The theory of global warming is a theory, she said

An asthma patient asked me how cold it was outside, and I told her the weather man said it was negative one degrees at present.  To this, my patient said: "I have a daughter in England who blames the United States for this weather."

To this I said, "So, what do YOU think?"

She said: "I think it's a bunch of bull.  When she says stuff like that I request her to offer proof, at which time she usually just complains about how the U.S. doesn't care about the rest of the world."

I said, "And you don't agree."

She said, "She told me that it's cold out because of global warming.  But I reminded her that the year before she said it was a warm winter because of global warming.  I reminded her that these environmentalists went to Antarctica to prove that the glaciers were disappearing, and how the ship they were sailing on hit an iceberg and became stranded.  I reminded her that there has been no increase in global temperatures since 1996.  I reminded her that the elite global warming experts in the world were caught cooking the books.  I reminded her of the hypocrisy of it all.  Of course after providing her with these facts, all she did was trash the U.S..  Trashing us is, I suppose, the liberal version of facts."

I said, "I think people forget that it is a theory.  I think one of the harmful things about world history is the over reliance on theories.  A good example is that for over two thousand years physicians believed asthma was a nervous disorder, and the treatment was the same as for hypochondria.  It wasn't until the 1950s that scientists proved the long standing nervous theory of asthma wrong.  So, for over two thousand years the medical community was so intent on a theory that they were looking for a cure in the wrong places.  That's one of the main reasons that, even though physicians have known about asthma since the beginning of the ancient world around 4-5000 B.C., we still know so little about it.  I think the same is happening with global warming."

She said, "Wow!  That's a good example."

I said, "I'm not saying there is no such thing as global warming; I think we should respect any theory, and we should respect our planet.  But to get all panicky based on a theory, to create so many regulations and taxes that the economy suffers, is not a good idea."

She said, "Yeah, sure taxes and regulations are needed, but to completely risk destroying all the economic and technological progress we've made through the course of history based on a theory, is foolish."

I said, "Exactly."

She said, "So I think in our quest to solve the worlds problems (we shared a laugh), we conclude that the theory of global warming is a theory."

I said, "Exactly. I think too many people forget that.  But I think that's just the way our history has always been.  That's what I often write about on my blog is that too frequently feelings supersede facts.

"I like that," she said.