Before What Flood?
A week ago, National Geographic released a propaganda film featuring Leonardo Dicaprio. I suspect it will join An Inconvenient Truth in its impact on society. This is unfortunate, because much of its content is spin, ignorance, or outright fraud.
To summarize: Dr. Mann’s Hockey Stick is still fraudulent and thoroughly debunked. Individual floods are weather, not climate, and major storms are not trending enough to warrant dire alarm. We will not be underwater in 50 years or 100 years or 150 years. The ice caps are not melting, and Greenland’s demise is probably exaggerated.
In fact, most of what is presented as data in this movie should be viewed as hype and as bad or dishonest science.
First, Do No Harm
So, what do we think of the film’s cure for anthropomorphic global warm…I mean climate change? I would use the term nonsensical.
Humanity already possesses two completely green methods of generating electricity: nuclear and hydro. Hydro is well understood and can efficiently produce electricity in areas with rivers. Nuclear is more expensive than coal, but less expensive than wind or solar. Moreover, breakthroughs in this technology are in the final stages of testing that, if successful, would merely show the public what the engineers already know: that it’s now safe and cheap.
So, Leo ended his doomsday tale with the brave new world already being issued in by provably cheap nuclear power, right? Not even close. Instead, we heard from Elon Musk about how the government needs to use its monopoly on violence to rig the game in favor of his… I mean GREEN technology. We also heard about how we need to use inefficient wind and solar power.
Following this plan everywhere would kill hundreds of millions, as food and other basic necessities become significantly more expensive in already impoverished lands. Following this plan in the West would mean drastic reductions in the standard of living of its citizens and take decades to recover from.
I can not fathom why this plan appeals to the West’s ruling elite so much. I also find it difficult to accept, much less endorse.
