What's in a name? A horse is a horse, of course. (Green Matters: Environmental Policies).(global warming and junk science)

Remember when the concept of global warming and other controversial environmental notions were only "junk science"? Recently, we came across a guy who has taken that pejorative to a new level -- perverse science!

We don't know if he thought that up all by himself, but it's certainly perversely creative. If one disagrees with something, smack a dismissive label on it, and if that doesn't work, come up with something more derisive. Junk science sounded like something, you know, kind of stupid, but perverse science sounds almost depraved-like something you wouldn't want your kids to run into on the Internet.

Indeed, depraved science may be the next bon mot we can anticipate. Remember that you heard it here. It has a certain ring to it, if one's intentions are to escalate a war of words that centers more on innuendo than on reason.

Coincidentally, the same crowd that favors terms like "perverse science" is likely to argue that regional events such as last winter's substantial snowfalls in the Northeast confirm that global warming is humbug.

Meteorological chit chat

We used to think that references to global warming in the context of a contradictory, local weather event were just chit chat -- like "Hot enough for you?" or "Good weather for ducks." Now we find out that some folks who complain about a cold snap in relation to global warming -- or the temporary lack thereof -- may be serious.

It's important to understand that climate and weather are different. Weather refers to temperatures, precipitation, and storms on a given day, or perhaps several days, at a particular place. Climate, which is what we are concerned with when we discuss global warming, reflects a long-term average, sometimes over a very large area, such as a continent or even the entire Earth.