Russell Moran - A Climate of Doubt

“Good afternoon everybody, and welcome to The Ellen Bellamy Show . You just saw a clip of NBC reporter Cal Johnson interviewing an emergency room doctor at Lenox Hill, where they’re up to their eyeballs with fracture cases, the result of people falling on black ice, not to mention injuries caused by sheets of ice falling off buildings. The sudden thaw resulted in temperatures hitting the high 80s, and it lasted for a couple of hours, long enough to cause treacherous melting. It’s easy to say don’t leave home, but people must, if only to stock up on groceries and medicine. Many of the major footwear companies, including Nike, Jordan, and Adidas, sell models of shoes that include the name ‘black ice,’ which are designed for walking on, you guessed it, black ice. There are also traction devices that you can attach to your regular shoes. If you want to buy a pair of those shoes or traction devices, I suggest ordering online rather than going out to the store. Delivery people know how to walk on slippery surfaces, so leave it up to them. And avoid walking next to buildings when you can.

“My next guest is Professor James Tomkins from Columbia University, an expert in climate studies. He wrote the book, The Truth about Climate Change – Don’t Believe What You Have Heard .”

Sarah, Buster, and I were standing off to the side of the sound stage. Ellen was still broadcasting from my office.

“Professor Tomkins,” Ellen said, “please give us your ideas on this severe weather, and what it has to do with climate change.” Before he spoke Ellen held up his book.

“Thank you for inviting me on your show, Ellen. Let me get right to my point. The unprecedented weather has nothing to do with climate change. Any opposite opinion is science fiction, not science. Climate change and global warming are serious phenomena, and it can’t be denied that the earth is warming, and has warmed significantly in the past few years, partially from manmade causes. But this current weather anomaly is just that, an anomaly. Although I don’t know what caused it, I do know that the culprit is not climate change, a process that occurs over decades and centuries. I’ve seen you interview some of my colleagues, and I commend you for your bluntness in attacking their theories, theories that are not only unproven but are totally unfounded. I would be happy to debate any of those alarmists on your show, but I think they’re afraid of you.”

“Doctor, do you think that this weather could be the result of intentional human action? In other words, could a human actor or actors cause these weird events?”

“Ellen, if you asked me that question before the weather calamity occurred I would have said that it’s impossible. But the impossible has happened, so I’m not going to rule out an intentional act, which would amount to an act of terrorism—highly advanced terrorism. I wish I had a better answer for you and your viewers, but, unlike some of my colleagues, I’m not going to look for headlines by spouting nonsense.”

I had asked Ellen to question this guy about the intentional act scenario. Leaking ideas can sometimes result in leads.

“Thank you, professor, for your excellent survey of a complex issue, and for letting in some fresh air on a lot of nonsense. I hope to have you on the show in the future as we learn more about this phenomenon. This is Ellen Bellamy, thanking you folks for joining us today. So, stay warm, stay safe, and stay tuned to NBC for the latest news.”

Sarah, Buster, and I walked over to the set as they were taking off the sound equipment. Ellen introduced us to Tomkins.

“I hope I’m not under arrest,” he said with a laugh.

“It’s a pleasure to see Ellen interview somebody who isn’t full of shit,” Sarah Watson said. “I just downloaded your book onto my Kindle.”

“I’ve read a lot about you Doctor Tomkins,” I said. “It’s no secret that the government is taking a great interest in this weather, and not just from a safety point of view. I heard what you said about the possibility of an intentional act, and I’d like you to consider joining my staff as a consultant. I’ve got the budget for it, and I know that you have a top-secret security clearance. If there is an active player in this calamity, it’s our topmost priority to find out who it is and to put a stop to it. If somebody or some group has figured out a way to change the weather, it makes all other terrorist activities, including the threat of nuclear weapons, small stuff. The three of us, Buster, Sarah, and I, represent the muscle. We need brains like yours.”

“Speaking of brains, don’t overlook your lovely wife here,” Tomkins said. “Yes, I’d be happy to help out in any way I can.”

“Thank you for the compliment, professor,” Ellen said. “I agree with Director Watson. It was a pleasure to interview a climate scientist who isn’t full of shit.”

“NASA Flight 17, NASA Flight 17, this is NASA Headquarters, come in please.”

NASA Flight 17 was a DC-8 aircraft designed to track weather systems, usually hurricanes.

“This is Major Carl Hofmeister on Flight 17, go ahead, NASA.”

“Anything new to report, Carl? This is Jim Loudon, duty officer at headquarters.”

“Absolutely nothing new, Jim. Since that sudden rapid thaw and refreeze last week I expected we’d see some atmospheric changes, but we haven’t. Since the snow stopped, the view is beautiful, if you can call a snowy landscape in July beautiful. This plane is designed to get the shit kicked out of it and keep flying, but we could be flying a Piper Cub. No turbulence at all. The outside temperature is minus 10, but we’re at 20,000 feet. Our nearest weather station on the ground in South Dakota shows a temperature of 19 degrees, nothing by South Dakota standards, but cold as hell for the summertime.”

“How’s your copilot Marty doing?”

“This is Lt. Marty Baxter speaking. As the major indicated, we’re having an unmemorable flight.”

“Hey, congratulations, Marty” Loudon said. “I understand your wife had a baby boy last week.”

“Thanks, Jim. Debbie is looking forward to taking the baby outside but it’s too cold.”

A bright light enshrouded the cockpit. The plane suddenly lurched upward, and then dove, nose down, levelling off at 15,000 feet, 5,000 feet lower than their cruising altitude.

“What the fuck was that?” Major Hofmeister yelled. “It felt like we were hit by a truck.”

Beep, beep, beep sounded the emergency alarm.

“Oh my God, the instruments show that we’ve lost hydraulics,” Lt. Baxter yelled.

“We’re losing altitude, NASA,” Hofmeister shouted, “and without hydraulics I’ve lost control of the aircraft. We’re going down, NASA.”

“Talk to me Carl,” Louden said. “What’s happening?”

“Before we dove, we were surrounded by the brightest light I’ve ever seen,” Hofmeister said, his voice cracking. “It looked like a…”

“Come in Flight 17, come in Flight 17. What’s going on Carl?”

The last thing that the ground control crew heard was a loud static noise, possibly indicating an explosion.

July 27

“Al Roker here for NBC Weather , folks. Well, we’re in yet another temperature reversal. The temperature here in Manhattan is a perfect 79 degrees, normal for the July 27. So I guess you expect me to give you a happy-face report. I’d like to, but I can’t. I’m worried about something, and so are the folks at NOAA. What we see as a reprieve from the bizarre temperature plunge, is not something to be happy about, not in the short term anyway. The conditions, with warm temperatures at ground level, and freezing temperatures above create a perfect condition for tornados. According to the reading from our weather balloon this morning, the overhead freezing temperatures are close to us, not what you would expect from a normal summer weather pattern. I have on the line Jerome Williamson, a tornado expert from NOAA, who will bring us up to date on what we may expect.”