I just read a really infuriating editorial from my local college newspaper about the report in the Observer stating that the world is basically coming to an end in 2020. It's a snide little article, as you can see by these quotes:

"And what group put out this study? you ask. Surely it was a bunch of namby-pamby liberals, doom screeching Nervous Nellies who have nothing better to do than prophesying an apocalypse or two just around the corner. Well, not exactly. The study is the product of that oh-so-liberal group commonly known as the Pentagon."

"And who is the guilty party here? you ask. Osama, the nefarious terrorist? An escaped Saddam, crazed with visions of revenge, digging up his WMD that he cannily hid in Nebraska? Same-sex marriage? George Steinbrenner? Um, no. The culprit, according to the Pentagon, is global climate change. You know, the thing that the Cowboy in Chief and the Stealth President don't believe exists except in the imagination of liberals, which is why their motto is, If you're not burning a fossil fuel every waking moment, you're a traitor to your country."

Brave New World, The Daily Iowan, February 24, 2004.

Given I'd already heard about this particular bit of crackerjack reporting from Instapundit and other blogs, I felt obliged to respond from the original Fortune article. Here's the letter for reference, in case it never sees the light of day in the DI:


To the Editor:

Imagine my surprise when I read in the DI this morning that the sky is falling, the world is coming to an end, and all within the next 16 years or so. (“Brave New Climate” 02/24/2004). I guess I won’t be needing that IRA, huh? Not only that, but I’m told that the sole report on this global disaster is a secret one produced by the Pentagon but suppressed until obtained by the Observer newspaper of Great Britain. Fortunately, before I drained the retirement fund and booked a trip to Europe, I thought I’d do a little fact checking.

It seems the Observer isn’t the first to publish this story. In fact, in ran in Fortune magazine on January 27, 2004. But the Fortune version includes a bit of information that the Observer and DI seem to have omitted. Here’s the cite if anyone wants to look the article up on the web: http://www.fortune.com/fortune/print/0%2C15935%2C582584%2C00.html

Was the report produced by the Pentagon? Not exactly. According to Fortune, it was produced by Peter Schwartz, a futurist and business strategist with the Global Business Network - a scenario-planning think tank out of California - who helped create the futuristic scenarios for Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report. Please note that Mr. Schwartz is not a scientist, he merely consulted with scientists in creating his scenario. But surely this was a top secret report suppressed by the Pentagon? Again, not exactly. According to Fortune, it was an unclassified report willingly shared with the magazine by the Pentagon itself. Was it at least a realistic prediction of a statistically likely future for which we should all be prepared? Oops. Not exactly. According to Fortune, the report doesn't pretend to be a forecast. “Rather, it sketches a dramatic but plausible scenario to help planners think about coping strategies.” Oh, like a worst-case training scenario? I guess the Pentagon can’t do a bit of disaster training without the world coming to an end – literally, according to the DI.

There. (Sigh) I feel better. Now if I can just get through Hell week. . .


Update Oops myself - I called the article "A Brave New World" and ignored the cute twist in the actual title: "A Brave New Climate". I got it right in the letter, fortunately.