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More alarming than I thought...

Posted By: Chuck Bower
Date: Thursday, 24 April 2008, at 4:28 p.m.

In Response To: Teach your children well... (OT) (Chuck Bower)

Maybe Y2K is a good lesson in "Never Cry Wolf...", but it and the obesity issue that I mention pale in comparison to Global Warming (GW).

In my lifetime, three issues of major concern have come up, and in all three cases are still alive and kicking: nuclear winter, cosmic impact, and GW. These are things that can wipe out civilizations, and even species (including the human species).

We're all educated and we all have working brains. We have the choice of listening the politicians, news media, greedy corporations and forming our opinions there, or we can go to the frickin library and read what scientists say. Are scientists biased? At some level, yes. But that's why even scientists don't rely on one study/paper but upon many. That's why it sometimes takes so long. That's why scientists tend not to be dogmatic and speak in black and white terms as many politicians and a lot of clergy. The world isn't simple. Of course this caution is constantly used against them by people who play by different rules. Maybe science needs an in-your-face spokesperson like Ann Coulter. Is that what it takes -- unbridled obnoxiousness -- for people to wake up? (Probably not since she alienates as many or more as she confirms.)

In the case of GW, we're past the doubt stage. And as far as humans contributing to it (in the past, present, and future) there is little doubt about that, either. (Note I say "little doubt" because I'm a scientist. If I were a politician or clergyman I'd say NO DOUBT.)

Someone has failed us. Education is partly to blame. Apparently we don't learn to "do our homework" once we leave school. But there's plenty of blame to go around. If you're skeptical about the human contribution to GW and haven't done real homework (such as reading the 2007 Scientific American article), then you're not only welcoming the blame, but much worse you're failing present and future generations. Even those of us who have never had children have a responsibility to the future members of our species.

I doubt even Walt Kelly (Pogo) realized how profound and relevent (38 years ago this week) his simple statement was.

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