Who is S. Fred Singer and why does he matter?

I am a subscriber to the publication of Hillsdale College called Imprimis. The latest issue (AUG 2007) arrived in the mail a few days ago. I had the pleasure of reading it last night. S. Fred Singer is Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia. His list of credentials go on from there. He gave a lecture at Hillsdale College on June 30, 2007, from which the Imprimis article “Global Warming: Man-Made or Natural?” was adapted.

His concluding remarks were: “We can only trust that reason will prevail in the face of an onslaught of propaganda like Al Gore’s movie and despite the incessant misinformation generated by the media. Today, the imposed costs are still modest, and mostly hidden in taxes and in charges for electricity and motor fuels. If the scaremongers have their way, these costs will become enormous. But I believe that sound science and good sense will prevail in the face of irrational and scientifically baseless climate fears.”

I wish I could be as optimistic as Fred. I wish everyone would read this kind of rational and scholarly approach to offset the hysteria in the media over “global warming.” But sadly, and to our common detriment, these voices of reason go unheard and unreported. As a result…

“Because of the mistaken idea that governments can and must do something about climate change, pressures are building that have the potential of distorting energy policies in a way that will severely damage national economies, decrease standards of living, and increase poverty. This misdirection of resources will adversely affect human health and welfare in industrialized nations, and even more in developing nations.“

This is the real crux of the issue for me as a person who cares about God’s creation and the people that live in it. What kind of pride (hubris) does it take to think that we can change and manipulate natural trends that have been happening for eons? Do we really think we can control everything? Are we God? I think that we think we are!

How can we tell the poor, deprived and suffering people of the world, who see us in the developed world enjoying the benefits of clean, safe, cheap abundant energy, that they can’t have it because the world is warming up? That’s what more and more of our policies are communicating to them! And often, it is the “liberal-minded” politicians who say they care about “the people” who are making these policies.

I also don’t see the Al Gore’s and the other celebrities radically altering their lifestyles to walk their talk. Instead, it looks to me like they invent workarounds like “energy credits” to appease their guilty consciences, and in the end to do nothing real to improve the situation they decry by their actions. The hypocrisy really turns me off.