Jávea
April 30, 2017
‘Half of science is wrong’. This statement was made by the Editor in Chief of the prestigious journal The Lancet, Dr Richard Horton, just two years ago.
However, Tom Draper in ‘The British Scene’ denounces anyone who does not accept Science, carte blanche, as an idiot.
Now abuse is nothing new from Draper for people who do not agree with his view of the world. In recent months he has used the usual language of the liberal-left of bigot or racist for anyone of opposing views.
Nor is Horton alone; many scientists have grave doubts over modern scientific research. I quote directly from his statement which does it better than I could, “The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness.”
As a chemistry graduate I worked for 25 years in a government research institute before retirement and I believe in science, but saw much of this up close. Scientists, if you don’t already know, are expected to publish, publish, publish, which allows them to seek grants, more grants, and even more grants which pays their salary and to lavish money on their departments.
I suspect Draper is directing his criticism at those who question global warming and climate change. Well I’m one of those idiots! The problem is that every anomalous weather event worldwide is now reported instantly and the media present it as an ‘extreme’ event when it is not. The BBC also have an agenda and get in on the act. Only two weeks ago a typhoon in Queensland was reported as freak weather, though it is the typhoon season there.
This type of reporting is going on all the time. World ends: the poor, women, and people of colour hardest hit by climate change are typical. You can guess where their politics lie.
Then of course we have reporting which has the greatest impact. Any animal which is cute, photogenic, cuddly or delicious is promised to teeter on the precipice of extinction, but those which prick, bite, poison, main and kill or are pestilential will thrive. Global warming is selective!
Add to this, we have people who have never done an experiment in their lives pontificating such as ex Vice-President Al Gore, who predicted no Arctic Summer Sea Ice by 2012 (it hasn’t happened, oh and by the way the Antartic Ice is increasing). Similarly, Prince Charles said in July 2009, ‘We have 96 months to save the World’. So you’d better watch out in July.
Draper takes us through the scientific method in his piece but omits that real science is about experiments that can be reproduced. This is the problem with climate science, it is not experimental. Too often it is based on dodgy data fed into computer models. The obvious experiment to be done would be to discharge large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and see the effects. Clearly this can’t be done. However, a similar thing was done at the beginning of World War II. Britain, Germany, Japan, Russia and the USA became fully mobilised in ‘Total War’. This was unprecedented, yet global temperatures decreased! This continued into the 70s and the ‘concensus’ when I took O-level Geography in 1965 was that we were heading towards a mini Ice Age. I have not seen any explanation of this by global warmists.
When climate change fears kicked off some thirty years ago, from memory 2020 would be a watershed time for all sorts of terrible events which haven’t happened. Now, these predictions are being pushed further and further back towards the end of the 21st century. I wonder why?
Finally, here are just a few things experts told us – but I could go on and on:
1. During the 70s oil crisis, oil would run out by 2000.
2. In the early 80s, computers would give us enough leisure time for a three-day week.
3. In the mid 80s, AIDS would kill three million in the UK alone by 2000.
4. Mad Cow disease would kill untold numbers. I think it was under 200.
5. SARS and bird flu could kill millions.
6. Remember the millenium bug?
7. More recently, Britain’s health would be transformed by the inspiration of 2012 Olympics. Numbers have reduced significantly. Billions wasted.
So to Tom Draper, I shall continue to be an idiotic sceptic.
Regards
Peter A Fletcher
