Chances are that the name Michael Crichton is familiar to few of you. Yet I have no doubt that thrillers based on his books, like Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain, are familiar to many of you.
Indeed, it seems eerily fitting that this notoriously press-shy, bestselling author died on a day when he was virtually guaranteed no publicity, namely, on Tuesday when the entire world was focused on the historic election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States.
In addition to being a prolific author, however, Crichton was an acclaimed scientist. In fact, it is my regard for his scientific work that has inspired me to pay this tribute to him.
Specifically, I found his academic challenge to the prevailing environmental orthodoxy on climate change so persuasive that I risked alienating the (political) affection of my liberal friends by publishing the following:
In his new and very timely book, State of Fear, Crichton dramatizes his doubts about the science of global warming in typically thrilling fashion. He dismisses findings by the National Academy of Science that industrial pollution is the cause of recent increases in global temperatures and presents his own interpretation of scientific data to support his doubts.
Crichton argues, amongst other things, that global warming and cooling are natural phenomena that have occurred in cycles since the beginning of time. Furthermore, he lampoons believers in global warming as uninformed, fad-obsessed herds being led by a cadre of myopic liberal media and intellectual elite.
[Global Warming or just Hot Air, The iPINIONS Journal, February 16, 2005]
But given my reliance on Crichton’s gravitas to proselytize my global warming iconoclasm, I am exceedingly glad that he lived long enough to witness our vindication. After all, mainstream media were replete in recent weeks with headlines heralding the advent of a new cycle of global cooling.
More to the point, since he was probably too ill to comment publicly, I am especially pleased that I marked the occasion in a commentary published here on October 21, 2008 entitled Global cooling? Yes!
Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand. (Family statement)
Crichton died of cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He was 66.
Farewell Michael
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Global Warming or just Hot Air
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