Posted under Environmentalism & Science
As I have said before, I don’t deny anthropogenic global warming (AGW) out of hand. It’s a plausible theory on its face. What bothers me is the global warming believers like Al Gore who think foot-stomping that the scientific debate is settled is a substitute for actual debate. Apparently the fundamentalist evolutionist P.Z. Myers is a fundamentalist AGW believer as well.
… the author is trying to set himself up as a defender of good science, but he does it by … being a denialist about climate change. Scientists are certain (to a reasonable degree) about predicting the future in this case because all the data points in this direction — you have to willfully reject the evidence in order to disagree.
“because all the data points in this direction.” Umm … no it doesn’t. This is the typical AGW believer foot-stomp. Unfortunately for their case it manifestly just ain’t so. I’m a medical doctor, so I’m no expert on climate change science, which is one reason I don’t deny AGW out of hand. I know my limits. But P.Z. Myers is a biological scientist and likely doesn’t know much more about climate science than I do unless he has taken a special interest to learn about it on his own. But you don’t have to be a climate scientist to understand the state of the debate. The state of the debate is all around us. And it so obviously ain’t settled that I wonder why people like Myers still think they can bully people into believing that it is. If anything, this makes them look even more clueless because the state of the public debate has been turning decidedly against AGW in recent years. Do people like Myers and Gore only talk to each other? Did Myers not hear about that whole suppression of dissent and data cooking we learned about in that little affair commonly referred to as Climate Gate?
I’m sorry to break it to Myers but the AGW skeptics have raised points that actually have to be answered. Covering your ears and going “LA LA LA LA LA…” at the top of your lungs does not make those objections go away.
Brock Townsend on 02 Sep 2011 at 9:54 pm #
Over 31,000 American scientists have signed this petition.
“We urge the United States government to reject the global warming agreement that was written in Kyoto, Japan in December, 1997, and any other similar proposals. The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind.
There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.”
Bruce on 03 Sep 2011 at 9:28 am #
Red, as a doctor how do you find time to write for this website? My MD grandfather never had time for anything but his practice.
That’s one of the reasons I used to assume that you were an older (retired) man.
Pretty impressive that after your day job you keep up with politics so thoroughly.
Matt Weber on 06 Sep 2011 at 2:57 pm #
PZ Myers is an idiot. I don’t understand why the other liberal atheists don’t shove him as far away as they can get him. He reads like a caricature.
Brian Macker on 11 Oct 2011 at 6:13 am #
Oh, some of us atheists understand that he is a bigoted fool.