Adviser Daniel Patrick Moynihan, notable as a Democrat in the administration, urged the administration to initiate a worldwide system of monitoring carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, decades before the issue of global warming came to the public's attention.Of course temperatures at the time it had not warmed at all since the 1940s and people were talking about global cooling. So tricky Dick responded by forming the EPA and heralding Earth Day, thinking he might get the hippie vote after all.
There is widespread agreement that carbon dioxide content will rise 25 percent by 2000, Moynihan wrote in a September 1969 memo.
"This could increase the average temperature near the earth's surface by 7 degrees Fahrenheit," he wrote. "This in turn could raise the level of the sea by 10 feet. Goodbye New York. Goodbye Washington, for that matter."
Meanwhile Moynihan's prediction was not so hot--about as hot as James Hansen's 1988 prediction. But good Lord, why let reality get in the way of global fear and hyperbole? Obama, noble citizen of the world, still has a planet to save!
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“Tell me,” said the presidential hopeful to his senior campaign advisor, “how can I reach the pathetically stupid masses to convince them, I am the right man for this job?”
“Well, you can use a hope and change mantra; our statistical analysis demonstrates that this works 99.9% of the time.”
“Yes, yes … I agree, but this was used by that other fellow,” said the candidate.
“There is one possibility … I hesitate to mention it to you because —well, you’ll probably think it is a tired old shoe in the campaign-election rack … er, profession,” his advisor said.
“Tell me, tell me!”
“Our further analysis tells us that global warming and climate change warnings work consistently 150% of the time. All you gotta do is tell the people sea levels are rising, that man eating sharks will be swimming around the Washington Monument if something isn’t done about it —and soon, and you’ll be elected by a landslide victory.”
“But what if it doesn’t really happen; won’t the voters get wise after the first four years?” the candidate asked.
“No,” he answered laughing, “that’s the best part. You can use the same BS in your bid for reelection and it will work then too. You see, it has to do with the voter’s incapacity to remember beyond a 30-second sound bite.”
“Wow …”
“Yes, it is quite amazing.”
“So tell me, why are American voters so dumb?”
“We got them hooked on Fruit Loops cereal years ago; guaranteed to make people stupid after only 200 spoonfuls.”
Fruit Loops. Dang, no wonder my mother would never let us eat more than 150 spoonfuls.
Oh well, if the enviros want to hitch their wagon to Nixon I say let them..
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