Friday, February 01, 2013

Greely

GREEN CRAP
"We Stand By It as a Theatrical Work"

The Greely Expedition



Watch The Greely Expedition on PBS. See more from American Experience.



In 1881, 25 men led by Adolphus Greely set sail from Newfoundland to Lady Franklin Bay in the high Arctic, where they planned to collect a wealth of scientific data from a vast area of the world’s surface that had been described as a "sheer blank." Three years later, only six survivors returned, with a daunting story of shipwreck, starvation, mutiny and cannibalism. The film reveals how poor planning, personality clashes, questionable decisions and pure bad luck conspired to turn a noble scientific mission into a human tragedy.

I watched The Greely Expedition last night and was awe struck—that I had no remembrance of ever hearing about it.  Probably because the government, out of embarrassment, tried to keep it hidden. I highly recommend it for its adventure, but mostly because of this lesson about leadership—the folly of judging a person's ability based on just a  slice of what's happening baby.  But, that's still not what I'm wanting to tell you about.  This is.

At the end of this incredible story hardship and survival, this is what PBS sees as the lesson learned.

Voiceover:  ".... for more than a century his records gathered dust until once again the Arctic captured people's attention.

We are now using Greeley's data to try and understand how global warming happened; how the climate has changed over the past 100 years

The irony is that this data is of interest today-- not because it offers an understanding of nature, but rather because it provides a key to how human beings have changed nature

Appreciate the level of arrogance it takes to assume that we have the ability, even if we wanted to, to control any long term behavior of a climate that has been evolving for 4.5 Billion years! Especially since those efforts have been proved to be politically motivated, based on manifestly silly argument rife with fraudulent facts and using unreliable data collection models.  These then are people who call themselves Progressives.  As in, progressively getting dumber. And I have been watching them for 35 years.



7 comments:

Jess said...

It's a crying shame that PBS can't offer anything more relevant, or accurate. They might as well show cartoons of a sponge in boxer shorts.

Rodger the Real King of France said...

Oh, I thought the production was entertaining and, I guess, an accurate portrayal of the event. It's when they used it to push their political agenda that makes me run screaming into the night.

Jess said...

Well, it's getting to the point it's like a really fantastic pot of stew, with a few dog turds floating on top. You can dig around them, but it still doesn't change the fact it's full of shit.

Wabano said...

Hmmm...lead poisoning...their canned meat was in tin cans sealed with lead.

They just plain went mad hatter nuts, like the Romans drinking wine from lead lined amphorae...
They had a horse for emperor...I wonder what has poisoned you
Americans to elect a Kenyan jackass?

Anonymous said...

Are these the same assholes that claim they can order the lives of 340 million people?
Tim

Alear said...

On topic only insofar as it involves video, I've seen the first two episodes of the new House of Cards. Spacey is an incredible actor. It's gonna be a fun ride.

gadfly said...

Appreciate the level of arrogance it takes to assume that we have the ability, even if we wanted to, to control any long term behavior of a climate that has been evolving for 4.5 Billion years!

Or said another way in "Prologue to Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton:

"You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity."

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