Comments on The Climate Change Debate is Now Over

Go to Making Free Marketeers Angry - Add a comment - Go to The Climate Change Debate is Now Over

Yes...probably...

It especially appalls me when people deny simple, evident facts, for political reasons (or religious ones, but let's not get into that).

I understand the emotional/tribal/psychological attachment to one's political views, but as someone wisely said, "People are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts." 

I hate it when people hide behind their right of opinion to justify their recitation of false facts.

Then when you try to disabuse them, your words get interpreted as those of an arrogant, condescending liberal elitist (in the U.S. that's the straw-man erected by the right to discredit progressive ideas, and it's having remarkable success).

posted by Dylan24 on July 2, 2005 at 9:59 AM | link to this | reply

Dylan...

...I can't believe anyone truly believes it now. They're getting like the old flat-Earthers!

D

posted by DamonLeigh on June 29, 2005 at 3:28 AM | link to this | reply

Damon:

you describe the case succinctly and well. Nice work! It's important to be able to do so. Not a lot of people will sit around and listen carefully to complex and long arguments.

I can't always tell whether those who deny climate change actually believe that nonsense about how it's all part of natural cycles of temperature change, or if they know damn well that the temps have increased by so much more in the recent past and that manmade gases have caused that increase and just use that argument to confuse people.

I suspect that some honestly believe it, and that others are cynical.

posted by Dylan24 on June 26, 2005 at 6:50 PM | link to this | reply

kingmi...

...these are the sort of questions that come when one doesn't understand the basics of the carbon cycle, and the natural fluctuations in the climate of our planet.

There are several 'loops' by which carbon is released into the atmosphere, and there are several carbon 'sinks' that take it back in. Over long periods, carbon levels fluctuate and, in the past, have caused global warming and cooling, hence Ice Ages, glaciers and so on.

One of the denial techniques that some still cling onto is the vain hope that what we're experiencing now is just another part of this process.

It's not, for two reasons.

1. In the 200 or so years since the Industrial Revolution, a short blink of time in geological terms, atmospheric carbon has increased by 25%, a massive amount in such a short time. And of course atmospheric carbon has increased over that time - we've been releasing it through burning fossil fuels.

2. Everything is happening much faster now, accelerated by human activity. Climate change has always happened over hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. This time, we're talking about decades.

Hope that helps with the confusion.

Thanks for reading.

D

posted by DamonLeigh on June 22, 2005 at 4:11 AM | link to this | reply

DL, or more, the onset of the glaciers in the first place. Scoundrels all!

posted by kingmi on June 21, 2005 at 10:15 AM | link to this | reply

DamonLeigh, So, on whom do we blame the previous ten thousand years of

glacier creep?

posted by kingmi on June 21, 2005 at 10:14 AM | link to this | reply