This is exactly why we don’t want econ taught in government schools,?with or without elephants. Having students parrot some quasi-policy thinking instead of teaching economic reasoning is just another example of mind-numbing state-school conditioning exercise, much like the fuzzy math, fuzzy English, fuzzy ethics, and fuzzy science they are already served.

And speaking of exotic animals and science, the Chronicles of Higher Education (subscription only) today offers the following article: “House Hearing on Global Warming Features Politics, Research, and Flatulent Dinosaurs.”

Here is an excerpt from that (subscription) article:
Ms. Solomon, who is a senior scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in Boulder, Colo., and is also affiliated with the University of Colorado’s campus there, and three of her colleagues on the IPCC effort ran through the report’s main conclusions for the committee. Global warming is unequivocal, she said, and there is greater than a 90-percent likelihood that human beings are responsible for much of the recent warming.

Ms. Solomon and her colleagues drew a warm reception from Democrats and several Republicans on the committee. But Mr. Rohrabacher, a Republican and former speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, took issue with the IPCC’s conclusion that people were responsible for global warming.

“There is no doubt that global climate change is happening,” Mr. Rohrabacher said. “The question is, Why is this cycle of global change — we’ve gone through dozens of cycles of global climate change — different from any other cycle?”

In describing past periods of change, he suggested that some of them might have been caused by “dinosaur flatulence.”

Mr. Rohrabacher peppered the scientists with questions, at one point getting into a dispute with Ms. Solomon when he asked what percentage of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere had been emitted by humans.

Ms. Solomon said that the rising concentrations of such gases since 1750 were almost wholly attributable to humans, but Mr. Rohrabacher cut her off.

“I didn’t ask that,” Mr. Rohrabacher said, interrupting her. “Listen, this is very dishonest. You’re supposed to be a scientist. I’ve asked you a direct question. Can anyone else on the panel be honest about the answer?”

He added a moment later, “Is everyone else afraid to answer that question as well?”

“Sir, I’m really trying to be honest,” Ms. Solomon said.

Missing Scientists

Mr. Rohrabacher was trying to make the point that scientists he had spoken with estimate that human beings produce only 10 percent of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Elephants, anyone?