By Peter Bozanich

Here are three common techniques that global warming extremists use to shut down dissent.

(1) Shoot the messenger. Instead of taking on the argument, you try to cast doubt on the writer’s credibility. For example, suggest that the writer is “funded by the oil industry.” This does nothing to refute the argument, but it makes readers question whether the writer should be believed at all.

(2) Ride the bandwagon. One will frequently hear global warming extremists use the phrase “consensus” as in “there’s no point discussing this – a consensus of scientists agree that global warming is real.” This is a term which belongs in the realm of politics much more than science. Remember that there was once a “consensus” on the world being flat.

Richard Lintzen, an MIT scientist, calls global warming “junk science.” Dr. Timothy Ball, a climatologist at the University of Winnipeg, calls global warming “the greatest deception in the history of science.” Bill Gray, a climatologist from the University of Colorado (and the nation’s foremost hurricane expert), calls global warming a “hoax.”

In fact there is a film out now that refutes much of the current disinformation about global warming called “The Great Global Warming Swindle.” The program which aired earlier this month in Great Britain, features expert after expert in the fields of climatology, oceanography, biogeography, meteorology and paleoclimatology from reputable institutions such as NASA, MIT, The International Arctic Research Centre, the Pasteur Institut in Paris, the Danish National Space Center and the Universities of Winnipeg, Ottawa, London, Jerusalem, Alabama and Virginia.

The documentary can actually be viewed for free online (just search “great global warming swindle video” in Google) and can even be purchased on DVD. The film won’t win any Oscars, but definitely destroys the myth that there is a consensus about global warming.

 (3) Outright censorship. This is the most dangerous aspect of the current hysteria. Former Pioneer Press columnist Brian Lambert suggested in a recent column that global warming skeptics should now be silenced. Two state climatologists – David Legates in Delaware and George Taylor in Oregon – are being threatened with loss of employment because they have expressed doubts about global warming. The Weather Channel’s Heidi Cullen recently called for decertification of meteorologists who refuse to acknowledge global warming.

It’s like a religion shunning its heretics. It recalls the darkest days of McCarthyism – a time when people were afraid to speak the truth for fear of losing their job, their freedom and even their life.

No one is disputing that our climate is changing. But the theory that carbon dioxide emissions have any discernable effect on climate has always lacked solid scientific evidence. Yes, humans have an effect on climate, but it’s infinitesimally tiny compared with the vast natural forces which are constantly pushing global temperatures up and down.

The reason all of this matters is that once politicians have scared you into believing that the world is about to end, they leave you with no other choice but to let them fix it. And it is their solution – not global warming – that ought to terrify every one of us.

It turns out that the costs of committing our state to a lower standard of living, fewer jobs and higher prices are real and quantifiable.

According to a Heritage Institute study the costs of limiting carbon emissions in Minnesota would include:

* A cost of $4.2 billion per year. That’s money that will no longer be available for schools, roads, fighting crime or health care.

* 30,000 lost jobs. Innocent people will be thrown out of work.

* $1.6 billion in lost wages. While government gets bigger, you get poorer.

* A drop in agricultural output. Watch your grocery bills skyrocket!

Real people and real jobs would all suffer. And for what? Because your politician saw Al Gore’s movie and believes every word?

When you hear the phrase “global warming,” think “big government” and “central control.” Because that is the ultimate goal. The global warming extremists don’t want to debate. But they do want your freedom.

And they’ll try to shout down anyone who stands in their way.

Peter Bozanich of Eden Prairie is the webmaster for the Senate District 42 Republican Party