Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
inspiration to do so all the year round and, second, that people are unable to spend
even 1 h in the dark without their creature comforts. He ends by linking the word
'dark' with the notion that the environmental movement can be said to constitute a
'literal dark force'. Readers are likely to be amused by the association. But the sug-
gestion sticks.
Then, there is the use of biased language casting doubt on a scientist's scholar-
ship by drawing conclusions from expressions taken out of context by quoting part
of a sentence. For instance, in a 1989 paper by Colinvaud in
Scientifi c American
:
'As human beings lay waste to massive tracts of vegetation, an incalculable and
unprecedented number of species are rapidly becoming extinct'. According to
Lomborg, 'Colinvaud
admits
in
Scientifi c American
that the rate is incalculable'
(Lomborg
2001
: 254).
3
The use of the word 'admits' creates the impression that
Colinvaud was unsure of his data, while 'incalculable' here clearly stands for
'untold' or 'countless' rather than that the author harboured any reservations about
the validity of the claim.
Associations with biblical imagery (Lomborg
2008
: 60): 'Another of the most
doom-laden impacts from global warming is the rising sea levels. Many commenta-
tors powerfully exploit this biblical fear of fl ooding, as when Bill McKibben said of
our responsibility for global warming that “We are engaging in a reckless drive-by
drowning of much of the rest of the planet and much of the rest of creation”' (
2004
).
Sceptics have also been able to make great mileage from a partial misinterpreta-
tion by the environmental movement (see the Heartland Institute's website). The
fact is that the failure of the Kilimanjaro glaciers may well be due to causes other
than climate change, such as reduced precipitation - at least at the initial stage
(Kaser et al.
2004
: 334). It was known to be in retreat well before the 1880s, earlier
than any signifi cant greenhouse gas warming could have taken effect. What the
sceptics omit to tell is the fact that the temperature subsequently begins to rise
because the heat of the sun shining on exposed rock is not refl ected back into space
as effectively as from a white snow-covered surface (the albedo effect). This leads
to further melting. Examples of other glacier systems, such as the ones in the Andes,
which are retreating at a superfast rate, would have been more effective (Kaser and
Osmaston
2002
). A
2005
summary of the state of tropical glaciers by Pierrehumbert
can be found on the RealClimate website.
Another commonly voiced argument is that 'increased atmospheric carbon diox-
ide levels are benefi cial because they fertilize plant growth', used, for example, by
physicist Will Happer in a testimony before a committee of the US House of
Representatives in 2010.
4
He happens to be Chairman of the Board of the Marshall
Institute, another sceptic organisation. Scientists associated with the Institute (all
with expertise in other fi elds) also declared on occasion that (1) the twentieth cen-
tury is not unusually warm and (2) global warming came to a halt in 2005.
3
Cursive '
admits
' in the original text.
4
In reality, according to the 1830s 'Liebig's Law of the Minimum', plant growth is controlled, not
by the total resources available but by the scarcest resource (limiting factor). This may refer to
conditions, such as humidity, nitrogen or temperature.
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