I was calming reading my Sunday paper (how archaic right?), when I stumbled upon a piece in the opinion section that I had to share. My paper does a section every Sunday where they pick a topic, and give you two articles on it: a ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ coverage style.

This Sunday’s was “Global Warming: Do We Need Kyoto?” I read both articles thoroughly, and was impressed by both author’s attempts to plead their cause. However, I was left with a revelation that the crowd that is most shrill about Kyoto and global warming seems to be the least informed (or maybe "most selective" in what they pay attention to). Before I continue my “rant”, I will link you to both articles:

Yes

No

The article in favor of Kyoto was written by Amitabh Pal, who is the Managing Editor of The Progressive magazine (and occasionally moonlights for Knight Ridder). His other recent articles include “Condoleezza fails to sell torture” and “Bush’s Unpopularity is Good News of the World”. Pal has a Master's in Political Science, specializing in international relations, from N.C. State University in Raleigh, N.C. He has a Master's in Journalism from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He did his Bachelor's from Lucknow University, double majoring in Geology and Chemistry.

The article against Kyoto was written by Roy Spencer, a principle research scientist for the University of Alabama in Huntsville, previously named Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and the recipient of NASA’s Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement. He is principle known for his satellite-based temperature monitoring work, for which he got the American Meteorological Society’s Special Award (who occasionally moonlights for the local paper and Tech Central Station).

I’ll leave it to you to decide which has more credence, or which opinion to assign more weight to concerning Kyoto and global warming. But let’s suffice it to say that one openly supports a “progressive” political ideology, and can only claim to be an accomplished journalist. The other has won awards for his research and work into the world of climate and meteorological study.

Roy recently wrote about his attendance at the latest rounds of Kyoto talks… and his quote:

“MONTREAL -- As one of the very few scientists at the UN's eleventh Conference of the Parties climate meeting (COP-11), I feel like an outsider. That's because I am. The army of thousands in attendance (international delegates, NGOs, and all manner of stakeholders in the climate change issue), have little interest in knowing how certain or uncertain the science of global warming is. All these people know - or need to know - is that the "glaciers are melting," it's getting "hotter every year", and "climate change is killing people now" (all of these are direct quotes from presenters).”

I know this sounds like heresy to the masses of people determined to save the earth despite any and all evidence that it doesn’t need saving, but please, just read the articles, and keep your mind open.

For another article about the fallacy of global warming and Kyoto, see “COP 11 Coverage: Culture Shock in Montreal”, also by Roy Spencer. Remember folks, he is the scientist (whom we hear are supposed to support global warming).

As for my opinion, I think you can figure that out by now.