Discussion: "climate skeptic"

Is that someone who only believes in one never-changing season for all of eternity?

I went so far as saying to my girlfriend's father - "There is no point in keeping your head in the sand on this issue...". He's a farmer/logger and I'm very disappointed when the "stewards of the land" only like to reiterate doubt (without substance) in there being any issues.

I'm more of a skeptic in believing the real issue might not be our inability to change (and the resulting consequences) but in the horrible precedence it will set for future demands we will need to respond to.

It was interesting in New Zealand to note that they seem to have mostly moved past climate doubt to another level of discussion on the subject. The right and left wing folks still had plenty to argue about, but mostly they were debating things like "what will we do with all the refugees from South Sea Islands that will be flooded as a result of global warming?" and "where should we bury CO2 underground?". It was an eye opener to realize how much propaganda we're being fed in Canada by comparison.

The propaganda campaign has been very successful, leading to a widely held belief that each person needs to be personally convinced by science that few of them have a hope of understanding. Yet we simply believe other accepted scientific truths, e.g. smoking causes cancer, without reviewing the journal articles that prove it.

Even more interesting, most people are quite prepared to go along with "truths" that they want to believe, even when there is no scientific proof underlying them, e.g. cell phones, pesticides and wireless networks are perfectly harmless.

See here:
http://www.desmogblog.com/slamming-the-climate-ske...

It was an eye opener to realize how much propaganda we're being fed in Canada by comparison.

Um, shoot. So Canada isn't the land of milk and honey that we always thought it was? Where are we going to threaten to move to now?

Yet we simply believe other accepted scientific truths, e.g. smoking causes cancer, without reviewing the journal articles that prove it.

There was a long period of time when even this was refuted - by the big tobacco companies of course - but also by the average Joe who was being fed the same kind of propaganda.

The eternal optimist in me hopes that we're moving through the same process with climate change right now - and eventually we'll get there. The problem is that there are even more industries (and hence more $$) with interests to feed the propaganda then there were with tobacco. And again the average Joe has more to "lose" as well - having an environmental conscience is inconvenient and sometimes costly. It's much easier and cheaper to deny that climate change is happening.

Our political leaders are the ones who are really going to have to get the ball rolling. *shiver*

having an environmental conscience is inconvenient and sometimes costly. It's much easier and cheaper to deny that climate change is happening.

I think the good guys can actually use economics in the fight - a lot of the changes that are more costly now are saving significantly in the long run. This is true of things like renewable energy sources vs fossil fuels as well as thing like logging vs. ecotourism.

Just got interviewed by CHTV on climate change and this warm winter. Airs tonight at 6pm (during GHO TNT).

Maybe you can just give us a live re-cap at TNT tonight? :)

Cool - I'll check to see if we get that channel.

That's always a tough topic - the distinction between weather and climate. It's so tempting to point to this springlike weather and tell the public that it's global warming. But then it becomes difficult to explain to them that the snowstorms in B.C. are also part of the same phenomenon. In the paper we wrote for the Town of Caledon, we used the term "climate disruption" to try to drive that point home.

Oh, and Cristina makes an excellent point. The easiest economic argument is that energy conservation efforts allow the consumer or business to pay less for energy - so it's hard to understand why even that idea meets with resistance.

Global climate "change" has always been the phrase - the press has moved this to global warming (somewhat incorrectly, especially if you ask Europe what is going to happen if the Gulf Stream continues to weaken).

Why conserve to save money when you can whine for subsidized cheaper power, and moan about how expensive it is to heat your swimming pool, keep your satelite TV connected 24/7, etc.

Slice, OK I'll do the recap tonight if you do a recap of Bash's comment about you on New Year's Eve! Something or other 3.

Ready for "The Pyramid of Puke" training work-out tonight?

I'm eating colourful things just to get ready

Ha ha Hammer! .....C'mon now. TNT is about serious training and is hardly the place for charades.

Darn. I thought the pyramid of puke might have already happened on Tuesday.....maybe I'll stop eating now....

The other term for night's training is Peak or Puke.
We're running a lot of stairs tonight.

This just in....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070103/ts_nm/environm...

It sounds like a few of you might enjoy joining me in class at Mac this semester - GEO3J03 - "Climate Change and Ecosystems". Our own Doc Hammer is the prof, so it would be fun to have friends there to help me heckle.

My registration is still active at MAC and I heckle it good, eh, perfesser?

Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. See ya there!

Hey Bash, wanna come down early on either monday or wednesday next week and do the Ancaster Creek training course? I'm done school by 11:30 both days.

That would be fun! I've got the maps. How about Monday, since Doc Hammer has scheduled a lab on Wed. afternoon?

I think the good guys can actually use economics in the fight - a lot of the changes that are more costly now are saving significantly in the long run.

Sometimes it's tough for people to think past the drive to the grocery store. But I totally agree with you.

If someone has the techno ability they should put Hammer's interview on YouTube. I can barely operate email so I won't be doing it. Hansel, I seem to remember that you are good with computers, after all, you once realized that the files are "in" the computer. What a breakthrough.

Sorry ladies and gents, unfortunately it was only a cameo appearance the majority of air time with another professor. Perhaps zoolander can teach his ways to Hammer to steal the spotlight...i hear Harlequin covers are profitable these days...and its Hot Hot Hot like climate change!

But what a cameo it was....pause....pause...NOT!

TVP was giving me some TV pointers this evening. Altaf did a great job though.

http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/portals-code/list.c...

http://www.desmogblog.com/turthiness-tim-balls-las...