Scientific, not Political

Climate change. This is a scientific topic. At least it should be. Unfortunately, in today's world, it has become a political topic. Which is sad, unfortunate, bewildering, and dangerous. Because, while climate change could turn out to be a minor problem, it also could turn out to be the biggest threat modern man has ever known.

Am I exaggerating? Actually, I don’t know. Nobody does for sure. Which is, of course, the problem. While there are many different views on climate change, one thing that almost everyone agrees on is that to stop, reduce, or minimize it, is going to be a very difficult problem. So if it turns out that it’s not a big threat, then we’ve made a mountain out of a mole hill. But if, as most scientists believe, it can become catastrophic, then we really have to do whatever is necessary, whatever the effort, at whatever the cost.

Ignore the news organizations and the politicians on this one. Check out scientific websites. While news and political websites are debating whether climate change actually exists, the scientific websites are posting study after study and article after article, of the present and future effects, causes, and treatments of this problem. Honestly, it’s almost as if there are two mutually exclusive worlds: the scientific one where people study and discuss a scientific issue; and the non-scientific, everyday world where people are arguing if it’s a hoax or not. It’s baffling to me that these two can coexist.

And the oddest thing about this? The people who don’t believe in climate change tend to be the same people who seem to have a complete distrust of government and news media. Yet, in this case, they’re ignoring the scientific community and trusting their favorite politicians and news sources. How does this make sense? Honestly, I don’t get it.

Examples? At Phys.org I found at least 10 articles discussing climate change, as casually as they discuss geologic history or the flow of the Colorado river. Or go to NOAA.gov, ScienceNews.org, or any of a million others. And yes, 2015 set another record for the warmest year on record, and by a record largest margin.

Sure, you can find scientists who dispute this. But you can find scientists who dispute that cigarettes are harmful, too. Yet a huge majority of scientists agree that this is a problem, caused at least partly by humans, that is likely to cause us big problems down the line.

I remember when I first started teaching almost forty years ago, I talked about global warming and the greenhouse effect. I taught it because it was science, just like the atomic theory, Newtonian mechanics, and stoichiometry. Now just because it’s science, however, doesn’t mean it’s all correct. But it does normally represent our best ideas based on the data we have. In 1980, this wasn’t controversial. Somehow, now it is.

If you search the web, you'll find many articles and blogs that say pretty much the same as this one. But apparently, nobody is listening. Because most of our government representatives either believe climate change is a hoax, or ignore it. And while the democratic candidates discuss it somewhat, the republican candidates pretty much ignore it.

You know, a day might come when we look back and say “Why didn’t we do something?” But by then, it will probably be too late. My children will, unfortunately, probably see that day. There is a good chance that I won’t.

But then again, I might.