Blinded By Global Warming

I'm surprised we haven't heard more about the provable link between global warming and blindness, because cases of it are cropping up more and more. Like this poor, pathetic fool, calling for an email campaign against an American history book:

"American Government", 11th edition is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and approved for use in high school Advanced Placement courses in the United States. On page 559, the textbook's authors write that "it is a foolish politician who today opposes environmentalism. And that creates a problem, because not all environmental issues are equally deserving of support. Take the case of global warming. (..) On the one hand, a warmer globe will cause sea levels to rise, threatening coastal communities; on the other hand, greater warmth will make it easier and cheaper to grow crops and avoid high heating bills."

Whether or not global warming is a proven scientific fact, I can not imagine what a simplistic mind would even think of putting this in a student's text book.

Whatever effects we feel from global warming, if we ever do, will be simplistic ones. A hotter summer. A drier year. A smaller beach. And a lower heating bill. (Of course, we'll also get a higher AC bill.) The simplistic mind belongs to the blind blogger.

Are we not supposed to teach our children to think rationally about problems, to see both sides, to study causality and solutions? Or are we supposed to teach them to think the worst and accept only no solution or draconian solutions?

Friends of the Earth is calling for an email campaign against the book, citing the passage the blind blogger cited above, along with this "offensive" passage:

"The earth has become warmer, but is this mostly the result of natural climate changes, or is it heavily influenced by humans putting greenhouse gases into the air?"

And this one:

"But many other problems are much less clear-cut. Science doesn't know how bad the green-house effect is."

You see, the debate must be over. No questions allowed. The book must be banned! Says Friends of the Earth:

Please join us in writing Houghton Mifflin right now! We will copy your governor to make sure every state is aware of the problem with this textbook.

Kudos to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for encouraging thought, and shame on Friends of the Earth, which is calling for -- what else? -- an email campaign designed to remove the book from classrooms. That action is the modern equivalent of book-burning and note well who's doing it.

You can counter the Warmie fanatics by writing your letter in support of the book and emailing it to communications@hmco.com. Here's mine; feel free to lift it:

Subject line: Support for "American Government" text

It has come to my attention that Friends of the Earth has launched an email campaign against American Government because it includes such passages as, "The earth has become warmer, but is this mostly the result of natural climate changes, or is it heavily influenced by humans putting greenhouse gases into the air?"

I support school books that encourage students to think about problems rather than blindly accept one radical position or another, so I support American Government on this matter and encourage Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to not be deterred by the Friends of the Earth campaign, which is nothing short of a modern-day book-burning.