Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
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Here Penn & Teller explore the truth behind fears about global warming, air quality, water quality, acid rain, species extinction, and take a look at Greenpeace's activities. Another episode from Season 1 (episode 13, to be specific), Penn and Teller point out some of the excesses and exaggerations of the environmental movement.
First aired 4/18/2003, RT 29:12.
First aired 4/18/2003, RT 29:12.
Apr 13, 2008 5:46 AM
Re: P & T Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Portions of this episode exist here at M&C, including the one about naive petitioners against dihydrogen monoxide in their drinking water.
By: spam_vigilante
Re: P & T Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Briliant. A year ago I lived in Tennessee, and I was upset because of all the deforestation that was taking place around my community. But honsetly I wasn't upset because of the enviromental inpact, (I mean Tennessee is completely covered with dense forest,) I was simply upset because my drive to work wasn't quite as pretty anymore.
But I think enviromental hysteria can be very alluring and easy to succomb to.
We need to stay objective in our veiws.
But I think enviromental hysteria can be very alluring and easy to succomb to.
We need to stay objective in our veiws.
By: C_munkie
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Screw you, Penn and Teller. You were wrong on every level on this one. You chose to side with the libertarian interpretation of the data and ignored the more cautious interpretation. Almost all non-partisan science groups believe in global warming, you self-righteous pricks. Why side with the 1% probability that the data is incorrect? If you're wrong, global destruction. If, less probably, the environmentalists are wrong, no harm no foul. Way to go, jackholes.
By: wetdogtwo
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Let me guess: Penn and Teller ran over your dog when you were five.
By: i8ursandwich
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
No, I actually enjoy the other episodes. They really show how bad science results in bad policy. Here, the lines aren't nearly as clear cut as they say they are. You can't equate the bullshit in the bible or with psychics or with self-help with the conclusions of hundreds of well-studied research projects. Penn's big assertion is, "All of the data isn't in yet!" Which doesn't mean we can't start making changes or making assumptions. It's like saying, "All the data from the fossil record isn't in yet. How can we possibly make conclusions about evolution?" Part of doing good science is making informed assumptions. Showing a bunch of moronic hippies protesting is easy and not all the policy proposals are practical or smart. But based on what I've read: Global warming is occurring. It is being accelerated by human contributions. There are climatic consequences emerging. Rather than wait to find out what those consequences will be, we should make predictions - like we do with weather, stocks, political climates, etc. - and do what we can to minimize the negative consequences. This show is really about how many protesters are uninformed and easily manipulated. Agreed. In any political or social cause, you can easily find hysterical supporters. But Penn's points about the environment are completely off base and are embedded in libertarian rhetoric but won't work in the real world. I accuse this show of practicing the bad science and propaganda that these guys purport to expose. It's all opinions, few facts.
By: wetdogtwo
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Usually I find P&T take a black and white stance on different subjects, not so much here.
It seemed to me they were arguing about the hysteria and not the actual subject.
They were showing that people will protest b/c they like to protest. At different points in the show they conceded that environmental issues are important.
It would have still been better if they had shown some more evidence backing up environmental concerns, but that isn't their thing. They're not trying to show the balanced argument, just one side of it.
I didn't see the point of this episode as saying that there is no environmental concern, rather that people want to protest something so a lot of people don't know what they're talking about.
It seemed to me they were arguing about the hysteria and not the actual subject.
They were showing that people will protest b/c they like to protest. At different points in the show they conceded that environmental issues are important.
It would have still been better if they had shown some more evidence backing up environmental concerns, but that isn't their thing. They're not trying to show the balanced argument, just one side of it.
I didn't see the point of this episode as saying that there is no environmental concern, rather that people want to protest something so a lot of people don't know what they're talking about.
By: DaveoftheRave
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
I'm not debating the validity of Penn and Teller's arguments, nor your arguments. You just seemed to take the video very personally. Too much vitriol to really get your point across.
By: i8ursandwich
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Fair enough. I just think it's dangerous to lump environmentalism with junk science. That I do take personally. But my initial tone was matching theirs in the show. Had you heard the cheery, Penn-esque quality that was in my voice when I said, "Screw you, Penn and Teller," you would have recognized it for ironic condescension and not vitriol.
By: wetdogtwo
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Take it slow. They're entertainers. And yeah, they put forth a pretty far right agenda but I still have no ax to grind.
C'mon, we already know that the GOP followers will declare this the best episode ever. So be it. We all have our viewpoints, mine being more left-leaning than most.
My point here is that we can be passionate in our beliefs without being vitriolic. For those veterans of many years here, don't think that I've abandoned any cause. I just see no benefit to entering into a flame war. I'm not going to change a FoxNews Channel viewer's opinions and they won't be leading me to bow and scrape at Bill0.
C'mon, we already know that the GOP followers will declare this the best episode ever. So be it. We all have our viewpoints, mine being more left-leaning than most.
My point here is that we can be passionate in our beliefs without being vitriolic. For those veterans of many years here, don't think that I've abandoned any cause. I just see no benefit to entering into a flame war. I'm not going to change a FoxNews Channel viewer's opinions and they won't be leading me to bow and scrape at Bill0.
By: spam_vigilante
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Penn and Teller are right on the ball with this one
Environmental Groups nowadays are like clones of what the Nazis were back in the 1940s and to make things worse they are treating Al Gore like he's their almighty messiah, Ignoring Jesus and worshiping some ex-presidental canidate whom use misleading information that is total bunk to this day
It's clear to me that the people in the US today have totally lost their conservative thought of mind and let some organization full of kooks warp him into some very derranged enviomentalist where in reality all these modern-day "enviomentalists" are a bunch of fools whom want 15 minutes of fame or something much more stupid than that
The Raccoons special "The Christmas Raccoons" and ""The Wombles" shows some conservative messages on enviromentalism where as "An Inconvient Truth" just manipulates your mind into a puppet for these kooks
Environmental Groups nowadays are like clones of what the Nazis were back in the 1940s and to make things worse they are treating Al Gore like he's their almighty messiah, Ignoring Jesus and worshiping some ex-presidental canidate whom use misleading information that is total bunk to this day
It's clear to me that the people in the US today have totally lost their conservative thought of mind and let some organization full of kooks warp him into some very derranged enviomentalist where in reality all these modern-day "enviomentalists" are a bunch of fools whom want 15 minutes of fame or something much more stupid than that
The Raccoons special "The Christmas Raccoons" and ""The Wombles" shows some conservative messages on enviromentalism where as "An Inconvient Truth" just manipulates your mind into a puppet for these kooks
By: CyberFox
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Wait, Jesus? When did Jesus come into this.
By: DaveoftheRave
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
That's not the point
Enviromentalists (especially these Global Warming kooks) worship Al Gore like he's the almighty messiah but, what the ex-presidential candidate is really doing is corrupting these poor souls with misleading scientific information that is total bunk to this day
Enviromentalists (especially these Global Warming kooks) worship Al Gore like he's the almighty messiah but, what the ex-presidential candidate is really doing is corrupting these poor souls with misleading scientific information that is total bunk to this day
By: CyberFox
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Whoops. I didn't notice your contributions to the comment thread. Honest. I hope I didn't offend with my political analysis.
By: spam_vigilante
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Total bunk? ExxonMobil is running television commercials about how their scientists are working on cutting carbon emissions. Dubya admits that global climate change is human induced.
But you call it total bunk, so it's so.
But you call it total bunk, so it's so.
By: spam_vigilante
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
George Bush "admits" it?
George did it?
George did it?
By: SpookeyMulder
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
Okay ... so in the 1940's, the Nazi's were invading other countries, and sending people to the gas chambers.
Hm ... I missed that part of Penn and Teller's show on these over enthusiastic environmentalists. I had no idea they had taken over our government to such a degree! Are you saying it was really these dirty hippies behind the invasion of Iraq? Amazing!
I also missed where they worshiped Al Gore like he was Jesus Christ. Maybe that is better detailed in the other environmental study you reference ... what was it ... "The Christmas Racoons"?
Hm ... I missed that part of Penn and Teller's show on these over enthusiastic environmentalists. I had no idea they had taken over our government to such a degree! Are you saying it was really these dirty hippies behind the invasion of Iraq? Amazing!
I also missed where they worshiped Al Gore like he was Jesus Christ. Maybe that is better detailed in the other environmental study you reference ... what was it ... "The Christmas Racoons"?
By: Tapachoo
Re: Penn and Teller Bullshit: Environmental Hysteria
There are lots of stupid people everywhere. Yes, I had noticed that. I also noticed that our planet is not infinite.
"And it drives me even further crazy to have them say they're against globalization, when their main tools of trade are cell phones and the Internet. It just makes no sense at all to be against science and technology, and then to use science and technology, whether it's jet planes to get to international environmental meetings, or cell phones or laptop computers, you're part of globalization. So how can you be against it?"
Well that's really fascinating, Patrick Moore. I hadn't been aware that erasing international borders to capital while fortifying them to people is exactly equivalent to science and technology. I was also unaware that living in a world full of problems nullifies one's standing as someone who wants to do something about those problems. Or that if you want to change society, you have to build a whole parallel society, starting with handmade stone tools.
What fuzzy thinking.
And it drives me further crazy that they say they oppose human slavery, yet many of them wear cotton clothes, eat food containing sugar, or even use rubber. Why some of them are even slaves themselves! It makes no sense to oppose economic productivity, which means exactly the same thing as slavery, and still be living in 18th century Britain. You're part of a slave system, so how could you possibly want human culture to progress? Ever?
Bullshit.
"And it drives me even further crazy to have them say they're against globalization, when their main tools of trade are cell phones and the Internet. It just makes no sense at all to be against science and technology, and then to use science and technology, whether it's jet planes to get to international environmental meetings, or cell phones or laptop computers, you're part of globalization. So how can you be against it?"
Well that's really fascinating, Patrick Moore. I hadn't been aware that erasing international borders to capital while fortifying them to people is exactly equivalent to science and technology. I was also unaware that living in a world full of problems nullifies one's standing as someone who wants to do something about those problems. Or that if you want to change society, you have to build a whole parallel society, starting with handmade stone tools.
What fuzzy thinking.
And it drives me further crazy that they say they oppose human slavery, yet many of them wear cotton clothes, eat food containing sugar, or even use rubber. Why some of them are even slaves themselves! It makes no sense to oppose economic productivity, which means exactly the same thing as slavery, and still be living in 18th century Britain. You're part of a slave system, so how could you possibly want human culture to progress? Ever?
Bullshit.
