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October 6, 2008 10:52:04 PM CDT

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Global Warming's a Myth; Here's Why People Believe

Posted Jul 1, 08 9:31 AM CDT in Opinion,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – Global warming is a bunch of hooey, a “nonfalsifiable hypothesis logically indistinguishable from claims for the existence of God”—and any discussion of it is not a matter of science but one of “sick-souled religion,” writes Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal. Evidence has emerged to undercut the theory—expanding sea in in the Antarctic, for example—yet its believers are resolute, Stephens writes. He offers three reasons why.

First, it’s a convenient belief for leftists because green living validates a number of typically liberal (and anti-capitalist) viewpoints such as “population control” and “higher taxes.” Second, global warming justifies an “ascetic” lifestyle—“drive less, buy less, walk lightly”—one that’s comforting from a theological perspective. And, finally, it satisfies a need for penitence. “Global warming is nature's great comeuppance, affirming our guilty conscience for our worldly success.”

Source Wall Street Journal

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Jim Hansen, a leading researcher on global warming, on Monday, June 23, 2008. Hansen's climate talks sound Biblical, writes Bret Stephens.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Global warming is actually very convenient, for liberals, writes Bret Stephens.   (AP Photo)
Global warming isn't a matter of science, it's a matter of belief, writes Bret Stephens.   (AP Photo)
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