Image by SordxMaelstrom on DeviantArt
Those who persist in doubting the strong evidence that supports climate change recently received a nice, juicy bone to chew on, in the shape of this combatively headlined article in USA Today:
Could we be wrong about global warming?
Could the best climate models — the ones used to predict global warming — all be wrong?
Maybe so, says a new study published online today in the journal Nature Geoscience. The report found that only about half of the warming that occurred during a natural climate change 55 million years ago can be explained by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. What caused the remainder of the warming is a mystery.
With such a loaded headline typical of the US media, it’s no surprise that this article was seized by right-wing bloggers as proof positive that climate change is all just a liberal/progressive/socialist conspiracy. This camp is ably represented by Blogmocracy, answering USA Today’s question: Does a Bear Sleep in the Woods?
Blogmocracy’s blog post is full of the usual bollocks, relying on supposedly self-evident statements and dodgy science. Oh, and I should also point out that it’s based on a complete misrepresentation of the facts.
The study doesn’t cast doubt on global warming at all. As one of the scientists who worked on the research told Reuters:
…This could mean current forecasts are underestimating how hot Earth’s atmosphere will get in the future
As explained by Reuters here and here, the story behind the attention grabbing, right-wing baiting headline is that this new research, worryingly, indicates that current models of global warming may in fact be underestimating the problem.
This story is another example of typical denial nonsense. When will they simply admit that global warming and climate change are accepted by virtually every respected scientific organisation – and challenged by none.
Footnote – Science was founded on people admitting their ignorance, looking for mysteries, questioning evidence and then going out and finding the answers. Unfortunately, such (entirely beneficial) admissions of knowledge gaps on “politically sensitive” topics are seized by the anti-science, pro-personal agenda brigade and twisted in an attempt to discredit otherwise widely supported theories. Learning for the day, kids: always look deeper and always do your own research before believing anything you read or hear, online or offline!
BONUS LINKS THAT STRONGLY SUPPORT ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL WARMING
