re: #421 Sharmuta

A relevant counter example, Sharm.

I’ve not tried to add much to this thread… I sort of gave up discussing AGW when it became clear that the return on my time was so small. LVQ has been pulling most of the time in the hot seat lately, so to speak, and a couple of other folks too.

Yes, the philosophical and scientific arguments are not won using fallacies. However, what is at work in these discussions usually is not a discussion of the actual science.

What happens is that people get to vent. Against Al Gore, against the government, against “liberals” or “socialists” or the UN or “elitists”, ad naseum.

It is very discouraging to see so many people saddled with such fear and anger.

One error that President Obama has made is not gauge accurately the political climate that exists around the topic of AGW.

People are afraid of losing control of their lives, and endeavoring to accomplish strategic objectives in addressing AGW in all likelihood means government intervention in the lives of people, thus feeding the basic human fear of losing control. It’s a no-win situation.

In light of this atmosphere, trying to actually help people understand what is meant by “AGW” or “climate change” becomes a non-starter. People just don’t want to hear.

This thread is full of accusations of this and that… and again, the sad thing is all of those objections have been answered and discussed (at different levels of detail) all around the web, if only people would spend time looking and reading.

We have more imminent problems in this country than climate change, and I think I’ll get back to posting more on oil, economics, and the like. I do think that there is a little value in bringing forward links to AGW related science, or educational sites (like I did above to the AIP site), but just like with the creationism/ID issue, the battle really is about human fear and worldviews.