Wisconsin Leads In Climate Change, Denial, Unhealthy Leadership
The headlines (click through them, they are URL's) and story lines show how Scott Walker has made a bad situation worse (and to Mitt Romney, it's all a punch line):
* Wisconsin's hot temperatures led the nation this year, as the data reported today makes clear:
Wisconsin led nation in hot temps, climate group says
* And as I've noted on this blog, the Walker administration is dealing with this by scrubbing climate change information from the DNR's website:
DNR Fights Climate Change...By Deleting Most Of Climate Change Web Content
* And in eliminating early warning public notices when air pollution during those hot days was heading for hazardous levels:
Another Dirty Air Day In SE Wisconsin; Info Deficits At DNR
* Even though they occurred at a record level this year, too- - just like the heat record set here.
Record Heat, Dirty Air Alerts For Milwaukee This Year
* And...Friday, March 11, 2011
Walker Administration Will Stop Publishing Some Air Quality Information
The politicization of the DNR is off the charts - - literally - - as Wisconsin is now open for air pollution less publicized. One of two notification systems - - the "watch," akin to weather "watches" that precede storm warnings, is being ended, says the agency in an email - - so if you have asthma, for example, you won't know the air conditions are favorable to constrict your breathing until you are already on your way to your desination.
Surprise!
Remember that Pat Stevens, a lawyer who worked for the road-builders, home-builders and the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, is now managing the agency's air quality section.
3 comments:
No one denies that the climate changes; what the controversy involves is that normal weather patterns are now considered proof of man caused impacts which can be controlled. The cure to what cannot be cured is to limit our energy use, which is similar to the ancient belief that the weather can be controlled by throwing people into volcanoes. Pure nonsense. Then and now.
The “changing climate” is real, we cycle between cold periods (ice ages) and warm periods (interglacial period). We are now in an interglacial period and the very modest warming experienced over our brief recorded history is not to be unexpected, or feared, and our weather is actually less extreme than the past. Do not fear the weather; yes, it changes as it has throughout history and there will be storms, drought, snow and heat. Warmer is better and most of the agriculture we practice is still limited by a growing season which is less than half of the year.
Anonymous' comment reveals an important characteristic of those who deny anthropogenic contributions to atmospheric pollution and climate change.
Within the overall strategy of polluter - to introduce confusion in the public's understanding of the issue - this comment begins with a seemingly mainstream rational statement (e.g. "No one denies that the climate changes..."). This portion of the message is designed to create an open mind for readers.
This manipulative technique is followed by the conflation of so-called "normal" weather patterns and "proof" of "man-caused"(sic)impacts. The illogical juxtaposition of these two misleading phrases leads the reader to adopt the interests of polluters over their own interests and they do this by scaring people into thinking that they will be forced to use less energy and that this is similar somehow to human sacrifices and volcanic activity.
Bottom line, this manipulative and silly missive tells us that the writer is not a serious person on this subject and that the use of confusion and lying is alive and well for the rightwingers.
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