[Coral-List] Prioritizing impacts to coral reefs

[Steve Mussman]

   Dear Gene,


   This is not supposed to be a political / ideological forum so let's keep it
   on topic. I'm confused about that paper you cited regarding corals and
   acidification   from   The   Science   and   Public  Policy  Institute
   ([1]http://scienceandpublicpolicy..org/images/stories/papers/originals/coral
   s_acidification.pdf). Was that written by Craig Idso? I could not find
   reference to a specific author and it did not appear to be a peer-reviewed,
   science-based paper. It had an impressive list of references, but it read
   more like a op-ed piece made to look like it was science-based. For example
   check the last reference listed. How does a paper entitled  The coral reef
   crisis: The critical importance of <350 ppm CO2   support the paper's main
   thesis?  Please help me to understand.  As I see it this isn't a left vs.
   right ideological battle.   It is science vs. pseudoscience and that's the
   way it should be framed.    Steve


   On Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 9:59 AM, Eugene Shinn wrote:
   Richard asked why I had not addressed several posting. Well, one has to
   wonder if these rants gets us anywhere? I am reminded of the following
   lines I pirated from a recent blog. " The crisis we face is not one of
   politics in just one sphere, that of government. Even more sinister
   politics have long been afoot in the scientific sphere from whence this
   whole knowing of the matter of anthropogenic carbon sprang. The world of
   science is a most unpleasant guild-like, politically active, and
   aggressive world. It has its warring sides and those sides have
   territories they claim and fiercely defend." This rang a bell because I
   have seen many hypotheses come and go. By the time one is gone few even
   remember it.
   Back to one of the postings which asked, Is the Pew foundation any
   different than the Heritige foundation? Of course its like night and
   day. One is left wing and the other on the right. Both have lots of
   money. You believe what you want to believe. Its like comparing Mother
   Jones magazine to the Wall Street Journal. Take your pick. I have come
   to believe there really are two kinds of people and it is not simply
   Male and Female. We are wired differently from birth and yes it helps to
   follow the money. Education seldom changes the wiring.
   Regardless of what one might feel about Craig Idso people should
   evaluate the papers he cited in the Heritage website I posted and stop
   the ad hominem/kill the messenger attacks. Those were peer reviewed
   papers. IPCC papers are peer reviewed (mainly by each other). An IPCC
   member writer would not send his coral reef paper to Idso for review and
   visa versa. The lines have been drawn. Gene
   --
   No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
   ------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
   E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
   University of South Florida
   College of Marine Science Room 221A
   140 Seventh Avenue South
   St. Petersburg, FL 33701
   Tel 727 553-1158

References

   1. http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/originals/corals_acidification.pdf