Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the WSJ's editorial page, the zombie arguments have returned. (We're kidding, of course; not about the zombies, but the idea that the WSJ's editorial page could ever be thought safe!) In the latest of a slew of contrarian WSJ op-eds, Lamar Smith—a Texas Republican and chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee—has a piece he seems to have written years ago and is only now bothering to dust off and publish.
Smith's piece resuscitates a number of dead denial myths and bizarrely focuses on the 2008 IPCC report instead of the new one from 2013. He even quote mines the 2010 InterAcademy Council's review of the IPCC, choosing a quote that says there are shortcomings in the IPCC process and apparently hoping his readers won't go to the actual report, which concludes, “that the IPCC assessment process has been successful overall and has served society well.”
Smith also discusses the pause, extreme weather and Obama's climate policies, presenting old denier talking points instead of anything fresh (or accurate). A rebuttal can be found at Huffington Post.
Finally, to end with some irony, we have Smith's conclusion. He states, "The intellectual dishonesty of senior administration officials who are unwilling to admit when they are wrong is astounding. When assessing climate change, we should focus on good science, not politically correct science." Perhaps Representative Smith should heed his own advice by admitting he was wrong and focusing on good science, instead of playing Dr. Frankenstein and reviving zombie myths.
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