Unless it’s faith we’re talking about, humans are inherently skeptical – especially when it comes to science. Brilliant minds have been battling the oft’ irrational public opinion for time immemorial, with guys like Aristotle, Galileo and Darwin risking their necks in the name of logic.
Things haven’t changed much…
Despite recent news of blunders and cover-ups in the IPCC’s 2007 climate report, according to Al Gore, “the overwhelming consensus on global warming remains unchanged”.
The hefty four-volume report tackles some of the most complex science imaginable. Making sense of chaotic, interconnected systems is tough. It’s even harder when incorporating the impacts of countless climate-change variables. Errors are to be expected.
It’s crazy to think that a handful of inaccuracies on the Himalayas’ glacial melting rates discredit the whole process. And a few misplaced emails at UK’s East Anglia University shouldn’t detract from research being rigorously undertaken by leading climate scientists worldwide.
The science is solid, and the bulk of the climate science community doesn’t doubt this for a second. But the smallest whiff of controversy means that naysayers can have a field day, appealing to our innately suspicious, conspiracy-minded personalities.
This news is affecting the polls. According to the Guardian there’s been a “sharp decline in the public’s belief in the climate threat…” in both the US and Britain.
Everyone’s like, “I told you so. It’s all hogwash.” If folk actually spoke like that. But what of the massive shifts in climate systems and the bizarre weather patterns that we’ve been experiencing? We’ve had the hottest summers on record and the fiercest storms since records started. And it’s all happening at unprecedented rates. We’re not talking 10,000 years, but more like twenty.
We’ve got to be as brave as those great philosopher dudes, and not be swayed by the power of the media and public opinion. Reject the facts and give credence to the skeptics and we’re all headin’ for dire straits.