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Thomas Kuhn, in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, pointed out that the advance of science is much messier than people think. Scientists adopt and commit to theoretical “paradigms,” which then become fundamentally unquestionable, particularly once they have been “professionalized” and if there is a moral element involved.

Not only have governments poured tens of billions into confirming rather than testing the theory of CO2-driven climate change, the resulting dire predictions are claimed by the likes of Al Gore to be the greatest moral issue of our time. The problem is that moralism eclipses any inclination to treat skepticism with the respect it deserves, however much you hate Donald Trump.

The problem is that moralism eclipses any inclination to treat skepticism with the respect it deserves

Last week, celebrity economist Paul Krugman suggested in the New York Times that climate skepticism was the fruit of an “Axis of Evil” that combines fossil fuel money (which is apparently much more corrupting than government funding), ideological rejection of any and all regulation, and contrarian egoism. Krugman wrote that he couldn’t think of a single climate skeptic who was acting in anything but bad faith. But has he ever spoken to a climate skeptic? Then again, why would he bother? They’re all evil.

DeGrasse Tyson, who National Review called “the dumbest smart person on Twitter,” has suggested that the world needs a new kind of virtual state called “Rationalia” with a one-sentence constitution: “All policy shall be based on the weight of evidence.” This is embarrassingly facile, particularly coming from somebody who doesn’t seem to understand the difference between a clock and a thunderstorm.

No sensible person “denies” climate change. The issues are whether it is outside the range of normal variation, what contribution humans are making, and what prudent policies the situation demands. Rational examination is hardly helped by forecasts of sulphuric rainstorms, much less by a total eclipse of truly “settled” science. Or at least settled for the moment.