Most long-time readers are familiar with the story of Stephen Schneider’s misquoting, which I discussed in one of my earliest posts. Read that post if you haven’t already, otherwise the rest of this post won’t make a lot of sense. So imagine my surprise and disgust when I received a “pingback” (a message that someone [...]
Archive for June, 2009
Context
Posted in Media and the Public, tagged climate change, credibility, global warming, media on June 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »
All Over the Map
Posted in How Science Works, tagged agreement, climate change, credibility, debate, global warming, science, skeptic, statements on June 27, 2009 | 34 Comments »
The climate change debate is usually categorized into two sides. One side claims that humans are causing the Earth to warm. The other claims that they are not. But does the second side have an alternate scientific explanation for why humans are not causing climate change? When they are the extreme minority of scientific opinion, [...]
A Retraction?
Posted in News and Reports, tagged agreement, climate change, credibility, debate, global warming, japan, jser, media, science, statements on June 21, 2009 | 3 Comments »
A recent comment by a long-time reader brought a new piece of information to my attention. “What about the JSER?” they asked. “[Someone claimed] that it was a Japanese scientific society that endorsed the falsity of global warming…..What do you think?” Did this bring the absense of disagreement among professional scientific organizations, at the top [...]
Skepticism and Denial
Posted in Media and the Public, tagged agreement, climate change, credibility, debate, denial, global warming, hockey stick, IPCC, media, science, skeptic on June 21, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Skepticism and denial are two words that many climate change activists throw around. What is the difference between them? What is the appropriate usage for each? And which camp do most of so-called “global warming skeptics” fall into? A skeptic is someone in doubt. The key word here is “doubt”. They are willing to listen [...]
When Authority is Relevant
Posted in How Science Works, Mitigation and Policy, tagged agreement, climate change, credibility, global warming, risk management, science, statements on June 17, 2009 | 17 Comments »
When it is appropriate to use an argument from authority? The most common criticism of arguments such as Doran and Zimmerman’s poll or a list of statements from organizations is, “That doesn’t mean they’re right.” Just because a topic has overwhelming agreement doesn’t mean it’s true. I agree with that criticism. But I still believe that such arguments [...]
Ignore the Petition Project
Posted in News and Reports, tagged agreement, climate change, credibility, debate, global warming, media, oregon petition, petition project, ron paul, science, statements on June 17, 2009 | 16 Comments »
Many of you have probably heard of Ron Paul’s recent statement in Congress regarding a petition signed by thousands of scientists claiming that there was no scientific evidence for anthropogenic climate change, no evidence that burning hydrocarbons was harmful, and, in fact, evidence that burning hydrocarbons would be beneficial for the Earth. The purpose of [...]
The Greenhouse Effect
Posted in Science Lessons, tagged carbon dioxide, climate change, global warming, greenhouse effect, greenhouse gases, science on June 17, 2009 | 10 Comments »
It always helps to have some background scientific knowledge on climate change – it makes it easier to sort credibility and call people’s bluffs. I thought I’d give a brief explanation of the Earth’s energy balance, something that confused me for a long time. All substances can absorb a certain amount of radiation – they must [...]
Some Much-Needed Humour
Posted in Musings, tagged climate change, global warming, humour, satire on June 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Am I the only one out there who feels a little depressed about climate change? A little depressed that, whether or not we have the technological capability to replace fossil fuels and lower carbon emissions, our society is so lacking in political will that the actions will never get off the ground? A little depressed [...]
Gambling on a Lie
Posted in News and Reports, tagged agreement, climate change, credibility, debate, global warming, risk management, science, statements on June 15, 2009 | 7 Comments »
All right, here it is. A list of professional scientific organizations that have issued statements saying that humans are causing the Earth to warm. Thanks to Logical Science for helping in the creation of this list. Keep in mind that, since the list is several years old, it is probably longer today. Academia Brasileira de Ciéncias [...]
Why Credibility Matters: An Example
Posted in News and Reports, Other Advocates, tagged climate change, credibility, debate, global warming, media on June 14, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Has anyone ever referred you to the documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle for “the other side of the story”? As we can see from our credibility spectrum, documentaries shouldn’t be taken too seriously – their directors are, at best, professional individuals. A documentary should never be treated like a scientific report. Just because you [...]
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