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Is the belief in man made "Global Warming" the fastest spreading religion in the world?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,468084,00.html
Considering this story and the factual conflicts between proponent scientists and opponent scientists, is this becoming more a faith based belief than a scientific study?
I appreciate the maturity thus far in answering the question, but the fact remains that scientists, not FOX news analysts or conservapublicans, are the ones disputing the claims of man made global warming. The ice packs are the same as they were in 1980, and the mean global temperature is the same as in 1980. Could this not be geological cycle?
Everybody check your numbers...2,500 scientists agree with Al Gore, 31,000 do not. Nobody argues that it might be happening, it's just not scientific fact. This makes any assertion of it as fact a religious leap of faith.
People, I am not arguing about the existence or non existence of man made global warming! I am saying that as long as their is professional dissent, there is no fact, just people that agree or disagree with each other. In that sense, the assertion of fact is a religious assertion.
Yes, this is similar to many popular debates where both sides view their opinions as "fact" when the reality is they both make a religious assertion.
You assume my stance on this issue, when all that I want to do is encourage analytical thought on both sides of the issue.
And a story about ice melting in one hemisphere does not dispute the claim that the world's ice pack is no different than it was in 1980.
10 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
There are several problems in this global warming debate.
Al Gore made an effort to bring this to light in a way the general public would be able to understand. In doing so he also politicized the cause. Like it or not, most lay-persons who don't believe in MMGW also *happen* to be those on the right.
*Proof* for global warming does not exist in the same way proof of evolution doesn't exist. That is to say there is not a single piece of evidence we can point to and declare it as fact. Both ideas rely on a convergence of data from different scientific fields. Both rely heavily on historical science, which has a different standard of evidence than that which we can put under a microscope.
I am a natural skeptic, so I have been skeptical of the claims made by those on both sides. I generally don't jump on board when someone, either for or against, simply declares an absolute. At this point, I am leaning heavily towards extreme caution, as it seems the evidence continues to mount that people and their activities are having a negative impact on the world. I, for one, am doing something about it. Most scientists and skeptics are doing the same.
Edit: You are right to approach this with caution and encourage more discussion and debate. There is nothing wrong with that. Certainly there are dissenters to MMGW. As far as whether declaring it "religious" to believe, for a fact, that we are contributing to global warming, I don't see any value in that. It only works to diminish religion or at least broaden the term so much as to render it meaningless. You could replace global warming with anything (football, gnomes, stamp collecting, etc) and call those who believe or pursue these things fervently *religious*. You may be right, but again, what's the point?
MMGW may actually be a fact. Dissent does not necessarily mean it isn't, just that there are those who disagree. Facts are not determined by a popularity contest. Keep in mind there are many thousands who don't believe the Holocaust happened. That doesn't make it any less factual. The specifics of it may be disputable, but the facts remain.
Again, I am not declaring MMGW to be a fact. I'm just not dismissing it because a lessening minority of scientists have their doubts as to the specifics and evidence. In this case I am hedging my bets. The cost of doing nothing and being wrong is far more catastrophic than the cost of doing something and being wrong.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
So because some scientists (who are in the minority) take issue with how something has been reported, that automatically means that those scientists are correct and the rest of the scientific community is wrong?
I hope somebody buys you a thinking cap for Christmas.
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EDIT: Again, you are using specious logic. The fact that X number of sceintists agree with Al Gore means nothing. Al Gore is not a scientist and has made the case from a political perspective.
The fact is that most climate scientists think that human activities contribute to climate change and the question is how much. So Al Gore doesn't mean squat.
- Mr.SamsaLv 71 decade ago
Just like the religion of gravity. The "Global Warming" religion is spreading even faster than the "Spherical Planet" religion spread during the 16th Century.
I wouldn't worry about it too much, though. It's likely to be quickly replaced by the "Robots Are Trying To Kill Us" religion.
EDIT: You might want to double check your own numbers. I read this just this morning:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/12/16/melting...
Even NASA disagrees with your claims. The "scientists" that dispute global warming are generally the same "scientists" that dispute evolution. There is no real debate in the scientific community that global warming is occurring.
- 1 decade ago
Strangely enough, the only ones who claim it's not happening are conservatives in the US. Y'know, the party that's basically run by the oil companies? Coincidence, huh?
EDIT: Notice how the article shows someone talking about Arctic ice melting and says there's no problem there at all, but conveniently ignores the Antarctic which is ALSO melting and definitely DOES make sea levels rise? Gee, sounds like he's an unbiased source all right.
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- papa smurfLv 51 decade ago
My thought is that true environmentalism should be a cause held high by the Christian society. The claim is that God created the world and made humans the dominate species with responsibility toward the earth. Therefore they should lead the effort to care for it.
Source(s): my opinion - Anonymous1 decade ago
No, it's science, and it's almost certainly true. Even the skeptics don't actually dispute the fact that the Earth is warming.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
-40F and 14 inches of snow here... What a hot flash!