Why are people willing to accept ANY idea or statement as long as it supports the fallacy...?

Question

...that Global Warming is caused by Human activity, or that it even EXISTS.
And yet reject out of hand ANY facts that shoot holes in this Mass Disinformation campagne?

Answer 1

Concern about the environment is an emotional issue. People get emotionally attached to ideas and get angry when people express different points of view.

The fact that it's not proven that AGW won't have any adverse affects or that is doesn't exist at all means that if the AGW crowd want to be taken seriously by governments and industry, they should be establishing realistic probabilities of worst case scenarios which don't rely on faith or junk science. Managers (especially in the insurance industry) and governments understand risk management and respond to any threat according to it's probability and potential severity.

(edit) Bob, I find that claim hard to believe. Do you have a source?

Answer 2

Check this out:

Why are people willing to accept ANY idea or statement as long as it supports the fallacy...?
...that Global Warming isn't caused by Human activity, or that it doesn't even EXIST.
And yet reject out of hand ANY facts that shoot holes in this Mass Disinformation campaign?

Yeah, that's right, I can make totally unqualified statements with little or no meaning, too.

Answer 3

Unfortunately most people are only exposed to the stories about Global Warming in the popular media.

Relatively few people ever see the peer reviewed scientific literature.

The popular media is designed to entertain and make money for the owners of the the media.

The popular media is not a reliable source of factual information.

That is the primary reason why there is so much misinformation and emotionalism regarding this issue.

This is true for both sides of this issue.

For example some stories in the media, for example the movie"The Day After Tomorrow" are science fiction horror flicks that are merely designed to make money.

Other stories are presented by people who have an interest in convincing the general population that there is no such thing as Global Warming at all.

The result is that we have a large number of people who are left with the distinct impression that they are beind lied to and will not believe anything that is presented to them regarding this issue.

I recommend that you make a trip to a local University Library and ask if you can see the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. (you may be asked to make a donation to the library to help pay for the upkeep of the library)

The IPCC reports are peer reviewed professional scientific literature. They are very well done and are very reliable, in contrast to the reports that you have seen in the popular media.

After you have read the IPCC reports please post a question again.

Answer 4

Exactly backwards.

Why are you willing to accept any idea or statement as long as it supports the fallacy that man has no impact on the environment.

That is the real question and gets to the heart of this argument.

I wouldn't call it a debate. You don't have any facts.

edit to wreck:
I personally did the work to my house, which was a wreck from the 50's with single pane windows and an antique heater. I superinsulated the attic, replaced the windows and doors and the heating system. Cost me $9,000 of refinance money, which I chose not to blow on yuk yuks but on something actually worthwhile. Previous owner used 750 gal. heating oil / season. I use 250. When I bought a car (always used) I traded one that got 18 mpg for one that gets 38mpg. I ditched my career as a network engineer and now I install ground source heat pumps. But this is all just a bunch of vague nonsense. If we had a government that gave a damn, everyone could do this and it would just be the beginning.

Answer 5

There is a world of difference between people who simply want to feel concerned and those willing to actually do something. Global warming is a great issue for the former because it is so vast and abstract.

When you encounter people who wish to sell you on the idea of human driven global warming, ask them this: "What quantifiable steps have you personally undertaken to lower your carbon footprint?" You will generally get some vague uncomfortable non-sense answer.

Even if climate change were entirely human driven, which it obviously is not, nothing is going to stop it. Rich people with faux environmental concerns are not going to convince the world's poor to abandon their efforts to live as we do. And that means a few thousand more coal fired plants and another billion vehicles on this planet. Whatever changes that brings we better learn to adapt, because that is the coming reality.

Answer 6

Get your head out of the sand.

Climate change is a reality - nearly all scientists agree now. Denial has been a long time in the media.

Our culture continues to whisper constantly - it is all okay. Nothing to worry about. We can fix it. Dont worry - buy more drive more, it is good to consume and comsume...More and more - thjat will make you happy.

There are simply too many people for the resources
on the planet. The population is blasting higher. Do more reading and thinking. See the new documentary "What a Way to Go - Life at the End of Empire.

Answer 7

Because the evidence that supports the mainstream position is proven science. Backed by mountains of hard data.

And the stuff that claims this is a fallacy is political nonsense.

The idea that this is a fallacy is incredible. EVERY major scientific organisation in the world says global warming is real.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change

Bottom line:

"I wasn’t convinced by a person or any interest group—it was the data that got me. I was utterly convinced of this connection between the burning of fossil fuels and climate change. And I was convinced that if we didn’t do something about this, we would be in deep trouble.”

Vice Admiral Richard H. Truly, USN (Ret.)
Former NASA Administrator and Shuttle Astronaut and the first Commander of the Naval Space Command

Here are two summaries of the mountain of peer reviewed data that convinced Admiral Truly and the vast majority of the scientific community, short and long.

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png
http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/wg1-report.html
summarised at:
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

Good websites for more info:

http://profend.com/global-warming/
http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn11462

Ben O - What you suggest is already happening. For example, the insurance industry has made it clear that corporate liability insurance will not cover global warming claims against companies that do nothing to reduce carbon emissions. The basic principle involved is that deliberate actions which lead to foreseeable results are not covered.

Answer 8

Global warming is real. If it were to occur after the average temperature of the earth had stabilized, it would be something to worry about.

Presently, the earth's average temperature is about 13 to 14 degrees Celsius, and is still attempting to come out of an Ice Age.

Global warming is the natural way that the earth has always moved back to its stable average temperature of about 21 to 22 degrees Celsius.

There is no real proof that global warming is anything other than that.

The environmentalists have the same kind of control over most people's perception of true environmental science that the clergy used to have over the perception of which celestial object occupied the center of the universe in the minds of the people of the 14th century.

A real scientist of today would not dare to attempt to tell anyone he/she knew which single planet, star, or even galaxy occupies the center of the entire universe.

Hundreds of years from now people will see the followers of this ridiculous religious belief exactly the same way we now view 'Earth Is The Center Of The Universe!' believers, whether clergy or laity.

Answer 9

i said it before and would say it again

tell those "there aint no such thing as global warming" people that if they still have doubts they should book a flight and head on down to Nigeria n spend 3 days, if their opinion doesnt change then they must be aliens from the planet Mercury who dont feel the heat or at least see what damages it causes

Answer 10

Ben O:

I 100% agree with you.
And it´s because they order these independant studies that the companies the most concerned about GW are the insurance companies, especially the large reinsurers (LLOYD, MUENCHENRUECK,. etc...). For them there are no large doubts (less than 5%) that GW will take place and increase temperatures as a result of human activities.

Business actors are rational! not like individuals. For them it is a matter of money. The worldwide N°1 in particular are involved. They are present in every single country and for them, it is important to keep a prosperous world for their future business. For this reason, they want to limit global warming in order to avoid major economic turbulences.