Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The new obscurantism

As even their carbon-based corporate patrons slowly bail out, new strategies are emerging from conservatives in their challenging of the evidence of human-induced global warming. Hence from within National Review's blogging empire, a new one called Planet Gore -- based on the highly scientific principle that one disputes evidence by taking issue with one of the people who cites such evidence. The blog provides no bios for any of its contributors, and its brief statement of purpose says --

[National Review Online] has gathered a team of experts to report and comment on the myriad scientific and economic issues surrounding the global warming debate. So check back regularly for informed news and views about climate change, alternative energy, environmental activism, and of course, Al Gore's carbon footprint.

So far one of the featured "experts" is Jay Richards, who (given the absence of bios) has to be Googled to reveal that --

Jay W. Richards is Research Fellow and Director of Acton Media at the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology (with honors) from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was formerly a Teaching Fellow.

That must be quite a meteorological program they have at the Princeton Theological Seminary. It's less clear what the scientific expertise of fellow contributor Kathryn Jean Lopez is. But it is clear that the blog will be yet another card in the constantly shuffled deck of "institutes" that counter the slow march of theory and evidence with screaming about Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi.

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