Why Are Americans So Ill-Informed about Climate Change?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-are-americans-so-ill

Interesting article regarding global warming and the campaign in the U.S. designed to confuse the public on the issue. This reminds me of the evolution versus creationism 'debate'.

As glaciers melt and island populations retreat from their coastlines to escape rising seas, many scientists remain baffled as to why the global research consensus on human-induced climate change remains contentious in the U.S.

The frustration revealed itself during a handful of sessions at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., this past weekend, coming to a peak during a Friday session, "Science without Borders and Media Unbounded".

Near the forum's conclusion, Massachusetts Institute of Technology climate scientist Kerry Emanuel asked a panel of journalists why the media continues to cover anthropogenic climate change as a controversy or debate, when in fact it is a consensus among such organizations as the American Geophysical Union, American Institute of Physics, American Chemical Society, American Meteorological Association and the National Research Council, along with the national academies of more than two dozen countries......

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Pirate700

This is a good example of what the article is talking about. Thanks.

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Pirate700

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Theokhoth

So it can't be globel cooling? When temps are lower it has to be globel warming because one side wants to say that's what it is? There are also theories that we are currently entering a new ice age.

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Pirate700

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Mousetaches

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"][QUOTE="Pirate700"]

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Pirate700

So it can't be globel cooling? When temps are lower it has to be globel warming because one side wants to say that's what it is? There are also theories that we are currently entering a new ice age.

[QUOTE="Mousetaches"][QUOTE="Pirate700"]

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Pirate700

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"][QUOTE="Pirate700"]

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Pirate700

So it can't be globel cooling? When temps are lower it has to be globel warming because one side wants to say that's what it is?

[QUOTE="Mousetaches"][QUOTE="Pirate700"]

Those in the know, know that temperatures are actually way down. Global warming is a real entity...it's just not happening. Hell, here in CA our average temps are like 20* below where they usually are.

Pirate700

Politicians and "pundits" stand to make alot more money if the status quo is maintained. Whether or not the climatechange is natural orman madethough, the US still needs to invest in new sources of energy. That's the future. Not petroleum.

Re: Climate change. Not global warming. The name global warming is a misnomer.Mousetaches

[QUOTE="Mousetaches"][QUOTE="Pirate700"]That's what I'm trying to say. There's a reason why global warming isn't used much anymore. Everyone says climate change because it's not getting hotter in most places. It's getting colder.

surrealnumber5

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]

[QUOTE="Mousetaches"] Re: Climate change. Not global warming. The name global warming is a misnomer.Mousetaches

typical crap..."they don't beleive in it because they are ignorant of science"...sigh...don't put the ownness on lackluster predictions or alarmism.....Omni-Slash

[QUOTE="Mousetaches"][QUOTE="Pirate700"]That's what I'm trying to say. There's a reason why global warming isn't used much anymore. Everyone says climate change because it's not getting hotter in most places. It's getting colder.

Pirate700

In short, it's the product of the republican party and their donors launching a campaign so they can keep polluting as much as they want. HoolaHoopMan

/facedesk

[QUOTE="Omni"]lackluster predictions or alarmism.....HoolaHoopMan

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]

[QUOTE="Mousetaches"] So then you're not arguing with the article? You agree that climate change is happening and a result of human interference?Theokhoth

[QUOTE="HoolaHoopMan"]In short, it's the product of the republican party and their donors launching a campaign so they can keep polluting as much as they want. Pirate700

/facedesk

Many scientists agree that evolution is wrong and we were created by aliens.

Theokhoth

Proof?

[QUOTE="HoolaHoopMan"] [QUOTE="Omni"]"they don't beleive in it because they are ignorant of science"Omni-Slash

Exactly

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"][QUOTE="Pirate700"]Many scientists agree that humans account for all of around 1% of climate change. It's complete crap that we are making it hotter or colder.

Pirate700

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"][QUOTE="Mousetaches"] So then you're not arguing with the article? You agree that climate change is happening and a result of human interference?Theokhoth

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

Many scientists agree that evolution is wrong and we were created by aliens.

Necrifer

Proof?

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"][QUOTE="Mousetaches"] So then you're not arguing with the article? You agree that climate change is happening and a result of human interference?Theokhoth

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"] when has climate not changed? surrealnumber5

Um, yeah it IS changing faster than it always has. It usually takes, oh, several millenia for it to change at the rate it has been changing lately.

Theokhoth

I'm also going to need proof for this.

[QUOTE="Necrifer"]

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

Many scientists agree that evolution is wrong and we were created by aliens.

Pirate700

Proof?

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]

Um, yeah it IS changing faster than it always has. It usually takes, oh, several millenia for it to change at the rate it has been changing lately.

Necrifer

I'm also going to need proof for this.

Your turn.

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"][QUOTE="Theokhoth"] When has it changed at the rate and severity at which it is changing now?

Theokhoth

[QUOTE="Pirate700"]

[QUOTE="Mousetaches"] So then you're not arguing with the article? You agree that climate change is happening and a result of human interference?Theokhoth

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"][QUOTE="surrealnumber5"] little ice age, now answer my question without a question if you would.surrealnumber5

I have a much more pressing question. What are we going to do about the global warming problem on Mars? With my follow up question being, why is Mars getting warmer on it's own while Earth getting warmer is because of SUV's and oil companies? My final question is WHY won't SOMEBODY think of the Martian children?!?!?!

Martian Ice Shrinking Dramatically

According to a September 20 NASA news release, "for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress." Because a Martian year is approximately twice as long as an Earth year, the shrinking of the Martian polar ice cap has been ongoing for at least six Earth years.

The shrinking is substantial. According to Michael Malin, principal investigator for the Mars Orbiter Camera, the polar ice cap is shrinking at "a prodigious rate."

"The images, documenting changes from 1999 to 2005, suggest the climate on Mars is presently warmer, and perhaps getting warmer still, than it was several decades or centuries ago," reported Yahoo News on September 20.

Solar Link Possible

Scientists are not sure whether the Martian warming is entirely due to Mars-specific forces or may be the result of other forces, such as increasing solar output, which would explain much of the recent asserted warming of the Earth as well.

Sallie Baliunas, chair of the Science Advisory Board at the George C. Marshall Institute, said, "Pluto, like Mars, is also undergoing warming." However, Baliunas speculated it is "likely not the sun but long-term processes on Mars and Pluto" causing the warming. However, until more information is gathered, Baliunas said, it is difficult to know for sure.

Pat Michaels, past president of the American Association of State Climatologists and senior fellow at the Cato Institute, similarly expressed a desire for more information about the Martian climate. "What is the internal dynamic that is warming Mars?" asked Michaels. "Given the fact that there are not a lot of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions on Mars, and given the fact that new research indicates that 10 to 30 percent estimated conservatively of Earth's recent warming is due to increased solar output, the Martian warming may support that new research."

The ice age wasn't a comparable circumstance to today. :|Theokhoth

I have a much more pressing question. What are we going to do about the global warming problem on Mars? With my follow up question being, why is Mars getting warmer on it's own while Earth getting warmer is because of SUV's and oil companies?

YellowOneKinobi

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"][QUOTE="surrealnumber5"] so you wont answer my question, i am not going to go into an in depth explanation of my choice if you are just going to troll me

surrealnumber5

how is it when random psycho's predict the end of the world and it doesn't happen we laugh at them..but when guys with a PHD in their name predict the end of the world due to floods....ice....warming and it doesn't happen we continue to buy into it without even a question?......IF people want to believe it or not believe it..that's there perogative.....I have yet to see anything overwhelming on either side.......so I'll stick with meh......Omni-Slash

[QUOTE="tenaka2"]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-are-americans-so-ill

Interesting article regarding global warming and the campaign in the U.S. designed to confuse the public on the issue. This reminds me of the evolution versus creationism 'debate'.

As glaciers melt and island populations retreat from their coastlines to escape rising seas, many scientists remain baffled as to why the global research consensus on human-induced climate change remains contentious in the U.S.

The frustration revealed itself during a handful of sessions at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., this past weekend, coming to a peak during a Friday session, "Science without Borders and Media Unbounded".

Near the forum's conclusion, Massachusetts Institute of Technology climate scientist Kerry Emanuel asked a panel of journalists why the media continues to cover anthropogenic climate change as a controversy or debate, when in fact it is a consensus among such organizations as the American Geophysical Union, American Institute of Physics, American Chemical Society, American Meteorological Association and the National Research Council, along with the national academies of more than two dozen countries......

kuraimen

A lot of them still believe in creationism. /thread

No you have misunderstood me. I mean that a lot of Creationists try to pretend that there is a 'debate' among scientists regarding evolution and creationism. The climate change denialists claim that there is a debate among scientists regarding climate change where in fact there is none. 97% of scientists that study the climate agree with climate change.