There is no denying it: Climate-change deniers are in retreat.
What began as a subtle shift away from the claim that man-made global warming is not a threat to the planet has lately turned into a stampede. The latest attempt to deny denial comes from the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful group that pushes for states to pass laws that are often drafted by industry. As my Post colleagues Tom Hamburger, Joby Warrick and Chris Mooney report, ALEC is not only insisting that it doesnt deny climate change its threatening to sue those who suggest otherwise.
The group, which suffered the highly visible defection of Google because of its global-warming stance and an exodus of other top corporate members, sent letters to Common Cause and the League of Conservation Voters instructing them to remove all false or misleading material alleging ALEC questions global-warming theory.
The problem for ALEC is that as recently as 2013, it was still reaffirming model legislation calling on states to consider legitimate and scientifically defensible alternative hypotheses to the mainstream scientific positions on climate. The proposed legislation states that there is a great deal of scientific uncertainty about the matter and suggests states treat possible beneficial effects of carbon in an evenhanded manner.
The turnabout at ALEC follows an about-face at the Heartland Institute, a libertarian outfit that embraces a description of it as the worlds most prominent think tank promoting skepticism about man-made climate change.
But on Christmas Eve, Justin Haskins, a blogger and editor at Heartland, penned an article for the conservative journal Human Events declaring: The real debate is not whether man is, in some way, contributing to climate change; its true that the science is settled on that point in favor of the alarmists.
Haskins called it a rather extreme position to say that we ought to allow dangerous pollutants to destroy the only planet we know of that can completely sustain human life, and he suggested work on technologies that can reduce CO2 emissions without destroying whole economies.
To be sure, this is a tactical retreat, and you shouldnt expect conservative groups to start lining up in favor of a carbon tax. Rather, theyre resorting to more defensible arguments that dont make them sound like flat-earthers. My Post colleagues quoted energy lobbyist Scott Segal saying that the science issue just isnt as salient as it once was. Instead, Segal talks about the cost and viability of proposed regulations.
Its likely no coincidence that the shift is occurring as the Obama administration approaches a June target to finalize rules on power-plant emissions. Those who oppose regulation are wise to abandon a position that holds little public appeal; a healthy majority of Americans accept that global warming is real, and a New York Times poll earlier this year found that even half of Republicans support government action to address it.
More and more conservative officeholders are embracing the I am not a scientist agnosticism on climate change rather than skepticism. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner and presidential candidates Bobby Jindal and Marco Rubio have adopted this response, and Rubio has joined Mitt Romney and Chuck Grassley in embracing the less assailable position that U.S. efforts to restrict carbon are pointless without similar efforts across the globe.
Follow this link:
Milbank: Climate-change deniers are in retreat
- The classic definition of a fool - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- Memories Of A Former British Far-Right Extremist: The Transformation Of Joseph Pearce - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- Atheism vs. Agnosticism: What's the Difference Between Atheism ... - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Agnosticism - New Advent - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- Agnosticism - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- Agnosticism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - December 27th, 2013 [December 27th, 2013]
- My Five Apps: Kevin's (Platform) Agnostic Life - December 29th, 2013 [December 29th, 2013]
- Atheism and Agnosticism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - December 30th, 2013 [December 30th, 2013]
- Agnosticism - RationalWiki - January 3rd, 2014 [January 3rd, 2014]
- Is 'Paranormal' scary good? - January 4th, 2014 [January 4th, 2014]
- Intel’s Vision: Wearables Everywhere In A Post-Windows World - January 7th, 2014 [January 7th, 2014]
- After Arriving On Android, Glooko Lands $7M From Samsung & More To Bring Predictive Diabetes Care Global - January 9th, 2014 [January 9th, 2014]
- Raymark Launching Next Generation Of Retail Mobility And Analytics Solutions At The National Retail Federation's BIG ... - January 13th, 2014 [January 13th, 2014]
- Go see Her, that movie about a guy who falls in love with his operating system - January 14th, 2014 [January 14th, 2014]
- James Brennan: A profession in crisis - January 16th, 2014 [January 16th, 2014]
- Agnosticism - New World Encyclopedia - January 17th, 2014 [January 17th, 2014]
- Agnosticism is the only logical belief - Video - January 19th, 2014 [January 19th, 2014]
- Board of Ed. approves 7 new Chicago charter schools - January 23rd, 2014 [January 23rd, 2014]
- Agnosticism - AllAboutPhilosophy.org - January 25th, 2014 [January 25th, 2014]
- REVIEW: Insaan, aye Insaan! by Hasan Manzar - DAWN.COM - January 26th, 2014 [January 26th, 2014]
- GOD The Irresistible (The End of Atheism and Agnosticism) By I.D.Campbell - Video - January 27th, 2014 [January 27th, 2014]
- Crimes and Misdemeanors Nihilism Agnosticism Existentialism Philosophy Woody Allen God - Video - January 31st, 2014 [January 31st, 2014]
- Filjiug-Zero VS Agnosticism - Video - February 2nd, 2014 [February 2nd, 2014]
- Robert Jastrow's Struggle of God and Agnosticism - Video - February 6th, 2014 [February 6th, 2014]
- Idolatry 101: Skepticism, Atheism, Agnosticism, all -ism's are IDOLATRY! - Video - February 6th, 2014 [February 6th, 2014]
- Caitlyn Brennan: Dust to dust - February 7th, 2014 [February 7th, 2014]
- Reader Comments - February 13th, 2014 [February 13th, 2014]
- Windows apps and desktop are coming to Chrome OS, thanks to Google and VMware - February 14th, 2014 [February 14th, 2014]
- How an On-Air Panic Attack Improved My Life - February 14th, 2014 [February 14th, 2014]
- Perks of Open Bridge Rack : Customization + agnosticism | #OCPSummit - February 14th, 2014 [February 14th, 2014]
- Spanish pilgrims of Muslim charity - February 16th, 2014 [February 16th, 2014]
- Agnosticism: PAP Vs. TAP - Video - February 17th, 2014 [February 17th, 2014]
- Agnosticism Explained by Richard Dawkins - Video - February 17th, 2014 [February 17th, 2014]
- How China Fooled the World With Fiat - February 21st, 2014 [February 21st, 2014]
- Hawthorne Heights Interview - piano lessons, agnosticism, oyster wrap - Video - February 24th, 2014 [February 24th, 2014]
- Theism, Atheism, and Agnosticism - Video - February 26th, 2014 [February 26th, 2014]
- A Heart Capable of Every Form -- atheism, agnosticism and belief - Video - March 2nd, 2014 [March 2nd, 2014]
- agnosticism - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com - March 3rd, 2014 [March 3rd, 2014]
- Humanist, Religious Freedom & Scientology Writers Launch Featured Contributor Program on WorldReligionNews.com - March 6th, 2014 [March 6th, 2014]
- CON: Prayer in school doesnt account for all religions - March 7th, 2014 [March 7th, 2014]
- agnosticism: Definition from Answers.com - March 9th, 2014 [March 9th, 2014]
- Finding the courage to be blatantly believer-ish - March 10th, 2014 [March 10th, 2014]
- Agnosticism is Stupid - Video - March 10th, 2014 [March 10th, 2014]
- Agnosticism: What It Is & Shouldn't Be - Video - March 11th, 2014 [March 11th, 2014]
- [Lecture] Why I Am An Agnostic; Philosophical Argument for Agnosticism, Atheism, Audiobook - Video - March 11th, 2014 [March 11th, 2014]
- Explosive, Daring Cosmos Just Launched a New Crusade for Science - March 12th, 2014 [March 12th, 2014]
- *MIRROR* Defining Atheism Agnosticism a discussion - Video - March 15th, 2014 [March 15th, 2014]
- Richard Dawkins Highlights US Atheist's Video on Agnostic Atheists, Agnostic Theists - March 18th, 2014 [March 18th, 2014]
- Eakins sale plan due by month's end - March 19th, 2014 [March 19th, 2014]
- Khushwant: RIP - March 20th, 2014 [March 20th, 2014]
- WorldReligionNews.com Featured Contributor Series Continues with 'Religious Freedom As A Human Rights Issue' by Donald ... - March 21st, 2014 [March 21st, 2014]
- He believed in life - March 23rd, 2014 [March 23rd, 2014]
- Shakira review: Another appealing album from a charming pop star - March 25th, 2014 [March 25th, 2014]
- Kanika Datta: Great leaps back - March 27th, 2014 [March 27th, 2014]
- Caller: Agnosticism is not the same as Atheism - Video - March 29th, 2014 [March 29th, 2014]
- ATHEISM and AGNOSTICISM - Video - March 29th, 2014 [March 29th, 2014]
- Religious Freedom as a Human Right Featured in World Religion News Featured Contributor Series - April 4th, 2014 [April 4th, 2014]
- Does This Video Show A Skydiver Nearly Being Hit By A Meteorite? - April 4th, 2014 [April 4th, 2014]
- Agnostic | What is the Definition of Agnostic ... - April 4th, 2014 [April 4th, 2014]
- Atheism and Agnosticism Laurence Brown - Video - April 5th, 2014 [April 5th, 2014]
- Why John Hubley Was One of the Best Animators You've Never Heard Of - April 8th, 2014 [April 8th, 2014]
- Atheism, Agnosticism, and Perfect Belief: The Parameters of the Jewish Conceptions of God - Video - April 9th, 2014 [April 9th, 2014]
- The artist known as W - April 11th, 2014 [April 11th, 2014]
- Agnosticism - Religion-wiki - April 14th, 2014 [April 14th, 2014]
- Borges' widow recalls highschool meeting with pope - April 16th, 2014 [April 16th, 2014]
- Rebel Music Author Hisham Aidi on the Relationship Between Hip-Hop and Islam - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Atheism, Agnosticism and the Pointlessness of "Absolute Certainty" - Video - April 19th, 2014 [April 19th, 2014]
- The New Safety Umbrella for school children - April 21st, 2014 [April 21st, 2014]
- Ambiquity a New Life Perspective - April 21st, 2014 [April 21st, 2014]
- Agnosticism vs Gnosticism | VEDA Day Eleven - Video - April 21st, 2014 [April 21st, 2014]
- NJ school sued after atheists object to 'Under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney responds to anti-religion group's complaint - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- WorldReligionNews.com Featured Contributor Series Continues with 'Finding Noah,' Scientology, Hinduism and Religious ... - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- Meet Miriam - the woman who keeps Nick Clegg on his toes - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Book World: Michael Cunninghams heavenly style rules in The Snow Queen - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Author Pochin Moulds adventure in life comes to an end - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Agnosticism, Aliens & Crazies - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Atheist on Agnosticism - Video - May 11th, 2014 [May 11th, 2014]
- History of confession is a tale of sexual obsession, exploitation - May 14th, 2014 [May 14th, 2014]
- Outreach, Inc. Releases Church Resources for 'God's Not Dead' Movie - May 15th, 2014 [May 15th, 2014]