary Tea Party. The queen of the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, famously derides science that supports the idea of climate change as “snake oil”. Palin has also advocating drilling in the Arctic National Refuge for oil rather than explore and develop alternative energy sources to waylay our dependence on foreign oil.
Palin and her Tea Party have thrown science out the window.
Regardless of the climate change debate, excess pollution is bad for the planet. It’s a fact folks and the outdated modes of the combustion of fossil fuels to create energy are harmful to the environment. That is the bottom line, global warming or not. We are not living, as a species, in a sustainable way. The fledging “green” movement is like pouring a glass of water on a tire fire and expecting the flames to be extinguished.
As a planet, earth is an entity of cycles. Everything on this plant is recycled over and over again, for god’s sake, the water in the oceans has always been the water on this planet. Whatever we touch, our fingerprint remains on it for thousands of years. Unfortunately, Sarah Palin can’t see past her shoes.
President Obama has been surprisingly environmentally sensible in his first year. Yesterday, the President directly spoke about the science of Climate Change and in doing so, became the first president to take a stand against the anti science language of the Evangelical Right.
The President has started something. His administration needs to continue a dialogue steeped in the language of science. Our planet and in turn, our species is in danger. Bats, fruitflies, honey bees, every year, every month some organism instrumental in the perpetuation of the biosphere is announced on the news as dying or threatened. The signs of our environmental ignorance are unmistakable and are all around us. The President has finally brought the issue to the White House, and now, it is time to change the dialogue across America and begin the consideration of a different future without the combustion of fossil fuels pushing us there.
Labels: Climate Change, President Obama, Sarah Palin
posted by Andrew Kleiner at
12:58 AM
5 Comments:
Great post Andrew! The issues of climate change and scientific education in grade and secondary schools really show how badly we need politicians that understand the importance of scientific inquiry and the scientific method. This is not to say that we can/should turn science into an ideology. However, we should know that political funding for scientific research can help solve many of the issues that we face today. I maintain that it is important for every educated person to have (at least) a fundamental understanding of science, but I will save that argument for later.
Science, probably, probably, cannot save our sorry ignorant as--s. Each one of us would have to give up things we don't want to give up. Change. We have no serious functioning of that kind of will... never have.
Or, let us say, structural changes to our very psyches, which would alter our perspective by embedding us in a larger, more universal context, would be necessary: this would require more than people would ever be capable of. That much emergency self-awareness would explode our little narcissitic hoard of supportive self-importance.
Though who knows what the next inventions of science might accomplish. Maybe technology, which has placed us right in the shiny muck of contemporary crisis,
will discover a new possibility that'll lead us out of what appears to be a global ordeal.
American has, for better or worse,
been excellent at inventing things.
Yes, without paying attention to science-data and by repudiating possible science-based solutions... it will surely reduce the living world to shambles for many people, and many other animal beings. More hardship and stupid suffering.
I shall not sleep too well tonight.
Incredibly ignorant. Gov Palin has spent a lifetime in "the environment" while President Obama has never experienced anything outside a classroom or an Acorn fundraiser. This administration is politicizing science as few have ever done - cynically exploiting 'climate change' mythology to leverage a socialist agenda.
Unfortunately, its all too easy for useful idiots to facilitate his socialist agenda - which has destroyed the environment wherever it ha been imposed.
Science, probably, probably, cannot save our sorry ignorant as--s. Each one of us would have to give up things we don't want to give up. Change. We have no serious functioning of that kind of will... never have.
Or, let us say, structural changes to our very psyches, which would alter our perspective by embedding us in a larger, more universal context, would be necessary: this would require more than people would ever be capable of. That much emergency self-awareness would explode our little narcissitic hoard of supportive self-importance.
Though who knows what the next inventions of science might accomplish. Maybe technology, which has placed us right in the shiny muck of contemporary crisis,
will discover a new possibility that'll lead us out of what appears to be a global ordeal.
American has, for better or worse,
been excellent at inventing things.
Yes, without paying attention to science-data and by repudiating possible science-based solutions... it will surely reduce the living world to shambles for many people, and many other animal beings. More hardship and stupid suffering.
I shall not sleep too well tonight.
Gov. Palin has attempted to the remove polar bears from he endangered species list. She has supported aerial wolf hunting policies and allegedly practiced it herself. She and her fringe of republican lunacy have advocated for a policy that in short will continue the destruction of the environment while standing idly by with pockets full of oil money. It is an embarrassment.
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