That is an absolutely astonishing concept. Do you really think the Associated Press (a private company, BTW) is collaborating with some shadowy would-be world government conspiring to overthrow capitalism? Is the press part of a sinister global cabal that has somehow enlisted the scientific community (as well as the intelligentsia, academics and artists of the world), to push this idea? I know, you keep on saying that's not what you really mean, but it sure sounds like it to me.

Do you have any idea how absurdly paranoid this sounds? You keep on alluding to this, you keep on pointing it out as if it should be common knowledge to all of us, but you never explain just how it operates or even exactly what it is. Here's your chance. Outline for us just how this shadowy movement works, and do it publicly, in front of a jury of your scientific peers so they can evaluate it and respond.

Who's in charge, how are they organized, where is their headquarters? Name names. You don't have to be specific, I know all about the black helicopters, just give us hints. Describe how this has been masterminded and set in motion. Who's funding it? Where did they get the kind of bucks needed to get this decades-long global program rolling?

I can see some great Nazi or Soviet propaganda ministry having the motivation, resources and the long-term planning to get something like this put together for their own nefarious reasons (and do it secretly, to boot!). But who is in charge of this vast conspiracy? Al Gore? Who set it all in motion? Rachel Carson? Who's going to be the world dictator? Alan Alda?

No, there are no sinister puppet masters in the background. We simply have a problem, which IF it is indeed genuine (note I make no claims), will cost a lot of money to fix. And it will generate resistance from those who will have to pay the bill (all of us, actually). But the resistance will be most vocal and effective from those who have access to the financial, public relations and political resources to put their case before the public. Are these evil conspirators, too? No, people tend to believe in a vision of the world that coincides with their own self- interest. It's natural and it's normal. It's probably even wholesome.

But spare us the bogeymen, or take them to Science Fiction or Mysteries of the Universe where they really belong.