A “legitimate expert” to get his PhD
A trifecta of dopeyness:
Former Vice President Al Gore could pay a visit to the University [of Minnesota] in the near future to receive an honorary degree for his work in climatology. University President Bob Bruininks spilled the beans at the February Board of Regents meeting, saying that “two of our colleges are working with Vice President Gore to provide, we hope, an honorary doctorate.”
Gore has been in the news lately for his 2006 documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” about global warming. University spokesperson Daniel Wolter said since Gore is an expert in the subject, several colleges at the University have expressed interest in inviting Gore to speak on campus. “He’s in the news and is a legitimate expert on a pressing issue of global concern, climate change…”
America today. Never has there been a nation this rich and this clueless.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:58 am
Academic honors are used to make a political statement. So are Nobel peace prizes. This isn’t news. In a way, it’s refreshing and honest. Those who hold the self annointed elites in disrespect are vindicated again.
Awarding him a PhD makes him no more an expert on climate than awarding him a MD woud make him a doctor.
February 21st, 2007 at 2:03 pm
So the science is solid, the experts are 90% or more confident–what more can one ask?–, and Algore will probably be offered a PhD for his activities.
In dollar terms, a bad response to the climate issue could be over a thousand times more expensive than the Challenger disaster. Let alone the human cost. Consider (scroll down) the concluding section of Richard Feynman’s appendix to the Challenger Commission report:
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
Now there’s an inconvenient truth.