Mavie,
Here's a list of of warning signs of abusive religions from another thread.... Comments in yellow following each are mine, and address how it applies, in my opinion to the global warming religion. By the way, did you read the email I received from Professor Lintzen in response to my question? I will copy the pertinant part after the following list....he sums it up quite well.
http://www.rickross.com/warningsigns.html
By Rick Ross, Expert Consultant and Intervention Specialist
Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader.
1 Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability. "The science is settled." Don't question the "consensus" (which in reality doesn't exist.)
2 No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry. Anyone questioning the "consensus" either has wrong motives or is a moron
3 No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement. Many to profit from this issue. follow the money...for example the carbon credits fiasco
4 Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions. Self explanatory
5 There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil. Anyone who disagrees is a moron or evil
6 Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances. Any scientist who disagrees with the "consensus" is vilified, minimalized and discredited by the believers, similar to being shunned by jws
7 There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader. Al Gore has been exposed..Here's just one site...there are hundreds http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54528
8 Followers feel they can never be "good enough". Must attempt to reduce carbon footprint. You can never reduce it enough.
9 The group/leader is always right. ie: Al Gore is deified by many. Anything that exposes him has to be wrong. He is the governing body of the global warming religion
10 The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible Only the scientists that agree with the global warming religious dogma should be listened to. You must not pay attention to anyone who disagrees. They are not really scientists if they disagree. Similar to being a jw and being told that other Christians are not really Christians because they don't swallow the watchtower dogma
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At the very least, the leaders of the global warming frenzy are using cultic tactics to get unsuspecting, well meaning people to follow the yellow brick road.
Here are Professor Lindzen's comments again from the email I received from him yesterday. As you can see, he points out some of the same issues.
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"With respect to environmental issues in general and global warming in particular, the transition to religion takes place when a person who is ignorant of the actual science not only believes alarming claims that he or she does not understand, but when that individual wants to believe these claims. The question then arises as to why someone would want to believe such claims. For some, it would appear that the answer is that they have been assured that all scientists agree with such claims. The very thought that all scientists in an immature science like climate all agree on anything (much less with all the numerous unrelated claims) is beyond belief. Nevertheless, for individuals who feel at sea when confronting science that they don't understand at all, it must be reassuring to think that by consenting to the line on global warming, they are safe because all scientists agree. Indeed, they immediately feel intellectually superior to all those who question the claims of global warming. In addition, people are told (quite falsely) that simple gestures like switching to fluorescent bulbs are tantamount to saving the earth. This brings god-like significance to otherwise ordinary lives. The combination of god-like significance attaching to trivial gestures and the feeling of superiority to others is quite a powerful combination. It further offers the opportunity and pleasure of condemning others, and forcing them to change their ways. By this time, one is well on one's way to a cult. For Hollywood types, moreover, belief in global warming offers redemption for dissolute and extravagant life styles."
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Add to this the fact that we as jws always had the threat of armageddon coming any minute, and that state of mind became normal to us. It is my opinion that many have replaced the witness doom and gloom mentality with a secular doom and gloom mentality... actually taking perverse joy in believing that there will be a catastrophe coming...whether it's financial, political, climatalogical or otherwise. They also look at non believers in global warming in the same condescending way as we as jws viewed "worldly" people. It is my opinion that this is a direct carry over from our jw thinking.
I am surprised that no one commented on Professor Lindzen's reply. I am impressed that someone of Professor Lindzen's credentials would take the time to respond so quickly to an email asking for his input. I half expected someone to question whether or not the email was genuine. In case anyone has doubts in that regard, you can pm me with your email address and I will forward the email to you.
I do believe that there is such a thing as global warming. I do not believe it is manmade, nor do I believe that it is as dire as it is portrayed. Do you honestly think that a planet this size will have a perfectly consistent temperature? That flies in the face of reason. Take your own temperature every 15 minutes over the course of a day. You will find that your temperature is not perfectly consistent. The same is true of our planet with millions of variables going on second to second. This earth has gone through heating and cooling cycles for its' entire exitence. It has undergone huge climactic changes long before mans' existance. Some of the same scientists who tout global warming today had many convinced in the 70s that we were about to enter an ice age. I'm not so gullible any more. That does not mean that I think we should pollute the planet. I think we all need to do what we can to stop ruining the earth. We do not need to become extremists to do so. Armageddon in NOT just around the corner.
There are many poised to profit from a gullible public.
Coffee