An object lesson on the ills of only reading material which agrees with your own preconceived position. Taken from Sceptic: one inclined to doubt accepted opinions in The Bendigo Advertiser on November 6, 2011:
Stephen Harper: a contrarian's tale
1. What is your background?
I'm 51. I'm currently a builder. I also have a business degree and an applied science degree in wine science.
2. What sparked your interest in climate change?
The fact that a few years ago we were told the ''science is settled'' and anyone who asked any questions was an idiot and told to sit down and shut up.
My BS meter went off the radar and I started looking into it.
3. When did you become a sceptic?
Probably a couple of years ago; there was so much evidence, so many smoking guns. The whole point is we're meant to be sceptical. I'm just a product of the Enlightenment. If the people who want to put windmills all over the place were in charge 100 years ago, we wouldn't have half the technology or the lifestyle we've got today. They would have stopped everything.
4. What are your main sources of information?
I've read about 15 books. The first one was An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming by former Thatcher government minister Nigel Lawson. Then there was Climate: The counter-consensus by Bob Carter. Websites? I look at wattsupwiththat.com and joannenova.com.au. Those two I find very interesting and fair.
5. What are your general political views?
I joined the Climate Sceptics Party two years ago, but I don't do anything. I probably would be libertarian. Each side of politics has got something to tell us … but the Greens are a complete disaster. I'd generally vote conservative. They're all corrupted, but it's the best of a bad bunch.
6. Do you ever have doubts?
It doesn't mean that some of these things aren't right to some extent, that humans are affecting the climate. I always want to keep an open mind and yes, we have caused some warming, but not very much; it's not catastrophic, it's not unprecedented, we just need to take a Bex and a good lie down and wait and see what happens.
7. Do you think there's a conspiracy to push global warming?
I do not think that there's a conspiracy to push global warming. There are many, many strands that keep the juggernaut rolling along. ''Noble cause corruption'' is a classic case in point. Morality has crept into science and some scientists have become convinced that the end justifies the means … This is never acceptable in science. There are elements of people in the United Nations who would love to have international government, but it's just one element of a much larger train that keeps rolling on.
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