Climate Change / Global Warming Discussion

[RichardC]

Calls to investigate fossil fuelled climate denial are moving into the political arena (which could be either good or bad).

See: DNC draft platform calls for Justice Department to investigate fossil fuel companies, A Historic Coalition Is Building to Investigate Exxon's Alleged Climate Fraud and Exxon Fraud Probe Is Shaping Up to Be the Biggest Bipartisan Climate Battle Ever

It could be good if it raises the public profile of the issue, and actually results in the some investigations and successful prosecutions of those who are cynically funding climate denial for their commercial gain. It could be bad if it causes the perpetrators to step up their contributions in order to buy off the other political party.

 

[S'toon]

Not too sure where to put this. I'll post it here:
Republican platform says coal is clean energy

<facepalm>

 

[ggies07]

Not too sure where to put this. I'll post it here:
Republican platform says coal is clean energy

<facepalm>

Get the F*** out of here........crazy bastards.

 

[S'toon]

UK Government axes climate department - BBC News

 

[Skotty]

The Republican party has long been dooming itself by continuing with anti-science and anti-environment policies. This shows a clear lack of responsibility within the party on a serious issue of the gravest nature. The same science and technology that has given us the great modern era is the same science and technology that shows us we need to respect and protect the environment. To ignore this because it looks inconvenient is much like a child who wants to play all day but never clean his room. It's highly irresponsible and such people should not be allowed into positions of leadership. The science isn't settled argument so many of them fall back on comes about because either they are liars, they haven't really looked at the science, or they are just too dumb or gullible to understand. Honestly, I don't like how controlling many within the Democratic party seem to be, and there are Republican values I appreciate and could definitely vote for, but I cannot in good conscience vote for anyone who would put the future of our species in jeopardy and I find myself constantly voting for Democrats or other non-Republicans because of this. I know I'm not the only one.

This isn't a pro-Democrat statement. It's a plea to the Republicans out there. Please. I beg you. Take responsibility. Take science and environmental protection seriously. Give the people faith in your party again.

 

[SmartElectric]

This is not a republican party only thing:

Canada's Conservative Reform Alliance Party (CRAP)
US Republican Party
Australian Liberal Party (under Abbot)
UK Conservative Party

They have all rejected scientific facts as a basis of policy.

It's not a small set of people, it's not only in one country, it's not just the conservative base of these parties. For a good percentage of people it's apparently inconvenient that climate is changing due to man made causes, and they don't want to believe the truth, or if they do, have any part in cleaning it up.

This set of people, aka voters, affectionately known as "tax payers" are fully responsible for keeping up the fight to maintain status quo. If people didn't vote for deniers, then their power would diminish and their fight would die away.

We may need to solve the problem at the source, raise kids to learn and respect science and knowledge as a basis for rational policy. By the time I was a teenager, I rejected the 2000 year old fairy tales taught to me in my youth and embraced science instead. It can be done.

 

[jerry33]

We may need to solve the problem at the source, raise kids to learn and respect science and knowledge as a basis for rational policy. By the time I was a teenager, I rejected the 2000 year old fairy tales taught to me in my youth and embraced science instead. It can be done.

That was tried and we ended up with a public TV network that no longer teaches science and a public school system that is on it's last legs. Unfortunately, people believe in superstition rather than accept science and work to solve the problems.

 

[SmartElectric]

a public school system that is on it's last legs

Hyperbole.

The places where deniers frequent can overlap/correspond to extremely wealthy demographic, which generally have the best funded school systems.

There's no one reason, that's for sure, but public schools don't seem like an obvious place to bash on this topic...

 

[S'toon]

This is not a republican party only thing:

Canada's Conservative Reform Alliance Party (CRAP)
US Republican Party
Australian Liberal Party (under Abbot)
UK Conservative Party

They have all rejected scientific facts as a basis of policy.

It's not a small set of people, it's not only in one country, it's not just the conservative base of these parties. For a good percentage of people it's apparently inconvenient that climate is changing due to man made causes, and they don't want to believe the truth, or if they do, have any part in cleaning it up.

This set of people, aka voters, affectionately known as "tax payers" are fully responsible for keeping up the fight to maintain status quo. If people didn't vote for deniers, then their power would diminish and their fight would die away.

We may need to solve the problem at the source, raise kids to learn and respect science and knowledge as a basis for rational policy. By the time I was a teenager, I rejected the 2000 year old fairy tales taught to me in my youth and embraced science instead. It can be done.

Point of order. The CRAP did a hostile takeover of the Progressive Conservative Party, and changed the name to the Conservative Party, which led to the rise of Harper as PM in the darkest 10 years of Canadian history.

 

[ggies07]

We may need to solve the problem at the source, raise kids to learn and respect science and knowledge as a basis for rational policy. By the time I was a teenager, I rejected the 2000 year old fairy tales taught to me in my youth and embraced science instead. It can be done.

That's what I'm trying to do with my five year old daughter.

 

[ohmman]

That's what I'm trying to do with my five year old daughter.

In our household, we call it evidence-based living. The kids are definitely getting it. Hopefully it sticks once they're gone and independent.

 

[SageBrush]

That was tried and we ended up with a public TV network that no longer teaches science and a public school system that is on it's last legs. Unfortunately, people believe in superstition rather than accept science and work to solve the problems.

The public schools systems offer science. The number of kids that take them up on the offer is pretty low.

 

[nwdiver]

The public schools systems offer science.

It's not knowledge of science that we need. It's critical thinking...

I work with plenty of 'smart' people that have a lot of education and science knowledge but they all deny climate change. They lack critical thinking skills.

 

[jerry33]

It's not knowledge of science that we need. It's critical thinking...

I work with plenty of 'smart' people that have a lot of education and science knowledge but they all deny climate change. They lack critical thinking skills.

That too, but originally I was thinking of places where no science is taught without religious filtering. Anything that goes against the dogma is eliminated.

 

[SageBrush]

It's not knowledge of science that we need. It's critical thinking...

I work with plenty of 'smart' people that have a lot of education and science knowledge but they all deny climate change. They lack critical thinking skills.

The problem I see is lack of objective thinking. People tend to see what they want to see. Perhaps that is what you meant by 'critical.'

To Jerry, demanding that schools somehow rid the culture of laziness, short-term gain, and individual profit over public harm is just not going to happen. I view schools as the water in the aphorism "you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them drink."

 

[jerry33]

To Jerry, demanding that schools somehow rid the culture of laziness, short-term gain, and individual profit over public harm is just not going to happen. I view schools as the water in the aphorism "you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them drink."

True, but eliminating schools policies that foster that behaviour is a good start.

 

[beeeerock]

This article is quite relevant, IMHO... How technology disrupted the truth | Katharine Viner

 

[ggies07]

Another example of Bill's weird attitude toward renewable energy....it's like we aren't supposed to do anything until something magical happens....crazy!

Bill Gates: Solar is not the energy solution Africa needs

Bill Gates once again shunned solar power from his vision for energy access in Africa in his talk at the University of Pretoria in South Africa on Sunday, where he argued that whilst “cheap, clean energy” is what Africa needs, solar does not fit the bill.

 

[S'toon]

Another example of Bill's weird attitude toward renewable energy....it's like we aren't supposed to do anything until something magical happens....crazy!

Bill Gates: Solar is not the energy solution Africa needs

Bill Gates, who said "Why would anybody need more than 640K RAM?" Who said the internet is a passing fad. Who said that there will never bit a 32 bit OS. Who said OS/2 would be the most important OS of all time.

Methinks he's not very good at predicting things.

 

[SageBrush]

Another example of Bill's weird attitude toward renewable energy....it's like we aren't supposed to do anything until something magical happens....crazy!

Bill Gates: Solar is not the energy solution Africa needs

Here is the context of BG's opinion from 2012:

When I say 'an energy miracle'," he said, "I mean that there will be some form of energy whose 24-hour cost really is competitive with hydrocarbons given, say, 20 years of learning curve