Earth Day rant

[sarahmichigan]

If I'm feeling the urge to write, "Your willful ignorance astounds me!" to someone online, I should probably just back away slowly, right?

The thing is, people, THERE IS NO CONTROVERSY ABOUT GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.

In the news and general public? Sure. But time after time, when working scientists are polled - depending on the way the questionnaire is worded and whether they're working in a field related to climate change - between 80 and 90 percent agree that a) the earth is getting warmer and b) humans are at least part of the cause of it.

That's practically a consensus. The remaining 10 percent who don't agree? Well, there are always disagreements in science, as there should be. Those dissenting opinions could be the result of a) the scientists not being experts in climate-related science or b) not liking the way the poll question was worded or c) having some kind of pet theory or hidden agenda.

This amounts to a near-consensus with a few dissenting whack-jobs... not a controversy.

Comments

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

Both an article from CNN.com and the Skeptical Enquirer quoted those 80-90 percent figures. It depends on a) how the question is worded and b) how closely the scientists polled are involved in science related to climate change. Agreement was stronger on a) it's really getting warmer and weaker on b) human causation. Agreement with both propositions was stronger (90+ percent) in those working in fields most closely related to climate change.