Environmental Extremists

NASA's Dr James Hansen called today for the thought police to arrest and punish those CEOs of energy corporations that don't hew to his global warming orthodoxy. He said the heads of fossil fuel companies who "spread disinformation" (i.e., disagree with him) about global warming should be "tried for high crimes against humanity and nature."

This evening I saw a spokesman for the National Resources Defense Council being interviewed about Hansen's testimony and statements. She did say three things that were true:

• Dr Hansen testified before Congress today.
• He has been in the government for more than 20 years.
• He was the first "major scientist" to warn of the dangers of global warming and assert the need for a massive and immediate response to save the earth.

Everything else she said in the prepared speeches she used, as answers to the questions she was asked, was false. And most of it was slanderous, like her explicit claim that all the scientists and researchers who don't accept Hansen's orthodoxy are bought and paid for by the oil companies.

No wonder she had no response to the question of why we should listen to politicians (several were named) who are beholden to environmental extremists.

My only question is whether these people are being deliberately dishonest — that is, are they lying only to us or are they lying to themselves as well?