When one group of scientists first said smoking was bad for you, the tobacco industry funded another group of researchers to say the science was inconclusive. When dietitians began saying saturated animal fats hurt your heart, the beef and dairy industry rolled out their own group of gurus saying “not so bad.”
And now that we have a a whole heard of scientists saying that human activity is causing global warming, everyone from the oil industry to the libertarian think tanks are rolling out thinkers who say humans aren’t causing climate change.
In other words, science gets manipulated. You’ll hear one thing one day and another thing the next. Fighting it is a bit like fighting a tornado.
And to my mind, the debate over the science is pointless. All over the world, countries are going to be increasingly buying renewable energy. The question is, does the United States want to be at the forefront of the renewable energy sector or not? Do we want to be exporters of the new green tech, and create green jobs in doing so, or not?
Do we want to get caught up in a ridiculous scientific argument or do we want to just get something done? Since wisdom provides us with the capacity to make the right decisions, we might as well use it. The current scientific debate, despite its ridiculous legitimization by mainstream journalists, is designed to cause “stasis through obfuscation,” as my wife Michelle calls it.
We don’t have to wait until “science” clears things up. We don’t have to be too confused to do anything. We already have enough wisdom to know what to do. Because even if some people think the science isn’t clear, as I’m fond of saying, wisdom sometimes trumps science.
PS It’s my birthday today. If you feel like giving me a present, you could make a donation to the No Impact Project (which helps people to find happier, more eco-friendly lives and is described here) by clicking the button below.
