20-20 on Global Warming

I get John Stossel's email newsletter. His book, "Give Me a Break," captures a lot of things I believe in, touching on economics, liberty and the media.

Tonight's show sounds Germaine:

Friday on "20/20" I talk to Michael Crichton about his new book, "State of Fear," which made me laugh with delight, because the villains are ... well, I won't tell, because I don't want to give the plot away. But finally! A star Hollywood writer/producer is scientifically literate. The "Jurassic Park" author spent three years doing climate research and discovered what he'd heard about global warming made little sense. But he almost didn't write "State of Fear" because he knew it would anger his friends. I'm glad he wrote it, and OK, I'll give it away: the villains are environmental groups! What a switch! In my interview with Crichton, he says: "environmental organizations are fomenting false fears in order to promote agendas and raise money."

UPDATE: Steve Hayward (whom I think of as a Weekly Standard guy) is writing a piece for National Review "using the Crichton book as a hook." He wonders:

One big thing to watch is whether Hollywood will buy the movie rights, and then make a film, of this book, or whether Hollywood is too narrow minded to move beyond "The Day After Tomorrow." I'm guessing Hollywood will take a pass on this one, and you'll also start to hear whispers from the trade that Crichton is an awful person, etc. He has, over the years, delivered some less than flattering assessments of how Hollywood has adapted his novels, so this could be the excuse for payback.

Posted by jk at December 10, 2004 08:30 AM