[extropy-chat] FWD (SK) Michael Crichton, Novelist, Becomes Senate Witness

[Terry W. Colvin]

[To adapt, from a very different context, a phrase Bill Cosby used

years ago, I hope Mr. Crichton enjoys treading water.  JK]

Michael Crichton, Novelist, Becomes Senate Witness
By MICHAEL K. JANOFSKY

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 - His last book, "State of Fear," was published 
more than nine months ago, but the reviews were still pouring in on 
Wednesday, even as Michael Crichton folded his 6-foot-9-inch frame 
into a seat to testify before the Senate Committee on Environment and 
Public Works.

"More silly than scary," the flier dropped off by the Natural 
Resources Defense Council said.

"Notable mainly for its nuttiness," an analysis from the Brookings 
Institution said.

"Does not reflect scientific fact," the Union of Concerned Scientists said.

For all his previous works as a writer (13 novels, 4 nonfiction 
books, numerous screenplays) and his prominent career in Hollywood as 
a writer, producer or director of 13 films and as the creator of the 
popular television series "ER," little has yanked Mr. Crichton so 
deeply into political controversy as "State of Fear," an 
environmental thriller that casts doubt on the widely held notion 
that human activities contribute to global warming.

It has become a hugely divisive policy issue in recent years, gaining 
a new urgency, perhaps, by the recent hurricanes that slammed into 
the Gulf Coast. Many prominent scientists, no friends of Mr. 
Crichton, to be sure, believe that man-made greenhouse gases are 
causing the earth to warm and are urging lawmakers to pass new 
regulations that govern carbon dioxide emissions.

But after considerable study of his own, leading to "State of Fear," 
Mr. Crichton has concluded that the science is mixed at best, and 
that lawmakers should take that into consideration when they decide 
what they might do about it.

His is an unpopular and contrary stance when measured against the 
judgment of groups like the National Academy of Sciences. But it was 
not those organizations that asked Mr. Crichton to Washington to 
counsel Congress on how to consider diverse scientific opinion when 
making policy. It was the committee chairman, Senator James M. 
Inhofe, a plainspoken Oklahoma Republican who has unabashedly 
pronounced global warming "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the 
American people."

In Mr. Crichton, a Harvard medical school graduate who never 
practiced medicine, he had found a kindred spirit - and a star 
witness for his committee.

"I'm excited about this hearing," Mr. Inhofe said, nodding toward Mr. 
Crichton as the proceedings began. "I think I've read most of his 
books; I think I've read them all. I enjoyed most 'State of Fear' and 
made it required reading for this committee."

Over the next two hours, Mr. Crichton and four other witnesses 
offered their thoughts, Mr. Crichton hewing to his firm belief that 
lawmakers should examine more closely "whether the methodology of 
climate science is sufficiently rigorous to yield a reliable result."

He took notes. He raised his hand to make points. He responded to 
criticism evenly and never lost composure. But it seemed like a lot 
less fun than winning an Emmy, as he did for "ER," or a citation as 
one of the "50 Most Beautiful People," as People magazine ranked him 
in 1992. And all he could do was sit there quietly, as Senator 
Hillary Rodham Clinton scolded him for views that "muddy the issues 
around sound science" and Senator Barbara Boxer said, "I think we 
have to focus on facts, not fiction."

In an interview later, Mr. Crichton said with a pained expression: 
"Comfortable with this? I'm very uncomfortable. Who wants this?"

Several of his previous books led to national debates and criticism, 
he said, recalling "Rising Sun," a murder mystery that suggests that 
Japan is economically devouring the United States, and "Disclosure," 
which examines sexual harassment when a woman is the predator. Both 
became popular movies.

"But this has been worse," he said of the aftermath of "State of Fear."

Still, he retains enough of his scientific background to thrust 
himself into the debate, insisting that the environmental movement 
"did a fabulous job in the first 10 years, a pretty good job in the 
second 10 years and a lousy job in the last 10 years."

As a result, he said, its influence on policy needs to be reined in, 
at least until alternative views are given equal airing and fair 
consideration by independent reviewers. Only then, he said, can 
policy makers make informed decisions.

But he never figured that he would be offering lawmakers an opinion 
on how they should legislate. His years of writing have taken on a 
pattern, he said. Research. Write. Move on.

"When I'm finished, I'm done," he said. Except when he's not, which 
is the case with "State of Fear." But that may not be true for his 
next book, which is almost complete. "It's extremely 
uncontroversial," he said, offering no details.

And even though the global warming debate endures, it's not likely 
that "State of Fear" will, beyond the book. "No studio has optioned 
it," he said, insisting: "It'll never be made. It's way too red hot."

http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?tntget=2005/09/29/books/29cric.html&tntemail1=y&adxnnl=1&emc=tnt&adxnnlx=1127994087-RpEnvmI/FEFCuLGUYDlGcw



-- 
"Only a zit on the wart on the heinie of progress." Copyright 1992, Frank Rice


Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1 at mindspring.com >
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