State of Confusion

Side-lookiing radar measurements show West Antarctic ice is increasing at 26.8 gigatons/yr. Reversing the melting trend of the last 6,000 years. ~Science 295: 476-80

With his novel-turned-blockbusters, Jurassic Park, Congo and his other bestsellers which are no less popular, Michael Crichton is irrefutably the best contemporary science fiction writer, alongside Jules Verne, my classical favourite. Unlike some others in the trade who base their plots on pure fantasies, Crichton is adept at weaving facts into stories, presenting his theses without the expense of the plot.

Of late, I’ve developed a liking towards novels which has to do with conspiracy theories. Before this, I was truly intrigued by Dan Brown’s stories and openly hoped that the facts presented are true as he claimed. The book of lies commissioned by Constantine in his bid to expand his empire, the blood-stained history of the Church during the darker days, the secret of the Chalice, Jesus being a mortal… Imagine the implications if one day , they are proven to be true! The very foundation of an age-old institution of faith would tumble upon the last priest!

My disappointment was unfeigned when I watched the documentary aired on Discovery Channel, refuting the bold claims made in The Da Vinci Code. But who knows if the research was unbiased as it was supposed to be? Imagine the furore it would raise if the conspiracy were to be confirmed. It’s just as explosive as claiming that Jesus’ remains are found!

Michael Crichton’s latest novel, State of Fear, addresses not of the matter of faith but of an issue which we’re all too familiar with – global warming. Any primary school student can tell you briefly that global warming is a phenomenal rise in temperature caused by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. This is the widespread concept which has been drilled into our mind all this while. If you presume that it is true (I’m sure you do), then prepare to be bewildered.

With abundant graphs and data, Crichton elaborated that global warming is not an established fact as we believe but merely a theory which is yet to be proven. He went on quoting sources that scientists believe we’re progressing into an ice-age, that global warming is not really a “global phenomenon” as certain places show a drop in temperature.

Yes. The story is interesting, alright. The cannibalism rites, the overzealous environmentalists, the terrorist-like NGO capable of inducing thunderstorms, redirecting hurricanes and triggering giant killer waves… And I do hope that global warming is not so bad as we perceive, that it is an exaggerated issue. Mind you, I’m not a pro-industrialist who campaign against the Kyoto Protocol, but think again, wouldn’t it be a burden off the mind if you know you can fart all you like and not contribute to a global catastrophe?

Unfortunately, like all conspiracy theories, someone would always pop out of somewhere and refute the claims. This isn’t an exception. A simple search would return results of numerous journals that highlight the misinformation in the novel. Just to name one, Gavin Schmidt from the Earth Institute published a paper that points out several distorted interpretations made by Crichton.

I’m not in position to judge who’s right or wrong. On one side is a prominent author who does tons of research before writing a book – he has a list of bibliography at the end of his book; on the other side is an expert in this field. Who am I supposed to believe?

I’m sorry, Crichton. But I have to say that your story is a little too far-fetched than breeding dinosaurs from fossilized mosquitoes’ blood containing dino- DNA. I mean, the world is getting as hot as hell and I can’t deny that!

So, I’d still love to see the US getting sued over global warming in the Vanuatu lawsuit. But then again, why was the lawsuit dropped? There’s a conspiracy theory. Go read State of Fear.