# trust vs science (yet another global warming catfight)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-vs-science-yet-another-global-warming-catfight/729303>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 29, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-vs-science-yet-another-global-warming-catfight/729303 "2015-08-29T17:13:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 66

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**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:** [September 15, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-vs-science-yet-another-global-warming-catfight/729303/66 "2015-09-15T19:35:42Z")

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> [@anthonymortadella](#):
>
> Matters like “CO2 is opaque to IR and therefore the subsequent warming of the Earth will cause the oceans to rise by 10 ft within the next decade” should not have anything to do with the concept of “trust”.

Then there is the other really big problem. All the far too alarmed predictions which didn’t happen. (the mights, coulds, mays and “possibly happen by 2013”) But that turns it into just another debate over current idiocy in the news and journals.

> [@Is the doom and gloom environmental movement another expression of moral/religious anxiety?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-doom-and-gloom-environmental-movement-another-expression-of-moral-religious-anxiety/727827/63):
>
> Ever since I heard of global warming as a political issue, I’ve been waiting for this program, something dumbed down just a little for laypeople, that explains fundamentally and incontrovertibly, from A to Z, how artificial activity has affected the Earth, and the evidence for it.
> 
> I’m still waiting.

Yes, you would think something that is so important (the biggest threat ever in the history of all mankind) would have multiple shows about it, and it would be clearly explained, over and over. In all media.

> [@Is the doom and gloom environmental movement another expression of moral/religious anxiety?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-doom-and-gloom-environmental-movement-another-expression-of-moral-religious-anxiety/727827/64):
>
> Can someone translate \*\*anthonymortadella’s \*\*stream-of-consciousness post, please?

> [@Is the doom and gloom environmental movement another expression of moral/religious anxiety?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-doom-and-gloom-environmental-movement-another-expression-of-moral-religious-anxiety/727827/65):
>
> Apparently he wants someone, anyone, to laboriously explain AGW to him.

Here we see the “answer” that is constantly spewed forth, rather than even attempting to explain things. Why this happens, it’s the topic.

> [@GIGObuster](#):
>
> And once again the science is not settled but it is understood at levels where it is really irresponsible for policy makers to continue to ignore.

And that is the science people want to know about. Nobody wants to here nebulous claims, or sneering derision from the people they want to explain it. That raises more than just suspicions about motives, it takes it firmly into pseudoscience.

The vast amount of text in this topic alone, **that doesn’t explain anything** , shows how much time and energy will be spent “not explaining”, when what people want is an “idiots guide to global warming and why it matters enough to change everything”.

I checked and the “For Dummies” information [is simply atrocious](http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-the-effects-of-climate-change-and-gl.html).

> [@](#):
>
> Global warming is also known as the greenhouse effect and the gases involved are called greenhouse gases [because concentrations of toxic gases in the Earth’s atmosphere](http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-the-effects-of-climate-change-and-gl.html) prevent heat from escaping back into space just as the glass walls and roof of a greenhouse prevent heat from escaping a greenhouse

Really? You really are selling that?

> [@](#):
>
> The impact of global warming will increase in the coming years, but the degree of change will vary greatly, depending on where you live and depending on how rapidly nations around the world reduce greenhouse emissions. [No matter where you live, though, the unchecked impacts of climate change are potentially catastrophic in the long-term.](http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/global-warming-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html)

Is it any wonder people would ask for a program to simply explain it, and show the evidence? There is just so much bad information. Who wouldn’t want the good info? In a way that anyone can understand it?

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