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Belief should always be optional. Behavior based on that belief shouldn't. I'm fine with anyone who wants to question climate change, evolution or even somethi

Belief should always be optional. Behavior based on that belief shouldn't. I'm fine with anyone who wants to question climate change, evolution or even something as accepted as gravity. Questioning is how we refine our thinking. Where I get less okay is when people use their questioning to justify behaviors that, should they be wrong, are detrimental to society and the world. Question climate change all you like, but stop polluting until you've convinced the majority of climate scientists. Question evolution, but stop preventing schools from teaching it or forcing them to give creationism an equal standing until you've got something that is, at least, equally supported. Science rarely does black and white, but you can still get a lot of benefit from altering behavior based on a scientific prediction that is 60%, 80%, 90%, 99% or 99.999% likely/accurate. Forcing belief doesn't honor that small bit of doubt that's inherent in any scientific study. But betting against what science believes to be likely when there are negative consequences to being wrong is stupid and we need to stop doing it.

tbrownaw 9y ago
Belief should always be optional. Behavior based on that belief shouldn't. Question climate change all you like, but stop polluting until you've convinced the majority of climate scientists. Just because they're all convinced it's completely our fault things are changing, doesn't mean that the prescribed remedies will actually work. What if the models are wrong on the low side, and we're wasting resources trying to stop the inevitable when we should be figuring out how to survive it?
- njarboe 9y ago
  There is no real "inevitable" with climate change. More CO2 in the atmosphere will cause higher temperatures. There may be a "tipping point" where a little more CO2 will cause the system to shift dramatically to a higher temperature. But we sure don't know where that is. To give up trying to do anything about climate change (lower emissions, geoengineering, etc.) because it is inevitable we will have 2 degrees of temperature rise no matter what, is to loose track of the fact that 2 degrees would be much better 5 degrees which is much better than 10 degrees.

tbrownaw 9y ago

Belief should always be optional. Behavior based on that belief shouldn't. Question climate change all you like, but stop polluting until you've convinced the majority of climate scientists. Just because they're all convinced it's completely our fault things are changing, doesn't mean that the prescribed remedies will actually work. What if the models are wrong on the low side, and we're wasting resources trying to stop the inevitable when we should be figuring out how to survive it?

njarboe 9y ago
There is no real "inevitable" with climate change. More CO2 in the atmosphere will cause higher temperatures. There may be a "tipping point" where a little more CO2 will cause the system to shift dramatically to a higher temperature. But we sure don't know where that is. To give up trying to do anything about climate change (lower emissions, geoengineering, etc.) because it is inevitable we will have 2 degrees of temperature rise no matter what, is to loose track of the fact that 2 degrees would be much better 5 degrees which is much better than 10 degrees.