A student at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."
And for plenty of good reasons, since:
it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
it is a major component in acid rain
it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
accidental inhalation can kill you
it contributes to erosion
it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients
He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.
Forty-three (43) said yes,
six (6) were undecided,
and only one (1) knew that the chemical was water.
The title of his prize winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?"
He feels the conclusion is obvious.
This is one of the glaring examples which highlights how we react to alarming reports , it shows the reaction to something new , out of the box which makes us react to the situation without knowing fully what it is. Delivering bad news, punctuating , being dramatic was the forte' of Indians ,but I guess it is prevalent in all the countries of the world. Why do I forget that a white man is no different form the brown or the black or yellow person? We are same all over the world, the divisions and the lines are all man-made, self created for supremacy.
Alarmists all over the world bemoan over the fact that global warming is going to be the end of the planet and to deliver their messages they need to be more forceful and creative in delivering their message of doom and gloom.This has had a reverse effect in the public where instead of being warned for taking steps one gets deterred by the speculative and creative global warming claims.The public in general is tired of being handed out verdicts as if dishing out public sentences in this era of gloom,terrorism, all around you hear depressing news posts.
Why are we forgetting to live in the present, enjoy the moment ? One is just worried about "history' ( it should have been her story, and the world would have been softer, brighter) or the future where the scenario is bleak, dark where all is going to be lost in the hands of a trigger happy dictator who has looted his countrymen and in a moment of ego induced blindness is going to press a WMD.
The world is still affected by the basic needs of life which was what the first homo sapiens wanted ,food, water security, equality and scientists have us in turmoil first by global warming and then global cooling. The same said people lead the charge but they are naming the same alleged cause( human industrial activity) and the same alleged consequences ..more droughts, extreme weather , crop failures etc.Perhaps,the alarmists errant claims of global cooling crisis could be overlooked if their global warming predictions were faring any better . The global warming claims are failing as spectacularly. We were told that the temperature would rise by one half to one degree fahrenheit (o.3 to 0.6 degree celsius) between 1990 to 2000 and another two to four degrees fahrenheit ( 1.1 to 2.2 celsius) between 2000 to 2010.
But , real global temperatures have increased by .2 degrees to .3 degrees celsius since 1990.
The ice is still there , water levels have not risen to submerge countries , Venice still beckons romantics from all over the world( I still have to go and get serenaded on the gondola) , hurricanes are not becoming frequent , they have not flattened the Earth , the Gulf stream is not being shut down. Yes ,the planet has and is suffering from humanity created excesses but one should be realistic and not alarmist. You know the old adage , pinch of salt well it holds true in this day and age more than ever.
On a national level , the media , the tv channels , the media hype and the nauseating pitched shrill voice of the news casters all focus on sensationalism. This is done with only one aim , so as to increase viewership and to attract readers . A domino effect which leads to higher TRP's, increased advertisements,higher revenues on the basis of higher number of viewers.
During a typical news day, stories which are trivial/tabloid are shown again and again , repeated with glimpses of the main story to tantalize, create maximum impact. It is like the case of Aesop fable ..Wolf, wolf!
Objective reporting, facts and figures which are not exaggerated , that is all lost . All reporting is done with an edge of hysteria, a touch of theatre, exaggerated pronunciation and scoops are highlighted with hype, drama. In fact, in today's world, rumor has it has more weight age than the actual word or truth. The above example cites how we get manipulated into answering in a fashion which is perceived right, a peer pressure kind of feeling where one answers in the " expected right way" even if it is wrong. A herd mentality.
It is hoped that common sense prevails so that we revert back to reality and all is not projected where the main purpose is money .
Ravneet Sangha
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