"Chicken Little, Ph.D."
Wonder why we can't make more progress converting to alternative power?
Read this article by Gary Smith, President and CEO of PowerSouth, a local (coastal Alabama) electric cooperative.
Chicken Little, Ph.D.
"Folk stories are the foundation of all cultures, not just ours. They may be the earliest method of passing knowledge from generation to generation. And, folk stories are always based upon life’s lessons (they are not just entertainment).
We all remember the story of Chicken Little who was walking in the woods when an acorn hit him on the head. Convinced the sky was falling, he ran to tell the king of the impending danger. On his way, he ran into a number of acquaintances (mostly fowl with rhyming names). Through his passion, he convinced them the sky was falling and that they should accompany him to tell the king. However, they met up with Foxy Loxy, who, under the pretense of showing them the way to the king, led them into his lair where he ate them for dinner.
As culture and technology have changed, so has Chicken Little. He is no longer a baby chick walking the woods. Today’s Chicken Little is often a highly degreed, well-dressed, articulate individual with a briefcase and PowerPoint presentations. However, Chicken Little still wants to visit the king and tell him the sky is falling. He likes to talk on television, in newspapers and in magazines. And Chicken Little really likes million-dollar government grants to define how badly and quickly the sky is falling.
There are many Chicken Littles among us. Remember Y2K? Many highly educated computer experts warned that the modern world would go dark at midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, and billions of dollars would be required to restore the failed networks unless we took immediate and drastic action to correct computer defects and avoid certain disaster. We and many other companies spent thousands, if not millions, of dollars and man-hours to correct systems and prevent impending disaster. Others did nothing. Of course, Jan. 1, 2000, came and went without any destruction. The sky did not fall. Chicken Little was disappointed that his time before the king ended without a great disaster, but he moved on.
Of course, I couldn’t write an article without mentioning global warming or climate change. Al Gore, Jim Hansen and a number of other scientists have created a robust industry predicting the damage from droughts, floods, rising sea levels, increasing storms and general climate chaos caused by unmitigated man-made climate change.
Al Gore says, “Humanity is sitting on a time bomb. If the vast majority of the world’s scientists are right, we have just 10 years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet’s climate system into a tailspin of epic destruction.” Mr. Gore wants to visit the king to tell him that all is lost unless we plant trees, properly inflate our tires and use low-energy light bulbs.
Jim Hansen, a NASA employee and a full-time climate alarmist, states, “The latest climate models show the planet is on the brink of an emergency.” He has called for the prosecution of electric utility officials (people like me) for high crimes against humanity and nature. Mr. Hansen continues with the same “the sky is falling” mantra he has repeated since 1988, although the actual global temperatures stubbornly refuse to match his models’ predictions. It should be noted that when Hansen took his message to the king, he personally received $1.6 million in research fees over and above his NASA salary.
So what is the psychology of Chicken Little? He loves the talk shows and the adulation. He likes sitting with the king. He enjoys calling down destruction on those that do not heed his warnings. He is not a great and kind soul who warns of danger but a small mind that wishes us to suffer should we refuse his advice. Catastrophe is not his fear but his hope. If you don’t think so, listen to Mr. Gore, Mr. Hansen and other Chicken Littles. Finally, Chicken Little really wants to be Foxy Loxy, lure us into his lair and have us (and our money) for dinner.
Thank you for reading. Keep your eye on the sky, and I hope you have a good month."
http://www.powersouth.com/powerlines/powerlines_newsletter_july_2012#ceo%20column
= new reply since forum marked as read
Just keep your head firmly down, while the fires, drought, ice storms, hurricanes, tornados, etc whirl about. Nothing to worry about, these things have always occurred. 
looks like they were right:
http://www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_tables.htm?conus
