Question of the Day: Day 320
Do you believe that there are problems with greenhouse gases, thinning ozone layer, and global warming or do you think that it is a bunch of hype that scientists are using to scare people?
posted by Michelle at 8:43 AM
4 Comments:
I'm, unfortunately, not up on this one. I would have to do a little bit of research before I would even begin to answer this question. If I find the time, I'll do that.
There's a certain amount of truth although it's possible that some of them are sensationalized. To what extent, I don't know. A non-scientist like me is convinced by evidences like changing weather patterns, rising ocean levels, and melting polar caps.
why wouldnt there be? are we really so omnipotent to think that our civilizations wasteful habits will have no toll on this planet?
come on people! wake up! scientists are not idealists, nor are they story tellers. they relay facts. It may be exaggerated to get our attention, but its none the less real.
you don't have to see a documentary to see the changes that have happened on the planet in the last ten years.
that is all.
Unfortunately most of what we hear about these days isn't about science. Instead, it's some group with an agenda hiring someone to do a study to "prove" a preconceived notion. It's easy to uncover evidence to support pretty much any claim, much harder to find the real truth, and there's not much money in the latter. So it's very important to look at WHO is making a claim and WHY.
When dealing with difficult topics, like the extremely complex mechanisms which effect weather, one has to be even more careful. Some of the most powerful computers in the world are used to predict whether it will rain tomorrow, and even that isn't very accurate. Imagine the difficulty determining what the weather will be like in 100 years. The computer models extrapolate to a ridiculous extent, in essence multiplying zero by infinity and coming up with 4.23. It wasn't that many years ago that we were being warned about global cooling, not warming.
It's not the scientists that are the problem, though - for the most part they are happy to do their research and publish for peer review. It's those who snatch the scraps of results and jump to their pulpits to preach what they think should be done who are circumventing the scientific process. Here's a rule of thumb: when someone is trying to scare the populous, it's usually about politics.
Do I personally believe global warming is a serious problem? I'm undecided. I think more study is warranted. The effects of any proposed course of action would also need to be studied, to make sure the cure isn't worse than the disease.
Post a Comment
<< Home