Michael Crichton Takes on Junk Science

Michael Crichton is one of the most successful writers around, and his books have often taken on a similar theme - new technology running amok (see Jurassic Park, Prey, and many others). Michael has a new book out called State of Fear, and based on early reviews, this one should be really interesting, especially to conservatives.

This time, instead of hammering us on the threats posed by technology, Michael gets after the "scientists" and "activitists" who have made it their life's work to scare us all to death with dire warnings of tragedies to come if we don't stop what we're doing and live our lives the way they want us to. In many cases the justification for these warnings have turned out to be junk science.

How many of you remember the global cooling threat in the seventies? That's right - cooling. I was flipping channels one night and came across Leonard Nimoy's old show "In Search Of..." which was recorded sometime back in the 70's. The whole show was about the coming ice age and how if we didn't change our ways, we'd all be popsicles in a few years.

Just a few years later global cooling was replaced by global warming, and it is backed by the same junk science that gave us Nimoy's show. The fact is the earth has gone through various cooling and warming periods without any help from man, and I doubt that man is really making that much of an impact today. It's the height of arrogance to assume that we are capable of destroying the planet or making more than token changes in how it operates. You can light off every weapon we have, and I guarantee you the world will go on.

It will also be interesting to see how Hollywood reacts to this book. Most of Crichton's books have been made into movies, and very successful ones at that. But will Hollywood want to make a movie that debunks many of their precious beliefs about the environment? Probably not. I doubt that the same people who praised the environmental nonsense in "Day After Tomorrow" will be anxious to prove themselves wrong.

I can remember back in the mid-80's actor Ted Danson stood on the shore of Santa Monica Bay and told us if we didn't change our ways, the oceans would be dead in 10 years. Anybody gone fishing lately?

I haven't read the book yet (my wife is getting it for me for Christmas), and I'm looking forward to sitting in my mountain home away from home right after Christmas and see what Crichton has to say to the Hollywood and scientific lefties.