Peer-Reviewed Survey Finds Majority Of Scientists Skeptical Of Global Warming Crisis

Peer-Reviewed Survey Finds Majority Of Scientists Skeptical Of Global Warming Crisis

It is becoming clear that not only do many scientists dispute the asserted global warming crisis, but these skeptical scientists may indeed form a scientific consensus. Don't look now, but maybe a scientific consensus exists concerning global warming after all.

forbes.com

It was a bit shocking to see this headline from Forbes.

Even though I'm inclined to agree with the overall message of environmentalists (we need to clean up our act immediately) there are a few things that personally bother me about the public discussion.

I have a difficult time believing that global warming is conclusively anthropogenic. It's certainly possible that carbon output could have an impact on tempurature, but climate is more complicated than we understand, so we can't really draw this conclusion. It also reinforces the narrative that humans are the most special thing on the planet, and have more control than they actually possess. Humans are mere fleas.

The issue is highly-politicized, which significantly distorts the popular discussion and makes it impossible take honest and informed positions. Politics should not drive the conversation, and the public shouldn't take positions based on which side of the aisle they've picked. The health of our environment is much too important to play political games.

Alarmist messaging from environmentalists is counter-productive and has been going on for decades. It's tired and condescending and dishonest. Zealously proclaiming imminent catastrophe has proven to not win minds. Refusing to take a new approach after decades of failure is crazy and extremist. A winning message is rational, neutral, and doesn't pass judgment. If there's nothing but bullshit politics, then there's no compelling reason for moderates to care, which is who needs to be overwhelmingly convinced. Alarmism is doing more harm than good.