The Other Side of the Debate July 28, 2006March 4, 2017 AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH One of the scientists widely cited as being on the other side of the global warming issue is Peter Doran, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. See? The jury’s still out. (And why would the administration listen to the scientific community anyway? Scientists fail to see the importance of teaching creationism in science class. Scientists murder microscopic embryos in their quest to cure Parkinson’s and paralysis. Scientists are Democrats.) (See, tellingly: ‘SCIENCE FRICTION: The growing – and dangerous – divide between scientists and the GOP.’) So in the interest of presenting both sides of the ‘debate,’ let’s give a little space to Professor Doran, who writes in yesterday’s New York Times: Our results have been misused as ‘evidence’ against global warming by Michael Crichton in his novel State of Fear and by Ann Coulter in her latest book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism. Search my name on the Web, and you will find pages of links to everything from climate discussion groups to Senate policy committee documents – all citing my 2002 study as reason to doubt that the earth is warming. One recent Web column even put words in my mouth. I have never said that ‘the unexpected colder climate in Antarctica may possibly be signaling a lessening of the current global warming cycle.’ I have never thought such a thing either. . . . I would like to remove my name from the list of scientists who dispute global warming. ☞ It took an extra 30 or so years for the tobacco-industry-manufactured scientific ‘debate’ over smoking to be resolved. Millions died prematurely who might have chosen not to smoke if the debate had not been intentionally muddied for so long. The problem is, we may not have 30 years to start doing something about global climate change. People – even our President, who says ‘probably not’ when asked whether he’ll see the movie – ought to allow for the possibility that this global emergency is real. If they made a movie about YOUR HOUSE, would you go see it? Well, they have. ANOTHER SCARY REAL ESTATE FACTOID According to Steven Krystofiak, President of the fledgling Mortgage Broker Association for Responsible Lending, a recent sample of 100 ‘stated income’ loans which were compared to IRS records (which is allowed when the lender has a signed IRS form 4506, but hardly ever done) found that in 90% of the cases, income had been exaggerated by 5% or more – and that in nearly 60% of the cases, it had been exaggerated by more than 50%. ‘These results,’ concludes Krystofiak’s source (page 15), ‘suggest that the ‘stated income’ loan deserves the nickname used by many in the industry, the ‘liar’s loan.’ ‘ Krystofiak’s organization is quite small – well, just three members so far, including him – because let’s face it: mortgage brokers are in business to broker mortgages, not discourage them. (Similarly small groups include On-Line Viagra Marketers United Against Spam and Garage Owners for Taking Full Responsibility When Your Car Is Looted or Damaged While In Our Care.) But the practice he is trying to highlight does seem to merit concern. One more reason residential housing may more and more become ‘a buyer’s market’ in the months ahead. LEBANON It is all so tragic and ominous, one barely knows where to begin. Monday, I’ll post some of the heart-felt and thought-provoking analyses I’ve received, for your comment.