Bush Climate Fairy Tales

President Bush had a serious discussion in the White House about global warming.... with scientists?

No silly. With Michael Crichton whose 2004 novel, "State of Fear," suggests that "global warming is an unproven theory and an overstated threat." Crichton's views in this novel helped him win the coveted.... (fanfare please)..... American Association of Petroleum Geologists' annual journalism award.

But isn't the Bush administration staying "on top of" climate changes?

"On top of" is the right description but wrong connotation.... it was reported in April by the Washington Post that scientists doing climate research for NOAA, NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey and other federal science agencies have been muzzled by the Bush administration who has "made it hard for them to speak forthrightly to the public about global warming."

NOAA scientists cite repeated instances in which the administration played down the threat of climate change in their documents and news releases, and have "questioned some predictions and cautioned that mandatory limits on carbon dioxide could damage the nation's economy."

Oil company profits, that is the economy Bush is worried about.

How well is the economy going to do if the "climate system has exceeded a critical threshold" sending tropical-zone glaciers into full retreat, melting them completely "in the near future" .... which is what the article appearing Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests.

What does the brown-nosing novelist of oil award fame, Crichton, have to say about that? Maybe he'll dedicate a novel called "Science, Who Needs It?" to Bush and his oil cronies.

According to the Washington Post staff writer Doug Struck, scientist Lonnie G. Thompson.... who for 23 years has been taking core samples from the ancient ice of glaciers.... warned in her NAS article that humans "may not have the luxury of adapting to slow changes."

But hey, be happy. As sea levels rise and the magnitude of storms increase we'll still have our Bush fairy tales to keep us entertained.