Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
The Greenhouse Turmoil
occasionally agree with them) at the end of
most chapters throughout this topic.
There is a growing sense of public concern
and skepticism about the science of global
change. A good bit of disagreement among
scientists about the details of greenhouse
warming is sometimes mistaken for a
lack of consensus. This misunderstanding
stems from a larger one about the adver-
sarial nature of science. A paper in
Science
magazine in 2010 signed by fifty-five mem-
bers of the National Academy of Sciences
notes that “scientists build their reputa-
tion . . . not only for supporting conven-
tional wisdom but even more so by dem-
onstrating that the scientific consensus is
wrong.” Criticism and discussions between
scientists are the way science is conducted
and not an indication of weakness or un-
certainty. Honest criticism and debate are
the hallmark of good science. Criticism
strengthens science.
The academy members also note that
“many recent assaults on climate science . . .
are typically driven by special interests or
dogma, not by an honest effort to provide
an alternative theory that credibly satisfies
the evidence.”
myth
: If we can't predict weather accurately
for the next five days, how can we predict the
climate decades and even a hundred years
from now?
During a debate on global warm-
ing in 2010 with Robert Kennedy Jr., the
ceo of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship,
shared this insight regarding global warm-
ing: “It's a hoax because clearly anyone that
says that they know what the temperature
of the Earth is going to be in 2020 or 2030
needs to be put in an asylum because they
don't.” Weather is different from climate.
Weather is difficult to predict, in part be-
cause it is a chaotic system and involves
looking at very short-term events. We can
say with some accuracy that fifty years
from now the winter climate in Chicago
will be colder than the summer climate,
but we cannot be assured that our Chicago
weather prediction six days from today will
be accurate. Climate is a long-term average
of weather, which smooths out regional or
short-lived weather extremes. Nonetheless,
concern about the accuracy of long-term
projections is real, and these projections
must always be viewed with caution.
Myths, Misinterpretations, and
Misunderstandings of the Deniers
myth
: In the geologic past, global warming
was followed by an increase in CO
2
levels (not
the other way round), so CO
2
increases do
not cause warming but instead are caused by
warming.
Representative Joe Barton (noted
for receiving funding from the political ac-
tion committee of the fossil fuel giant Koch
The following are examples of commonly
made misstatements about global change,
perpetuated by global warming deniers. We
will list these myths and rebut them (and
