Another Bush Appointee exhibits incredible incompetence

NPR aired an interview with NASA Senior Administrator, Michael Griffin, this morning. I was not paying attention at the time, but Heather was, and from the other room I heard her say, "What the hell is this guy talking about?"

"What was it?", I asked.

"Jesus! Just listen to it." she said. So earlier today, I streamed the interview from NPR.
Then I read a little about this Michael D. Griffin.

The first (and only?) thing you need to know about him is that he is a George W. Bush appointee, and bears the characteristics of such. We already know about Bush's inclination to reserve his political appointments for those on whom he can depend for tenacious loyalty to himself, and a spectacular lack of concern for seemingly anything else, including that for which their appointed position obligates them to have concern; i.e. Alberto Gonzalez, Julie McDonald, Phillip Cooney, etc. the Eight recently fired US attorneys know this all too well. I guess he also over-estimated John Ashcroft's capacity for mindless loyalty and corruption, amazingly enough.

Here is a quote from the Michael Griffin interview, "I have no doubt that … a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with. To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change. First of all, I don't think it's within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change, as millions of years of history have shown. And second of all, I guess I would ask which human beings — where and when — are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take."

He thinks it is arrogant for people to think that human beings shouldn't change the climate? That is mind-blowing. Is it not rather arrogant to express the opinion that one species (human beings) has the right to change the climate for all other species with whom we share this planet? Is it not arrogant to express an opinion that is starkly contrary to that of virtually all other climate and ecological scientists? Is it not arrogant, and tremendously reckless, to express the opinion that it is okay for us to dramatically change environmental conditions on Earth for our descendants for centuries to come? Also, nobody is saying that this "is the best climate". They are saying that if the climate continues changing on its current trajectory, environmental catastrophes are likely to occur. How grossly disingenuous of Griffin.

There's more, "First of all, I don't think it's within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change, as millions of years of history have shown."

What a spectacularly inane statement. Griffin deserves to be dismissed for submitting such a ludicrous, and frankly, ignorant, statement to the public forum. Yes, the climate has been changing since the dawn of the Earth, but climate changes of this magnitude take place over millenia, not decades.

Secondly, the statement is just stupid. It implies that humans have been trying not to change the climate during human history, or that we've had the capacity to change the climate forever, or something?? I'm clueless. Also, human beings have been on this planet for about 250,000 years, not "millions of years". Hello?

This moron is the head of NASA??? He is par for the course for the kind of gross incompetence Bush has committed to public service and to recieve our tax dollars.