Climate and conspiracy
CENSORING SCIENCE:
The Truth about Global Warming and the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen
By Mark Bowen
336 pp. Dutton $25.95
Reviewed by Debbie Curran
Finally, after reading this book, we will know the truth about global warming—or will we? The data set one must research, understand, and interpret is immense, and a book that can bring the reader to the point of truly understanding such a plethora of information will certainly be well received. Or so I thought.
The author seemed more intent on foisting his political views on the readers from the first chapter. One could certainly predict where he was heading. Just trying to follow the “he said, she said” dialogue was mind-numbing, and then to find out there was a “vast conspiracy” of evildoers who were so sly they did not leave a paper trail was exasperating.
This book about Dr. James Hansen, a noted climatologist, was supposed to enlighten the reader about global warming and the persecution Dr. Hansen went through while trying to get his message out to the public. Instead it is largely concerned with the missteps of a powerful administration, corporate greed, Christian fundamentalists, political ideologues, manipulating federal agencies and renowned scientists who dared question the data set and abundant facts about the theory of “global warming.” Certainly one would have to be crazy to have another view of climate change and why it must be occurring. Or perhaps the scientists of the opposite view have the exact same data. How can that be? Any information that is statistical in nature can always be massaged to reflect the desired outcome. One only has to take a college-level statistics class to understand this.
To begin with, in order to get through this book one must have an interest in the subject of climate change. Millions of uninformed individuals who only have knowledge obtained from headlines and newscasts are sure that global warming is new in modern times. But no one book will have the answer to the question: Is man the cause of climate change? This reviewer is not qualified to answer that question, but anyone with a keen interest in the subject matter could plod through this book and compare it to others on the same subject.
Bowen wrote the first four chapters in such a way as to lead to questions about his real reason for writing this book. Clearly, Hansen’s story was the catalyst for an unyielding tirade against the Bush/Cheney administration, but the author uses the first few chapters to try to establish corruption at the highest levels, rather than to prove his scientific credibility. He produces no documentation to prop up his claim of a conspiracy to keep Hansen’s research under wraps.
Several instances where Hansen could have made a case for himself seemed to indicate that he is a man of innocence with a naive understanding of the world around him. When, for example, Hansen made a discovery of “rainbows” and “glories” in the scattered sunlight from Venus, he believed “that the planet’s veil was made up of tiny spherical particles in a surprisingly narrow size range,” which meant that they were probably water droplets consisting of 75 percent sulfuric acid, and not crystals of ice. This information was important because of the connection Hansen made to the Earth’s stratosphere and water droplets contaminated with volcanic ash, which would cause a parasol effect and cool the planet.
Dr. Hansen brought this important information to another reigning expert in the field of atmospheric chemistry, Dr. John Lewis of MIT, who told him that his information could not be true, and that it was “impossible on Venus.” So, with only the advice of one other scientist, he published an article in the journal Science in 1971, and only wrote about the physical characteristics of droplets, with no information about the composition. Another scientist, looking at similar information at about the same time, also came to the conclusion that the droplets on Venus were made up of sulfuric acid and published the results of his investigation.
“So,” Hansen says, “I provided him with 90 percent of the information, but I did not reap the scientific benefits.” This is only one example of the way Dr. Hansen’s inexperience with the world of scientific competition allowed him to be overlooked as a scientist of note. Many more examples of these experiences woven throughout the book led me to wonder about the credibility of the many stories supporting the claims of political persecution.
The most interesting chapter was the one on Hansen’s background. It left me wondering why the author didn't allow the reader to know Hansen better by developing a relationship with him sooner. Instead the author wanted to entice the reader by using hearsay and innuendo that was not backed with documentation. The conclusion I came to was that the politics of the theory of global warming takes precedence over the factual evidence presented for analysis. It seems that the information about global climate change is secondary to the politics of global warming, and one should be careful not to tread on the politics for fear of alienating people with limited understanding of such a complex topic.
It is important to note that when reading about subject matter which is scientific in nature one must approach the subject at hand with an objective eye, since it is certainly possible that the same information could be interpreted quite differently by others. Dozens of books and articles have been published about climate change and the destruction which will occur to our planet. An equal number of books and articles with the opposite view have been published. One should always search for the truth in all that is provided as information for the masses. Both sides of any issue should be heard. Dr. Hansen believes that before this decade is over—two years from now—we will be beyond reversing the damage being done to the earth. Many other scientists do not agree with his findings. The optimist in me believes the earth will take care of itself, and if that means the end to mankind then it will not be the first, nor will it be the last, time our planet adjusted for new species.
Deborah Curran teaches math and social studies to middle school students in Massachusetts. She enjoys her family, friends,
discovering new places, and reading—not to escape, but to explore and learn.
Tell us what you think about this review. We’ll post your comments on the blog.