The Road To 100

I was a sixth grade teacher for ten years.  One lesson I tried to convey to every student I taught was to not be afraid to ask questions.  I explained to my students that they should never be ashamed to ask questions, that questions were they key to a better understanding of the world as they got older.  I taught them that even adults ask questions when they are unsure of things or if something doesn’t sound right. 

Now there are some people who believe that if you question authority you are being unpatriotic.

I came across a video of television science teacher Bill Nye appearing as a guest on the Rachel Maddow show.  The interview was to center around the recent heavy snowstorms that have hit the Washington DC area.  Bill Nye answered the questions, but then took it further.

Now, I understand that Bill Nye is passionate about his beliefs.  He is clearly convinced that climate change is real and that something must be done about right away.  In fact, he is not the only one.  Senator Byrd (D-West Virginia), while debating climate change and cap-and-trade energy policy, made it clear that Congress needs to do something to stem the damage man is doing to the earth.

When it comes to climate change, sounds like some are using a two-headed coin. 

Senator Byrd says look outside in Washington.  Only one storm resulting in just three inches of snow in 2002.  A warm winter that, according to Sen. Byrd, clearly indicates that something must be done immediately. 

But wait, now Washington is facing one of the snowiest winters in years, so what does that mean?

Bill Nye says one can’t look at the weather and determine whether or not climate change is real.  He then says that the extra storm activity is actually an indicator of the extra energy in the atmosphere caused by climate change.

Huh?  And I am unpatriotic because I am questioning whether or not man has caused the climate of the planet to change?

I have heard people recently point to the warmer than usual temperatures in the Northwestern United States and Canada, and the colder temperatures in Texas, as well as the crazy weather from Washington to New York, and claim that there is evidence that climate change is real.  Actually, the weather for this winter was accurately predicted, and explained, by Accuweather’s Joe Bastardi in an interview on July 15, 2009.

Children love to watch Bill Nye the Science Guy on television.  Watching him is fine, but I will remind my former students that you are not unpatriotic if you questions things about which you are uncertain.

In fact, I encourage it.