Global Warming - if the debate is over, why do we keep debating it?

Answer 1

Because we live in a free country where everyone has the right to express their opinion, whether right or wrong. Politicians are the only ones who say the debate is over; climate change/global warming should not be a political issue. Climate change and the many theories associated with it should be examined, discussed and challenged; that's how science works.

Answer 2

I guess it depends who is doing the debating, what is being debated and who is making the claims.

If the debate focuses on whether global warming is occurring per se then for all intents and purposes the debate is over, even the most ardent of skeptics acknowledges that the world is warming. The debate at this level is akin to debating whether the Earth is round or square, scientifically this debate ended over 100 years ago.

If the debate centres on, for example, the causes of global warming then that's a different matter and within the scientific community such a debate is very much alive. So it should be, no credible scientist closes their mind to anything until it is absolutely quantified and qualified, to do so flies in the face of one of the supporting principles of all science (observation, hypothesis, testing, debate). The causes of climate change are dynamic, ever changing, there will always be room for debate.

The debate may be over at certain levels, there comes a point when every question from journalists and laypeople has been asked many times over and to continue debating at this level is to go round and round in circles without making any progress.

Answer 3

We keep debating "global warming" because no one can prove that it exist or not.

There is an equal chance that next year be cooler than this year, or warmer than this year. No one knows for sure.

As long as people have to "believe" rather than prove, it will always be debated. No one debates real science like Ohms Law, or the Distance the Earth is from the Sun as anyone can prove these, and there is no 'consensus' that says these are right.

Answer 4

Skepticism is actually the norm in science. The result of the philosophical school of skepticism was the European enlightenment which has brought us the modern scientific method.

http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/SKEPT.HTM

What is not the norm in science is to say that the debate is over or that taking a skeptical approach therefore makes you a denier. When is a debate ever over except in politics? In politics, there is a debate and then there is a consensus that decides the winner.

Science does not work that way. It works by skepticism.

It is especially needed now that there is so much use of computer models to verify theories. There are many problems with computer models and most hard scientists know them to be unreliable even if you have the correct data to plug into the algorithms. Algorithms are made by humans and fall into human error. So much of climatology is computer model based and needs much checking and much skepticism to get it right.

To have a science based on computer models (a system that is far from perfect) is an amazing reality of the 21st century. Climatology is like the modern version of Astrology.

Answer 5

I guess sadly saying the debate is over is a debating point in one sense. It may also be the expert bodies saying they are no longer going to admit to uncertainty in the face of nitpicking, they have reached a conclusion. They will refine their work certainly but even small fleas have smaller fleas and at least in the immediate future there is likely to be some uncertainties and even contradictions in the analysis of a system as complex as the earth's climate.

Answer 6

we keep debating because there are some stubborned people all over the world who can't accept the fact that we're speeding up the process of global warming!!

Answer 7

the scientific debate is over, the political debate rages. The global warming section of YA should be in the government and politics section, not the environment section. Like bob said, there is always someone who denies reality. As far as a money trail, look at who oil companies fund- remember the scientists who said cigarettes don't cause cancer? same thing

Skepticism is the norm in science, so long as the evidence isn't screaming at you. No computer model or ice core sample can disprove this:

human activity produces greenhouse gases, which increase the greenhouse effect, which changes the climate.

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/stateofknowledge.html

the existence of greenhouse gases is real and proven
the existence of the greenhouse effect is real and proven
the fact that human activity has accounted for virtually all the increase in greenhouse gas concentration is real and proven.

Other factors are possible contributors as well, but make no mistake, the human factor is real, and the only factor that is completely certain.

Answer 8

When was this debate held? It hasn't!!! Search for a major actual debate on it. You won't find any. People who oppose it WANT a debate, but people who believe in it insist it isn't needed because it's already been decided by them. There's alot of money to be had by researchers and political programs here, but only if Global Warming is real. So some people are scared to bankruptcy that if a debate is held, and it's debunked, thier precious funding will dry up!

Answer 9

Most of the debating is being done by politicians. They either don't want to confront the reality, or they just feel it could hurt their careers. I mean, it's such a big and important issue, that if everyone does decide it's real, it could be a big divider in political parties. Just like the whole abortion issue. I don't think politicians want to take a risk and lose supporters.

Answer 10

There never has been a debate. The "global warming deniers" are still researching, and finding more and more daily to discredit those that believe in man made global warming. And those that believe called off the debate before they could have a chance to be proven wrong and have their federal funding cut.