Freeman Dyson, one of the world’s foremost astrophysicists, doesn’t always see eye to eye with his fellow liberals when it comes to global warming. He’s been studying the climate for a quarter of a century, so his prodigious experience has helped shape his views on the environment. In a forward to a new paper by former IPCC member Indur Goklany, titled “Carbon Dioxide: The good news,” Dyson reiterated his evidence-based belief that “carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does far more good than harm.” He added, “I consider myself an unprejudiced person and to me these facts are obvious. But the same facts are not obvious to the majority of scientists and politicians who consider carbon dioxide to be evil and dangerous. The people who are supposed to be experts and who claim to understand the science are precisely the people who are blind to the evidence.”

The veteran physicist expounded on these views in a subsequent interview with The Register. On the issue of climate models, Dyson observes, “What has happened in the past 10 years is that the discrepancies between what’s observed and what’s predicted have become much stronger.” He then chided the opposition’s inclination to silence dissenters, even bluntly opining, “I’m 100 percent Democrat myself, and I like Obama. But he took the wrong side on this issue, and the Republicans took the right side.” Dyson says “coal is very unpleasant stuff” — something most everyone can agree on — but that doesn’t mean it’s a climate hazard. “Pollution is quite separate to the climate problem: one can be solved, and the other cannot, and the public doesn’t understand that.” We don’t agree with everything Dyson advocates, but on this issue, he’s spot on. Those who question the mainstream view shouldn’t be placed on leave or, even worse, imprisoned. Such concrete, homogeneous mantras wouldn’t have allowed Dyson to become the acclaimed physicist he is today. What we’re seeing today is a Big Brotherly crackdown — and a scientific scandal.