A Little Evidence, Please

By PrivatePigg ~ January 22nd, 2009. Filed under: environment, global warming.

I consider myself an amateur naturalist. I love the outdoors and consider myself a conservative, in many ways, in the mold of Teddy Roosevelt (maybe minus the imperialism). Thus, I subscribe to National Geographic, Audubon, Birds and Blooms, and Birds and Blooms Extra, and I am a member of national and local ornithological associations. Of course, the company I keep as an amateur naturalist is usually a bit “unhinged,” politically speaking, compared to the company I keep as a conservative blogger, or, simply, as a conservative. And, of course, the issue of global warming always sparks interesting debate, as most other nature lovers are appalled to learn that I do not subscribe to the usual naturalist idea that global warming is the single greatest threat and #1 issue facing humanity.

It’s not that I am convinced that global warming does not exist, but rather I am unconvinced that it does. I did a rather lengthy post over at Liberty Pundit (now gone) showing the average temperatures, etc. over the course of Earth’s existence. The number of times in which the Earth has cooled into an Ice Age, or warmed out of one, all without God’s creatures burning fossil fuels, among other things, leaves me skeptical. What also leaves me skeptical about global warming is the amount of times proponents are prepared to cite or list global warming as a “possible cause” of almost any problem, with nary a shred of empirical data to back it up their individual claim. And I don’t mean that proponents of global warming need to prove the entire theory every time they want to mention it, but rather that if they are going to cite it as a possible cause for a particular phenomenon, at least have some evidence linking global warming to the phenomenon.

I bring this up because today I ran across an example of this enraging practice.

The December/January 2009 edition of Birds & Blooms features the following “question from a reader” and “answer from an expert” in its “glad you asked” section:

“It’s December, and I’ve seen at least 30 robins in my yard. Can you tell me why they are here so late in the year?”

Now, before I give you the answer, I should just say that it is a well-known fact among ornithologists and bird lovers than many birds, robins included, often do not migrate at all. As long as there is food around, robins can stand the cold just fine and will stay. You can often find that robins have moved to wooded areas instead of your backyard as less snow reaches the ground under tree cover and leaves the robins with bare ground on which to forage. This is not controversial, historically recent, or rare - it is well known.

And now the answer from the expert.

Perhaps due to global warming, American robins, eastern bluebirds, and other songbirds will often remain in the North all winter…

Needless to say, given the abundant information on robin behavior, I was shocked to see this answer given in what is considered a well-known and very credible nature magazine, simply because there is no proof that global warming keeps robins in the north during winter. Like I said, it is a well-known occurrence. The idea that it is “perhaps due to global warming” is nothing but conjecture and supposition, which should be insufficient for a real nature magazine. When you consider that Birds & Blooms is also a bird magazine and that a bird expert should know that robins have, historically, stayed north, I was even more surprised. I mean, that’s a pretty ridiculous place to just throw out a simple “Perhaps due to global warming…” Even if you believe it, you should not be saying it without some data or evidence to support it.

In any event, after remarking to myself that the answer was pretty stupid, I set the magazine down and went about my business. I did not expect to think about it again, nor did I ever anticipate blogging about it. A few hours later, I picked the magazine up and continued leafing through it. That’s when I came across “Winter Bird Myths” a mere 14 pages later.

Myth #2: American robins always fly south for the winter.

Fact: If there is sufficient food in their breeding grounds, American robins, bluebirds, and a host of finches and owls remain in the area where they spent the summer.

Well, how about that? Interesting to have this bit of information - with no mention of global warming - just a few pages after an expert declared that it was “perhaps due to global warming.” If robins were not historically staying north as part of their natural behavior - that is, if the birds historically went south, but now, due to global warming, were staying north, then they probably would not be a part of the “bird myths” page. If they were part of the “bird myths” page, the reason for them staying (in this case, simply “sufficient foods”) would be noted as “global warming.” If there was any evidence of global warming, you’d assume they’d include it. Or, to look at it another way, would you expect them to ignore any credible information that would indicate global warming as a cause?

But the expert has no problem just throwing out the “perhaps” language. It’s just sloppy, and helps explain the state of the global warming scientific community. And it’s a pet peeve of mine because I get tired of reading crap like that in my nature magazines.

Update: Is the global warming consensus disappearing?

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