The murderer was global warming, in the ocean , with a candlestick

Or maybe it was Mr. Mustard, Ah well give it a few years it will all change around again. If I didn't find this really really sad and pathetic it would be horribly funny.

From Astrobiology magazine

The biggest mass death in history.When we last heard from the science cops, they liked big meteor, for the crime. They were all set to pin the rap on him and send him up the river without a paddle. Now they are all set to collar global warming.

I really shouldn't make light of this. Its important to understand. What we see here is how science deals with questions that in principle can never have a final answer. Theories are put forth, rise to prominence and are discarded in favor of new theories.

Its very important to remember that most theories are never more than that, just theories, temporary placeholders on the way to genuine understanding. There have been numerous theories on the causes of mass extinctions, there will be many more. Until someone develops a faster than light drive, or a time machine (actually the same thing) and we can see we will never have a definitive answer about any events in the distant past.

The fact that we can't have definitive answers however doesn't stop many scientists from acting like they do. Matter of fact many act as if the current theories are holy writ and unquestionable. The fact is most of these theories have a lifespan thats about as long as the professional prominence of the generation of scientists that came up with them. (20-40 years depending on the field). Its kind of sad that in many fields progress waits on the mortality of the gray beards who stifle it.

What does this mean to anything political ? Well meteor impact has been the darling and "CONSENSUS" theory of the vast majority of scientists. It got that way only because those same scientists were willing to look the other way and whistle at facts that contradicted the theory. It has been used to shove forward political theories that were popular at the time. (Everything from disarmament to evolution only instruction)

Now impact theory may well be replaced by the now Au Currant global warming. Expect to see a raft of news and documentaries of how Global warming killed all life in the past and how we are all going to die, because its happening again.