# Do you think global warming will be as bad as people say? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2014, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092 "2014-10-12T05:44:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/61 "2014-10-15T05:15:25Z")
Frankly I see it as more of a plus than a problem. At least for North America. Looking at North America you see a V-shape (sort of) and as the V goes up and gets wider, the colder NA gets. Thats why in Canada they can farm on maybe 100 miles or so from the american border. Think of the millions of acres of development that can be opened up with the onset of warmer temperatures. And in Europe wouldnt Norway, Finland, and Sweden benefit from northern areas becoming warmer? What if Greenland becomes so warm agriculture could return? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/62 "2014-10-15T05:52:11Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > As a practicing scientist, this is nonsense. Scientists who go outside of dogma without data get ostracized. Scientists who go outside of dogma with data get Nobel prizes. 97% of scientists don’t agree on ANYTHING, let alone something as fuzzy as Climate Change. Hell, only 4 out of 5 dentists recommend sugarless gum! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/63 "2014-10-15T06:08:26Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > 97% of scientists don’t agree on ANYTHING, let alone something as fuzzy as Climate Change. Correct me if I’m misunderstanding but I take it that you consider the 97% figure to be so high that it has to be false in some way. If that’s right, to what level would the consensus figure have to fall before you accepted it as plausible? And would that figure be above or below the level at which you would then deny there was a meaningful consensus? ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/64 "2014-10-15T07:02:22Z")
Could some moderator Pit this, please? No, wait! Given what’s already there, that may well create a singularity. Well, crap. I picked a helluva night to quit meditatin’. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/65 "2014-10-15T12:55:52Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > 97% of scientists don’t agree on ANYTHING, let alone something as fuzzy as Climate Change. > > Hell, only 4 out of 5 dentists recommend sugarless gum! Much like the greedy scientists just wanting to get grant money, this makes a nice talking point, but isn’t true. 97% of scientists believe that DNA codes for protein. What do I win? I’m a biologist. I can get grant money by making incremental addition to the literature. I can make big money by using my credentials to become an anti-vaccine media commentator. You know how a credentialed climate scientist could make real cash? Become a Foxnews commentator. Legitimate climate scientists are not making nearly enough money from grants to make it worth lying. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/66 "2014-10-15T13:58:23Z")
I wonder if Ryan of [Dinosaur Comics](http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2715) reads along here. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/67 "2014-10-15T14:27:00Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Correct me if I’m misunderstanding but I take it that you consider the 97% figure to be so high that it has to be false in some way. If that’s right, to what level would the consensus figure have to fall before you accepted it as plausible? > > And would that figure be above or below the level at which you would then deny there was a meaningful consensus? I think you need to review the difference between dependent and independent variables. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/68 "2014-10-15T15:06:44Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I think you need to review the difference between dependent and independent variables. Do you have any actual evidence that fewer than 97% of scientists agree? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/69 "2014-10-15T15:23:19Z")
[Politicians debating global warming.](http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gp3_slideshow_large/photos/2014-March/climate_street_art_1.jpg) The fact of the matter is that the predicted effects of global climate change, such as melting of ice in Antarctica and Greenland, have already been way up into the high end of predictions made by mainstream scientists. While climate change isn’t going to cause the collapse of civilization, in the next few centuries it’s certainly going to have enormously detrimental effects. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/70 "2014-10-15T21:16:17Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I think you need to review the difference between dependent and independent variables. Why? ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/71 "2014-10-15T21:19:21Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Scientists who go outside of dogma without data get ostracized. Scientists who go outside of dogma with data get Nobel prizes. If only that were always the case. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/72 "2014-10-15T21:28:23Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > 97% of scientists don’t agree on ANYTHING, let alone something as fuzzy as Climate Change. All that posts like this demonstrate is that you don’t know anything about science or scientists. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/73 "2014-10-15T23:17:17Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > If only that were always the case. It’s undoubtedly not always the case. Do you always discount things that are not correct 100% of the time, or are you only that rigorous where you are trying to avoid the implications of the general case? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/74 "2014-10-16T00:07:44Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Frankly I see it as more of a plus than a problem. At least for North America. > > Looking at North America you see a V-shape (sort of) and as the V goes up and gets wider, the colder NA gets. Thats why in Canada they can farm on maybe 100 miles or so from the american border. Think of the millions of acres of development that can be opened up with the onset of warmer temperatures. > > And in Europe wouldnt Norway, Finland, and Sweden benefit from northern areas becoming warmer? > > What if Greenland becomes so warm agriculture could return? Ah, yes, Greenland will be lovely, unfortunately when a similar thing happened in the past conditions in the south west and the grain belt where those of a mega drought, and similar things had been found in the past in regions of China, Africa, Amazonia and others. Wanting to see the polar regions melt does not sound very nice when the problems elsewhere are taken into account. Science writer Peter Hadfield explains with supported published science: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CY4Yecsx_-s/hqdefault.jpg "23 -- Medieval Warm Period -- fact vs. fiction") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY4Yecsx_-s) The link goes to the final part, but the whole thing should be seen. (Just 20 minutes) to learn how deceptive many deniers are with the data and graphs. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CY4Yecsx_-s/hqdefault.jpg "23 -- Medieval Warm Period -- fact vs. fiction") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY4Yecsx_-s) ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/75 "2014-10-16T03:52:59Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > You’re just repeating right wing talking points. The scientists didn’t “all know” there was going to be an ice age, and we’re quite sure that it is warming, and like it or not there’s no longer any scientific doubt it’s happening. And science has advanced enormously since then anyway. > > Not that it matters much; nothing will be done and that’s that. Not unless things get so bad that a general collapse of civilization is under way, and by then it’ll far too late to do anything useful. You are just repeating left wing talking points. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/76 "2014-10-16T04:58:36Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > You are just repeating left wing talking points. Well, what about then the points from a conservative Republican scientist at BYU? (Barry Bickmore is of the few conservative scientists left as the right wing is pushing them aside or even threatening) > **[Climate Consensus: A Cautionary Tale](https://bbickmore.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/climate-consensus-a-cautionary-tale/)** > > My wife got Final Cut Express for Christmas, so I decided to do a video project to force myself to learn how to use it.  The result is a 2-part, ~22 minute video called “Climate Consensus:  A… (The short videos made by Bickmore deal with 2 studies made earlier than the one I cited already, the 97% number from the surveyed scientists supported the idea that humans are driving or significantly causing the changes. Yes, that high number was also reached then) [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009EO030002/pdf](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009EO030002/pdf) [http://www.pnas.org/content/107/27/12107.full](http://www.pnas.org/content/107/27/12107.full) ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092/77 "2014-10-16T16:34:30Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > If only that were always the case. I think that it is always the case. To channel Carl Sagan, if you are making an extraordinary claim that flies against what the majority of scientists currently believe, then you better have extraordinary data to back it up. Right now, the data is such that the vast majority of scientists in the field have looked at it and determined that climate change is happening and that humans are the cause. If someone wants to dispute that, they better have data to back it up, and not just politicians that don’t want to believe it. A sizable percentage (majority?) of Republican members of Congress don’t believe in the scientific fact of evolution. Why would I think they can understand science sufficiently to get climate change? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-global-warming-will-be-as-bad-as-people-say/701092.md?page=3)