The fact that the climate could change on human timescales scared many people. NASA began to shift in the late 70's away from planetary study, and more towards the study of earth. With more funding, climate research began to put together a clearer picture of a climate linked to greenhouse gases among other factors. Despite the long history of research, the issue of global warming is more polarizing today than ever. Intelligent professors on both sides interpret the same study differently. Talk show hosts, pundits and presidents all use inflammatory rhetoric to argue against straw men.
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This is where the debate connects to our study. We need another "ad fontes" movement. Scientific journals are more accessible than ever before. The general people need to stop listening to only people who agree with them, and actually read the studies, in order to decide for themselves. Simply trusting the authority is as bad as trusting the Catholic church for Protestants. The Protestants who went back to the Bible found differences in what was said, and what was actually in the Bible.
Most people who either believe or don't believe in global warming have never actually read a study. It is interesting that with the changing frames of reference, many people in the 17th and 18th century began to believe more in the epistemology of science. They began to trust the results and publish journals of interesting scientific innovations. Today, with more people are simply listening to you-tubers and new disruptive medias, rather than trusting themselves to read the science and learn directly.
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I fundamentally disagree
ReplyDeleteWhat do you disagree with here? It seems as though the author is saying everyone should read the research for themselves and then make a decision. Making an informed opinion is incredibly important. At the end of the day research says that there is a climate issue.
DeleteHaha sorry twas a joke. The author is my best friend.
DeleteI would just like to add that there is a scientific consensus on the subject, but that people are choosing to twist the truth and ignore it to fulfill their own desires. Much like every other highly political issue today, people who don't really understand the issue or don't care about it have found way to ignore it or deny. I would like to include this quote from NASA on climate change - "Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals1 show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree*: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities."
ReplyDeleteYou will find similar reports in other places across the internet
Maybe part of the problem is the sheer amount of knowledge available to us--especially in an age when it can be difficult to figure out what is true. NASA may have figured out that 97% agree in journals, but how many of us have read 100% of the scientific articles on the internet about global warming. It's not an excuse for ignorance in and of itself, but I do think that so much information almost discourages us from even trying to uncover the truth.
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