A trailer of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” fiction makes a rather amusing point lost on end-of-world climate cultists. The liberal former vice president talks about his grade school days, and a classmate asked the teacher a question about world geography. Gore says the boy asked if the continents were ever connected. The teacher, according to Gore, said that was ridiculous. He makes a joke of it and notes that the teacher was parroting the scientific certainty of the time. Scientists were sure and, well, wrong.
Mr. Gore never could see the forest through the trees even when scientists repeatedly predicted an environmental apocalypse, like “global warming.” While Gore and his left-wing zealots might be able to bamboozle younger generations, older Americans have lived through enough of these science-based doomsday prophesies and lived to talk about it.
1: The Ice Age Cometh (Not)
During the 1970s, scientists predicted — with certainty, mind you — that glaciers would cover North America. The country would become so cold that it would cease to be inhabitable. Some based this conclusion on solar science that pointed to an imminent return of an Ice Age 2.6 million years in our rearview mirror. Other “experts” based their findings on pesky aerosol cans.
According to research published in 1971, “an increase by only a factor of 4 in global aerosol concentration may be sufficient to reduce surface temperature by as much as 3.5 K.” Needless to say, the media jumped all over the “Ice Age” prediction, just like Global Warming, which had to be changed to “Climate Change” later. While it’s true the Clean Air Act in the U.S. reduced aerosol emissions, other countries didn’t slow manufacturing until other methods became cost-effective. Keep in mind, we still use aerosol today, and you can even sunbathe.
2: The Great Ozone Scare
A groundbreaking scientific paper published in 1974 proved — without doubt, mind you — that “chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in spray bottles destroy atmospheric ozone.” This was almost as trendy as trolling out Greta Thunberg at the U.N. to scold world leaders about the climate change apocalypse. The paper’s authors, Paul Crutzen, Mario Molina, and F. Sherwood Rowland, earned a Nobel Prize.
People looked up at the sky, knowing an invisible sun-protector was eroding and could never be repaired. Life-threatening UV rays were pouring through, and the “hole” over the poles grew every day. It was a lot like the headlines about the polar ice melting today. Liberal scientists cashed their grant checks, and CFCs were modestly reduced. Magically, we were saved again from another super scary invisible specter. The ozone layer is all better. Whew.
3: Asteroid Impacts Are Inevitable
Among others, NASA’s scientists predict that an asteroid makes an impact with the Earth about every 88,000 years. Last year, two passed relatively close to the planet. These days, the so-called experts devised a math scheme that put the planet in possible danger in 2029 and near-certain danger in 2036. The last significant meteor (6 miles wide or larger) to make an impact happened 66 million years ago. Maybe the meteor experts are trying to siphon off some of that climate cult grant money and buy summer homes.
The facts are that the Global Warming prophecy had to be re-marketed as “Climate Change” because its predictions timed out. There is still snow on Mount Kilimanjaro. Gore reportedly bought beachfront property even though the seas were rising at “an alarming rate.” The actual data on tornadoes shows a slight decrease, and the North Pole experienced a massive freeze-over in 2015. When it snows in south Texas, like it did this winter, it’s difficult to take the latest doomsday predictions seriously.
Yes, we should work diligently to reduce pollution. And yes — we should be mindful of our environmental impact. However, we’ve outgrown these scary bedtime stories the fake news media still believes.
