Why do you get attacked for questioning global warming?

Question

Just because you question it, it doesn't make you an idiot. It makes you an idiot to follow something blindly without looking into it. We don't know enough about the issue yet, and to say that everyone should accept it as gospel truth is stupid. Form your own thoughts, people.

Oh, and if you're looking at the other side of the issue, the Glenn Beck special called "Climate of Fear" is a good place to start.

Answer 1

The same thing happened recently to the scientist in charge of NASA. CO2 Global warming theorists forced the scientist/director to make a public apology after he basically said CO2 has not been proven to cause global warming.

Maybe it is now a religion?
"It seems it is now blastphemous to question the global warming theory. And that "An Inconvenient Truth" movie has become a bible that is being used by schools and uneducated layman to indoctrinate the impressionable younger generations. The same thing happened decades ago when the now disproven "Population Bomb" theory was widely published in a grocery-store paperback.

If you reject the theory with good data and arguments you are assailed as being stupid, uneducated, or a non-scientist. Even when many of U.N.'s top scientists disagree with the theory, and brand new satellite data from brand new solar satellites shows the sun temperature is far from constant. Any facts that point out that the emperor has no clothes, are assailed by their "Holier Than Thou" comments.

If you agree with it, you are considered by them to be morally correct. "

Is The CO2 Global Warming Theory Now A Religion?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ahky7e_NO_KjvufnbbIhBeTty6IX?qid=20070605152527AA3NdyX

Answer 2

Yes, it doesn't make you an idiot. You just want to avoid looking stupid, and that's important to everyone.

For instance, when someone shouts "DUCK!" I always calmly turn around and sometimes I verify there was nothing there.

When my passenger shouts "STOP!" I never take my foot off the accelerator until I have absolutely made certain that I am in mortal danger.

My goodness, wouldn't I look the fool if I put on the brakes if my passenger were wrong?

Okay, enough sarcasm...

In fact YOU can't do anything about global warming. Oh sure you can turn off the air conditioner, stop driving, recycle, use products that are labeled "green" but really your effect on the climate is barely a drop in the bucket, compared to the companies that produced your car, your air conditioner, etc.

I think you're upset because you think we blame you for global warming. But seriously, you don't have that much of a choice about it. Maybe if you had a 500 IQ you could figure out a way to cool your house and get to work without an air conditioner or a car... or if you had 500 million dollars, you could go buy things that aren't available to the rest of us.

So you're treating this as a guilt trip that is being laid on the American Public, and reacting to it, as anyone would. But it's not a guilt trip. It is simply a request to make it possible for people to live in such a way that doesn't cause global warming.

I really don't care whether you believe it or not... unless you are personally responsible for making decisions that cause tons of emissions every day, in which case, I want you to make different decisions.

Answer 3

Let's see some more scientific facts that at one point were not "open to debate" and may have even cost people their lives:

--The EARTH is the center of the universe (and solar system)---The EARTH is flat.

Hmmm, even scientific laws have later been proved to be incomplete or wrong.
Really, everything in science is debatable. Eventually we change scietific theories to LAWS, but still that is just because of a preponderance of evidence not disproving it.

Finally, even if you accept global CLIMATE CHANGE, and the fact it is caused by human involvment (though the environmental movement makes a case only against fossil fuels and coal, conveniently not mentioning that overpopulation would be he real enemy), is there anything we can do to change it even if we shut down the ENTIRE economy of the US and banned all vehicles?

If you do the research you'll find out the answer to the above question is NO, China and India's growth will more than outpace any reductions we could make.

Answer 4

I'm with you, its dangerous when you can't even question an idea without being attacked.

There is nothing wrong with questioning an idea, in fact it is necessary to do so, without this constant constructive questioning we would never learn anything. If no one had ever questioned the common beliefs we would be living on a flat earth which was the center of a finite universe made up of four elements.

It is dangerous for science when an idea cannot be questioned, just look at Michael Griffin or Michael Crichton to see what happens when you raise very valid scientific arguments against global warming. Global warming truly has become a cult or religion.

Answer 5

Absolutely.

You may come to the conclusion that global warming is caused by and can be stopped through the actions of man.

You can still do your part to conserve energy and resources, regardless of whether the globe is warming or cooling, and whether man is causing it or not.

I'm afraid of two things with regards to alarmists:
1. Their strident and insulting tones will turn off people to doing their part for the environment.

2. Actions will go overboard, destroying the economy and eventually the environment.

Answer 6

i've got not seen any assaults on functional questions on AGW. i've got seen medical evidence and protection of stated evidence. I see far, far fewer own assaults coming from deniers than I do from people who have self belief that AGW is a certainty. we are able to be warmer sooner or later. in case you prefer to work out the artwork, then basically look it up. that is everywhere in the information superhighway for all to work out. look on the IPCC comments and consider the helping literature. each little thing is accessible for you in looking. you are going to disclaim that we are nonetheless warming in 6 months, basically such as you deny that we've been warming up formerly. AGW is shown repeatedly, so that is glaring which you will save denying till your place turns into so blatantly untenable which you will finally admit it. often, the human beings on the AGW area grant time-honored literature as components while deniers grant blogs and questionable web content/information websites. the place is your evidence from time-honored literature that the Earth isn't warming or that human beings are not inflicting the warming? "Believers on no account instruct their artwork, purely that they settle for what a consensus tells them. is this marvelous?" No it is not marvelous. that's the two a lie, or you're lacking all the evidence that's published that helps the tip of AGW. _

Answer 7

There's absolutely nothing wrong with questioning global warming. It's something that affects everyone and everyone should know about it.

But some people invite attack due to the manner of their questioning, and to this end you only have to look at some of the questions and statements made on this forum. If someone asks a civilised question it will, in the main, elicit a civilised response. However, if someone's line of questining is more akin to a personal attack then naturally the respondent(s) is going to be on the offensive and will attack back.

Your own statement demonstrates this in that it implies all proponents of global warming are idiots who haven't looked into global warming. You make this as a generalised sweeping statement and fail to qualify it by adding 'in my opinion...' or 'I beleive that...' As such, you're being disrespectful to those who beleive in global warming but you appear to be questioning why some people are disrepectful in return.

Keep questioning global warming but perhaps consider changing the tone of your questions, otherwise I fear, you will continue to receive answers in the style that are causing you concern.

Answer 8

Nobody said you had to be an idiot to not believe it . And very few people out there do blindly believe it without researching it first. There's nothing wrong with questioning the theory so long as you don't always assume you understand it better than everyone else and accuse anyone who doesn't agree with you of being ignorant sheep.

Answer 9

There are two types of "questions" about global warming. One is the sort that might be summarized: "I don't understand why scientists say such-and such. Can someone explain this?"

That's a sensible question--and deserves--and usually gets--a polite and more-or -less informative answer (always, if I'm answering).

The other is the people who are trying to argue that gw doesn't exist, that its soeme kind of conspiracy--or whatever. And expect people to take BS from the likes of Rush Limbaugh as evidence.

But--the existance--or the human origins--of global warming are not subject to debate--they are proven scientific fact. Neither I nor anyone else is under any obligation to treat the second kind of "question" with seriousness--or even courtesy. Any more than if the "questioner" were attempting to claim infectious diseases were caused by evil spirits and attempting to have such nonsense treated with the same consideration due real science.

Answer 10

The same reason that people get attacked for expressing their concern for the environment. There are too many people who have their minds made up about it either way based on heresay alone.

Why would Glenn Beck be a good place to start? Opinionated rhetoric from him or Al Gore are way too biased.

Why don't you seek unbiased facts.
Believe it or not, they are out there.