Forbes: "What Greenhouse Effect?"

Climate change denial is nothing new. In 1990, Forbes put its towering journalistic reputation on the line, questioning the science of what was then termed "…the greenhouse effect—a.k.a. global warming…" in its own pages and through advertising in the influential pages of The New Yorker (and perhaps other publications). The conservative business magazine took out a two-page ad, the first page of which reproduced a large detail of a colorful primitive painting by Henri Rousseau, The Dream (1910, the Museum of Modern Art) showing a female nude in the jungle. Meanwhile the ad copy reassured The New Yorker's perennially well-informed readers "...that the effects of the greenhouse effect are—at worst—minimal" while warning that "the cure being touted could easily result in a revolt of the poor countries against the rich and hurl the world economy into the red." Capitalist Tool, indeed.

https://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1990-06-04#folio=068

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02854

A Christmas Gift from Joseph Farris

Here in the northeast we've seen absolutely no snow yet this season. In fact it has been unseasonably warm with temperatures in my neck of the woods reaching into the 70's on Christmas Eve! Globally, we just experienced the warmest November on record and 2015 is soon going to be declared the warmest year on record. In the short term, our current spell of warm winter weather is a result of El Niño, but this is likely exacerbated by the long-term global warming trend.

Land & Ocean Temperature Percentiles Nov. 2015

NOAA

A Christmas cartoon by Joseph Farris was published by Penthouse in the December 1979 issue. It reminds us that snowfall generally has been a part of this season and there always has to be someone to clean it up.

"And this is for you, Timothy. Go outside and play with it on the sidewalks and then the driveway."
Joseph Farris, Penthouse, December 1979, page 212

http://www.bonanza.com/listings/Joseph-Farris-1979-Full-Page-Cartoon-Christmas-and-Wintertime-Theme-/221926605?gpid=18283950120&gpkwd=&goog_pla=1&gclid=CjwKEAiAo8emBRCX_OqU4qek6y8SJACzgf8fkdTsbgc1dZsC1E6oB2Geh88z4gacJp4vtNOmycHi3hoCtYTw_wcB

Etsy Item Description

[End of Etsy Listing]

Note:  Timely topics from this blog's archive:
           Joseph Farris
           Christmas
           Winter

           Global warming

01726

The Environmentally-Aware Gahan Wilson

Cartoonist Gahan Wilson has noticed that things are getting warmer around here. Two examples of his original cartoon art were recently sold on eBay.

"I'd say it's a bizarre but entirely logical reaction to the greenhouse effect."
Gahan Wilson

"First global warming and now this!"
Gahan Wilson

Gahan Wilson
eBay Listing Ended July 12, 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Signed-Gahan-Wilson-Cartoon-New-Yorker-Cartoonist-/271922034735?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f4fd0f82f&nma=true&si=Zv4PhLp6HocGRC23iqci2JeQ2LI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

EBay Item Description

Gahan Wilson
eBay Bid History
One last-minute bid

Gahan Wilson
eBay Listing Ended July 5, 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Signed-Gahan-Wilson-Cartoon-New-Yorker-Cartoonist-/271917233135?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f4f87b3ef&nma=true&si=MY%252BVlM1DDf4MNMNGGnCdh3m%252FHQQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Gahan Wilson
eBay Bid History
The winning bid was placed in the last three seconds.

Note:  Gahan Wilson's work appears here from time to time, often around Halloween.

See more examples of original cartoon art, much of it saved from obscurity by this blog.

Were these drawings ever published? Probably not, I'd guess. If you know the answer for sure, drop me a line.

01656

Book Review: SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance (2009)
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Freakonomics was an outstanding first book and I'm certain it must have been a hard act to follow. Nevertheless, the sequel SuperFreakonomics is a great read that I think surpasses even the original.

The authors cover some of the same timely topics as The New Yorker's Malcolm Gladwell, but Gladwell's approach is generally from a psychological perspective. Levitt and Dubner put the world into an economic focus, looking at a variety of incentives that motivate people in their everyday activities.

A lot of ground is covered here. The economics of prostitution are explained, just as the economics of dealing cocaine were covered in the first book. The section on altruism and apathy is absolutely first rate.

If you listen to politicians discuss global warming, you hear a lot of extreme talk. Those on the left often suggest climate change immediately threatens our way of life, civilization, even life on earth, while those on the right are fond of calling global warming a scientific fraud. It is therefore refreshing to read an intelligent discussion of the topic here. The authors propose that even complex environmental problems may have elegant and inexpensive solutions, and they suggest that a viable approach may already have been worked out. Maybe it's not a perfect solution but possibly it's an advance. In any event, it would be nice to see this insightful book change the tenor of our political debates on the matter. Doubtful, though.

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