Senator Menendez & His Global Warming Fantasy

on December 27, 2010 at 10:25 AM

Jenny EriksonChristmas 2010 has come and gone, and if your kids are anything like my precocious seven-year-old, they’re playing with their new toys, taking stock of their inventory, and measuring it against the wish list they sent to Santa earlier this month. Let’s face it; Jolly Old Saint Nick is rarely able to completely fulfill the fantasy of every child that pens him a letter -- especially when the kid asks for a driver’s license.

Last week, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) wrote an open letter to the mythical North Polian, asking him to consider relocating to New Jersey when the polar ice caps melt due to man-caused global warming.

I am writing out of concern, because you may have to move from the North Pole due to the dramatic melting of Arctic sea ice.

I want you to know that if you want to relocate to the beautiful state of New Jersey, I would be proud to assist you. But given the climate you are accustomed to, I will understand if you would like to relocate to the South Pole. Just be sure not to move to the Antarctic Peninsula or West Antarctic ice sheet, areas that are also experiencing rapid ice melt.

It’s a kitschy, fun letter, and as someone that often employs humor in her political writing, I wish I’d thought of it first. But the entire premise is completely off base. Senator Menendez claims, “Scientists overwhelmingly agree that polar ice is melting because of greenhouse gas pollution,” therefore poor Santa will be out of a home soon.

Scientists do not agree that polar ice is melting, regardless of the cause. It’s almost laughable to make such claims in the face of record cold and unexpected blizzards. The only thing that has been agreed upon in this whole ‘global warming’ business is that scientists and politicians have fudged the numbers for their own political or financial gain.

However, let’s assume for a moment that global warming is actually happening … is that necessarily a bad thing for Santa Claus? He’s been forced to live in secrecy at the North Pole for hundreds of years; maybe he’d like to live famously in New Jersey. He could sit on the White House Council for Community Solutions with fellow New Jerseylicious rock star Jon Bon Jovi, or maybe even hang out with Snooki to confirm her entry on the ‘naughty’ list.

My wish list to Senator Menendez is short and simple: Please use your time and energy addressing real issues like our economy. Your resources are ill used writing silly letters to a non-existent person about questionable and unsettled arguments.

Filed Under: barack obama, environment, in the news, politics, weather

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Comments (15)

lovinangels

on Dec 27, 2010 at 12:12 PM

Someone with that kind of sense should keep writing letters to the fictional. She obviously doesn't have a lick of sense, and I'd prefer she keeps her fingers out of the economy.

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Nonmember comment from wolfheinl

on Dec 27, 2010 at 1:38 PM

You are flat out wrong. The properties of CO2 as an molecule which retains heat in a particular wavelength has been known for 150 years. This gas has been accumating through the burning of fossil fuels. The fact its from fossil fuels is proven by isotopic measurements. The loss of ice cover in the arctic because of warmer water and air has been dramatic and is the result of climate change. Changes in temperature affects airflow (air expands when heated as does water). We are in what is called a negative polar oscillation which causes a higher then normal air pressure. Although everyone is entitled to an opinion, don't you think that as a blogger, it is your responsibility to fully check out the facts, and not just Fox Facts. These facts may be found at the National Academy of Science (founded by Abe Lincoln), the National Science Foundation, the American Meterology Association, NOAA, the Met in the UK, to name a few. As a scientist who worked my way through Cornell University and who has a masters from Carnegie Mellon, I take exception to your piece and see it as a deluded.

rerratron

on Dec 27, 2010 at 4:15 PM

You've written an article criticizing the science behind global warming, yet your "source" is a publication owned by a radical right-wing group. And you criticize someone else for being "silly"?

Nonmember comment from Rocin

on Dec 27, 2010 at 6:34 PM

AGW & other liberal lies: Explaining why he lied when he pushed corn based ethanol, Al Gore recently stated: “I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee, and I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.” Read the whole thing: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE6AL0YT20101122?sp=true

Facebook comment from Julia Riley Crossman

on Dec 27, 2010 at 8:44 PM

I'm sorry, but this post makes you sound like a total idiot. Extremely uneducated, and basically the type of girl who just repeats what her husband/daddy tell her. Do a little more research next time you decide to publish something as fact.

on Dec 27, 2010 at 9:54 PM

Well, when you’ve lost the ϋber politically correct Germans, you’ve totally lost it. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100032460/when-the-germans-give-up-on-agw-you-really-do-know-its-all-over/ Try to read something besides just leftist literature! Read both sides, try it, you'll like it!! (And, btw, don't give away your cold weather gear, you're still going to need it!)

Nonmember comment from John Crosswhite

on Dec 27, 2010 at 10:07 PM

Agree with Julia. In A BIG BIG WAY! Also agree with reratron. Couldn't help but notice your sources tend to be conservative, GOP, Right Wing, Republican, etc. type sites. Try getting information from more unbiased sites or make your own research. Stop copying what other people have already said, and just putting it in your words.

on Dec 27, 2010 at 10:46 PM

Rocin, we could say the same to you. You are trying to prove your point that Global Warming is a myth, which, lets face it, is predominately a Right Wing view. So what do you cite to prove your point? The rantings of a huge right wing author. James Delingpole, author of How to be Right: The Essential Guide to Making Lefty Liberals History, hmmmm... I somehow doubt he would have a non biased opinion. How about National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming.html Perhaps you should turn off Fox News and get your head out of Right Wing Literature. You may not like it as much, but you'll learn something.

on Dec 28, 2010 at 9:31 AM

No, I don’t watch Fox any more than the others. I do read a lot of differing opinions about important issues, to try to understand what a variety of experts are saying. Try googling the following people, look at their credentials, and read what they say: Paul Hudson @ BBC, Freeman Dyson, Robert Laughlin, and especially Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology, @ MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. They provide thoughtful discussions of the issues, which will help you make an informed opinion. (Btw; there is an old adage in politics, “Follow the Money.” Whenever you see people enriching themselves, or trying to control large areas of economic outcome, you should be very suspicious, and question their motivations.)

on Dec 28, 2010 at 10:11 AM

I have a feeling that I'm about to get into an argument where the pot will be called black by the kettle a lot. I refuse to get into that argument with someone who wouldn't understand that the pot and kettle are both black. I think you should understand that there are opinions for and against global warming. The people who call it a sham are "TYPICALLY" right wing conservatives as well as people with money or people who are getting money for their research. The COMMON opinion (I know you will debate that, but it really is true, more people believe it.) is that Global warming is a fact. The organizations that believe this are typically more leftist, or liberal, or moderates, or UNBIASED ecological or scientific research groups. Also, in regards to keeping your cold weather gear... once again, you are proving your ignorance in this matter Rocin. Global Warming, despite its name, doesn't just make warmer weather. It affects climate and tides and all sorts of things. Those things have affects on a lot of other aspects of our lives and weather. The results can be hot yes, or it can be cold. Typically it is a warming up but, no, not always.