I try to explain climate change in the most simple terms to my doubting friends, family and co-workers.

OK, you are taking something out of the ground like oil or coal or wood and then burning it. That uses oxygen from the atmosphere to make carbon dioxide and water vapor. The water vapor will eventually fall back to the earth as rain, but any carbon that ends up in the air increases the mass of the atmosphere which means it weighs more, so it will hold more heat in.

Also, a bit more carbon in the air wouldn’t be such a problem if we weren’t also deforesting the planet at the same time. That negates the built in correction factor from plant life eating the extra CO2.

And then I point out the Christian principal that you might as well have faith in God even if you are doubtful because the penalty for being wrong is not worth the risk. By that same logic, they might as well accept the science of climate change, because the penalty of being wrong is not worth the risk.