howardpark

Upon seeing this picture, some people will instantly become hostile and resistant. They may be quite decent, agreeable people normally, but when confronted with the issue of global warming, they get a gut feeling of annoyance, disgust, even outrage. If you are such a person, I beg you to stop and think about that feeling for a moment. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, "What makes me so sure that all those people who talk about climate change are wrong? Have I really read at least a few books on the subject by reputable scientists (not just videos or articles by people who haven't done any peer-reviewed research and whose views simply confirm my own)?"

Most people who answer these questions honestly will have to admit (at least to themselves) that their reaction to global warming is not based on comprehensive personal knowledge. So why the aggressive, intolerant attitude? Judging from what people have written in their blogs and reviews, it seems to be mostly about Al Gore. Virtually every SU blog that comes out against climate change makes snarky comments about Gore, liberals, "hype," "conformity," or "brainwashing," whereas virtually none makes any substantive criticism of the scientific evidence. In other words, the feelings of hostility arise from the social circumstances surrounding the issue, not the issue itself.

That's only natural. Whether an idea is right or wrong, no one likes to be told that they have to believe it (just ask any atheist/agnostic who's ever been dragged to church). But keep in mind that the truth of the global warming thesis doesn't depend on what people believe or why. Those who are so keen to "prove" that liberals have been brainwashed by Gore are missing the point: even if that were true, it would say nothing about whether climate change is or is not happening. The scientific facts would be exactly the same if Charlton Heston were publicizing them. So please don't let your social antipathies color your judgment on a purely factual, non-social issue. We are all trapped together in a burning house--don't turn a blind eye just to spite the ones shouting, "Fire!"