One of your greatest concerns is being addressed today by Ken Ham (ol’ Hambo) — the ayatollah of Appalachia, the world’s holiest man who knows more about religion and science than everyone else. The latest post at the website of Answers in Genesis (AIG), his creationist ministry, is Climate Warnings—Are They “Over the Top”? Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:
It seems everything these days is blamed on climate change — and I do mean everything. A recent article from Fox News [Five most over-the-top climate warnings] looked at five recent climate change warning — including a warning of man-eating tigers, caused by climate change—and various experts weighed in on why these warnings were too over-the-top.
To save you the trouble of reading the Fox item, he says:
The warnings Fox News mentioned included:
• not having children due to climate change;
• twelve years left to live;
• an increase in tornados;
• an increase in man-eating tigers;
• and mass extinctions.
That’s a strange-looking list. That’s partly because Hambo left out telling us about Fox’s introduction to the list, which was this:
While there is a broad scientific consensus that man’s activity is playing a role in warming the planet, critics say the effects have been blown out of proportion by alarmists. From dire predictions of mass extinctions to a rise in man-eating tigers, here are some of the most striking examples:
Anyway, the list cries out for the wisdom of ol’ Hambo, and he doesn’t disappoint us. This is his explanation:
Why the fear-mongering by climate change alarmists? Well, they believe in evolutionary ideas and millions of years. [The Fools!] Because they have the wrong starting point, they wrongly interpret the evidence. They see the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica as recording climate data for tens of thousands of years. But those ice sheets formed quickly, during the post-flood ice age, and therefore don’t record tens of thousands of years of climate data.
Hambo is so wise! After that he tells us:
When we start with God’s Word, we know the earth was created to be inhabited by humans. We know God intelligently designed our weather, atmosphere, sun, and everything else that controls and influences climate.
Yes — oh yes! — it was intelligently designed! Hambo continues:
But because of the sin and the curse, no system works perfectly anymore. We know the earth was marred by sin and that the global flood of Noah’s day radically changed the climate, including causing an ice age.
Ah — that explains it — climate change is Adam & Eve’s fault! Let’s read on:
Yes, climates change. But is it man-made and is man-made climate change causing severe weather events, man-eating tigers, and mass extinction? Well, only if you have the wrong starting point. Although it is “man-made” in the sense that our sin has caused problems!
Isn’t this wonderful? Hambo has brought clarity to what would otherwise be a confusing issue. He ends with a scripture quote:
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease (Genesis 8:22).
At last we understand! We are all grateful to Hambo for that wonderful post.
Copyright © 2019. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.
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The Sensuous Curmudgeon 
On the subject of climate science, I see very little difference between Hambo’s attitude and your own. Both of you reject established science in an attempt to justify your political ideology: Hambo is at least a bit more honest about it.
You, on the other hand, would rather see civilization collapse than admit that your guy’s claim that “climate science is a Chinese hoax and the US has the best weather evar!” is utmost BS, and that you were stupid to have voted for him.
It’s a mark of intelligence to admit stupid personal mistakes. I watch this blog agog.
realthog says: “It’s a mark of intelligence to admit stupid personal mistakes.”
Indeed it is.
Once again.
If the Earth was created by an omnipotent, omniscient God to be inhabited by humans, then we know that the laws of nature are compatible with life as we know it.
In particular, the Laws of Thermodynamics are not incompatible with life. In general, it does not take a suspension of the laws of nature for life to flourish on Earth. Any argument which depends on an incompatibility is flawed by that depedece.
“Why the fear-mongering by climate-change alarmists?”
Because endangered native species can’t speak for themselves, and who will speak for them when they’re extinct? Mammal and some avian species are disappearing from mainland Australia within human lifespans, but alarmist evangelicals are more exercised by aborted fetuses (who cares? Homo sapiens is not threatened with immediate extinction), and shared bathrooms, and “queers” marrying one another.
Jesus is not coming back, and neither are extinct species, once they’re gone.
Even if ‘the fall’ caused whatever, that doesn’t mean we can’t destroy things. Does Hambo drive around without a seatbelt or airbags because man can’t destroy what god created? Not sure if his post is silly or infuriatingly stupid.
If I have to choose between Ken Ham’s ignorance and my children’s future, I’ll side with my children every time. Even if there was a chance the “alarmism” was incorrect — and I don’t think there is — it would be prudent to act as though it were.
So Hambone’s intelligent designer (blessed be he/she/it) was so incompetent that somebody biting an apple messed it all up? A freshman engineer at Lehigh could do a better job.
“that our sin has caused problems!”
Let’s see. These are the seven deadly sins:
1. Superbia – thinking that you know better than a crows of scientists qualifies.
2. Avaritia – making too much money with scam projects qualifies.
3. Luxuria – don’t know and don’t want to know.
4. Invidia – being jealous of the respect actual musea receive qualifies.
5. Gula – don’t know and don’t want to know.
6. Ira – see the reports of our dear SC.
7. Acedia – not doing your own research but parasitizing scientific reports qualfies.
The picture is clear. The popularity of Ol’Hambo is the cause of climate change.
@Realthog: as everyone knows I love to criticize our dear SC for his silly Free Market Superstition, the harder the more enjoyable. But a climate change denier like Ol’Hambo he’s not. It’s just the “solution” that he proposes is utterly stupid (and to some extent he even admits its shortcomings himself!). Still there can’t be any doubt that big companies will need to be involved as well. I don’t know about the USA, but in Europe many companies do take initiatives and cooperate with each other and with governments. Others – like Shell – at least pay lip service. It’s not nearly enough and it’s not according to our dear SC’s dogma. But it’s a lot more than Ol’Hambo approves of.
So no, they’re not quite in the same league.
Alas for my fun factor.
AiG (as here) and CMI posts deny the reality of climate change, because Genesis 8:22 (actually, this verse, which Ham quotes, seems to offer a lot less in the way of stability than they claim for it). The DI, presumably because of their Free Market ideological roots, deny its importance, and seek to discredit the climate consensus in exactly the same way as they seek to discredit the consensus on evolution; see e.g. https://evolutionnews.org/2017/04/heading-into-todays-march-heres-when-to-doubt-a-scientific-consensus/
ISTR that SC acknowledges the reality and importance of AGW. I don’t know his views on a carbon tax, which is perfectly compatible with the use of free market mechanisms (which is why I like it), and indeed with free market ideology since it internalises an externality and thus corrects a systematic mispricing. To make this even more ideologically neutral, I would suggest earmarking the revenue from this tax for the reduction of other indirect taxes.
Paul Braterman says: “ISTR that SC acknowledges the reality and importance of AGW.”
For the record, I don’t blog much about the climate problem because I don’t know enough about the science, and I prefer to focus on other subjects. However, I think the climate problem is real and I want it to be addressed. I’ve said so for several years — for example, I posted this back in 2013: Global Warming and Nuclear Power — Big Conflict. My most recent post about it was a few months ago: Bill Nye & Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — Aaaargh!
Anyway, I don’t have a perfect solution. There may not be one, and I don’t like blogging about the topic. However, because of my old-school Republican beliefs, I tend to distrust government “solutions” to economic problems. The primary motivation of politicians is enhancing and then maintaining their power. Most of them don’t have a clue about what’s going on, and I don’t trust them.
“I don’t trust them”
And rightly so. Now only if you applied this sensible attitude towards big companies, that by definition (or they wouldn’t be big) abuse free market to enrich themselves and screw the rest …. are you aware that psychopathy is an important determinant for a successful businessman? And still you think the best result comes from a bunch of psychopaths – oops, sorry, businessmen fooling around? With an Undetectable Foot kicking them out if they do something harmful?
“my old-school Republican beliefs”
Like good old President Ike, you mean? Hehheh, he had more in common with AOC than with Donald the Clown.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/social-insecurity/
May I conclude that according to you President Ike also was an equivalent of IDiocy?
Indeed. And the whole point about a carbon tax, and why free marketeers like you should be embracing it, is that it does *not* have Governments imposing a solution, but leaves it to the market to do so.
@SC: this justin; https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/everyones-got-a-climate-plan-so-wheres-the-carbon-tax/2019/06/06/dcf1c33a-8897-11e9-a870-b9c411dc4312_story.html?utm_term=.0822d1a45de1&wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1
And while I suspect you don’t like the Washington Post, this extract must surely parallel your own thinking:
I do love that one of his favourite sources is Faux News.
Hambo headline: Crackpot Complains About Crackpots
I always wonder why no amount of tax money is too large when spent on made up conflicts with other countries, but solving real problems is too expensive. If our government is incompetent then why put it charge of so much weaponry?
And we focus on using tax money to pay for weaponry to keep people in line, rather than money to make the world a little less horrible and thus more pleasant to live in for everyone.
@FrankB and @Curmie:
“my old-school Republican beliefs”
Like good old President Ike, you mean? Hehheh, he had more in common with AOC than with Donald the Clown.”
This. I was a registered Republican right up until the day after the 2016 election. When I finally had to admit that “being a republican” didn’t mean the same as it did in the 80s.
It’s the (forced false dichotomy) label (and party alignment) that is the problem I think.
The supposed glory days of the 1950s – 90% top marginal tax rate – and modern republicans wonder why we were able to have great schools, universities and infrastructure then? Might also take a look at ratio of average worker to CEO salary. My conservative friends try to blame it on everything other than pure greed – thank you Ronnie Reagan and Maggie Thatcher.
@Michael Fugate, blaming the ills of Society on the fact that some people are greedy is like blaming fire accidents on the fact that air contains oxygen. Policies should be drafted taking such facts into account
I think that was my point….
Ham is from Australia…
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/07/the-new-assistant-environment-minister-and-the-depraved-greenists-blah-blah-do-they-ever-shut-up
Hambo is a climate change denier?????? Say it isn’t so. The horror !
It is no exaggeration to say that Ken Ham is a bigoted liar and science denier when it comes to the subject of man-caused climate change.