The facts have changed, now we must change too. For the past 10 years an unlikely coalition of geologists, oil drillers, bankers, military strategists and environmentalists has been warning that peak oil – the decline of global supplies – is just around the corner. We had some strong reasons for doing so: production had slowed, the price had risen sharply, depletion was widespread and appeared to be escalating. The first of the great resource crunches seemed about to strike.
–snip–
Some of us made vague predictions, others were more specific. In all cases we were wrong.
The article was written by breathless alarmist George Monbiot in The Guardian. Now, I’m not apologetic for my characterization of this lying fraud. This hack who hides behind his word processor. I have no characterizations bitter enough to hurl at this tool.
First off, I suppose I should calm down and thank George for his all-too-late honesty. I guess when reality is no longer avoidable, and empirical evidence exposes all your predictions to be wrong, what choice do you have? We don’t hear much from that incredible pillock Colin “I invented Peak Oil and you’re a flat-earther” Campbell anymore, do we? This is what he wrote way back in 2001, as even then his dire prediction wasn’t coming true. So he attacked:
Some members of the flat-earth fraternity have made a career of pointing out how earlier estimates needed revision and correction. They will not be disappointed with this assessment that differs yet again from earlier ones. Whereas a scientist would describe this evolution as progress based on a growing knowledge of Nature, the flat-earth fraternity will claim it as evidence that a resource-based approach to forecasting production is fundamentally flawed.
Fundamentally flawed? Huh! What could they have been thinking?
But back to Monbiot:
For the past 10 years an unlikely coalition of geologists, oil drillers, bankers, military strategists and environmentalists has been warning that peak oil – the decline of global supplies – is just around the corner.
10 years? Uh no, wrong, douchebag. Even a lazy sophomoric moron like me can use Google. M. King Hubert first postulated the idea that the fossil fuel era would be of very short duration back in 1949. Here’s a website dedicated to Hubert: HubertPeak.com. You just can’t make this stuff up.
I want to be very clear about the source of my anger. I believe strongly in science, in the Scientific Method, and the search for truth. I believe any scientist who explains his theory with “Consensus” is a fraud and that anyone who uses lies, fear, intimidation, misdirection, name-calling, etc., to compel agreement or silence dissent has no scientific or ethical foundation upon which to stand. Environmental activism has potentially done irrevocable damage to real, important scientific endeavors as it masquerades as science to achieve a series of social-justice goals. It’s perverse. And it’s fundamentally wrong.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s Star Trek: The Next Generation was in full swing and there was an episode with a line that made an impression on me. There had been an accident resulting in a death at the Academy and the Enterprise figured out that there was an error in judgement that caused the accident which led to a lie to cover it up. The Captain brought in the cadet involved and dressed him down explaining plainly that:
The first duty of a Starfleet Officer is to the truth. Be it scientific truth, or historic truth or personal truth. It’s the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based.
Clearly, truth is not the guiding principle of the environmental left.