We are all asteroid deniers

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I have had this old article by global warming denier Fred Singer in my inbox for quite some time now. It appeared in the April 22, 1996 edition of the Washingtonย Times.

It seems that if Singer had his way, we would have dropped all this climate change and ozone depletion nonsense a long time ago and get onto more important issuesโ€ฆ like planetary defense systems against giant comets andย asteroids.

Toย quote:

With another Earth Day upon us, aren’t you getting just a little tired of reading about hyped global โ€œcatastrophesโ€ like global warming or ozone depletion? Even if the Earth should warm a little, it likely will benefitย agriculture.โ€

And,

The cosmic missile that impacted 65 million years ago, releasing energy equivalent to 100 million 1-megaton hydrogen bombs, wiped out the dinosaurs and many otherย species.

We can do somethingโ€“if we have the will. Planetary defense is not so different from defense against intercontinental ballistic missiles. There is first the problem of detectionโ€“with powerful radars or telescopes. Next, a timely determination as to whether the object is headed for a collision with our planet. Finally, an interception that would nudge the object out of itsย course.โ€

Would be interesting to see a reporter press Singer on this policy question. Should we be spending our money on a problem like global warming that scientists are telling us is a real threat and where the solutions already exist? Or, as Singer would have it, a problem that scientists are predicting will likely not result in catastrophe for the next 800 or so years, and even then the chances are slim toย none.

Now to be fair to Singer, there has been the ongoing issue of our inability to detect near-earth objects and NASA recently announced a new project is underway to enhance detection capabilities. However, the assertation that we drop all action to reduce greenhouse gases, to fight the threat of a sizable asteroid that may or may not impact earth in the next 800 years, would be the most shameful display of not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time. A talent, by the looks of it, Dr. Singer has yet toย master.

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Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a โ€œGreen Heroโ€ by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the โ€œTop 50 Tweetersโ€ on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevinโ€™s research into the โ€œclimate denial industryโ€ and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Kochโ€™s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea partyย networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a โ€œCertified Expertโ€ on theย political and community organizing platformย NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the worldโ€™s best e-Content and innovative ICTย applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

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