As all my friends know, I am hopelessly addicted to the (London) Telegraph’s obituaries-something to live for every morning. Today’s obit for Professor Stephen Schneider revealed the scientist’s remarkable capacity for adaptation. Here’s the summary:
Professor Stephen Schneider, who died on Monday aged 65, made his name in the 1970s by predicting a “new ice age,” but went on to become one of the best-known proponents of the idea of global warming caused by human beings.
Dr. Schneider was a member of the panel that shared the Nobel Prize with former veep Al Gore and worked with computer models predicting global warming. In a way, he was consistent, despite the switch-he always promoted catastrophic climate theory. And he was also often ahead of his time. In 1988, long before climategate was a chip in anybody’s computer, he said:
“Scientists should consider stretching the truth to get some broad-base support, to capture the public’s imagination. That, of course, entails getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention about any doubts we might have.”