Friday, July 04, 2014

Climate Change, Man's Newest Religion

Am I the only who's noticed that the global warming/climate change movement has become somewhat religious? And by religious, I mean based more on faith and belief than actual logic. Let me illustrate with a fictional conversation with a critical agnostic:

Person 1: So, you believe in global warming?

Person 2: It's climate change.

P1: But the problem is warming, right? So it's global warming that's the issue.

P2: Climate change is too complex to understand fully, so warming isn't the only issue. But the climate changes affect all of us.

P1: But hasn't our climate been changing as long as we've been able to measure it, even before the rise of man? I mean, Ice Ages.

P2: Yes, but this is radical change. For the warmer, for the most part. Warmer temperatures will devastate us with drought, flooding, pestilence, and disease.

P1: But in other eras, life thrived. Most life forms grew larger than today because of more ideal conditions. Human society sprang from earth's warmest regions for that reason.

P2: Science tells us it's different now.

P1: Define this 'science'. 

P2: Thousands and thousands of scientists who say it's true.

P1: Okay, a lot of scientists say it's true. But a lot of scientists have studied it and says it isn't. What about them?

P2: They're apostates, heretics, blasphemers, and idiots.

P1: Okay. On what do basis do you make this claim. Have you looked at any numbers or methodology?

P2: No, I'm not a scientist. A lot of scientists say otherwise.

P1: So what you're saying is you have faith and belief in one side because they say it's so?

P2: Not because they say it, because I know it's true. It's #science.

P1: You don't understand the scientific method at all, do you?