Are we wrong about climate change?
The UK Sunday Times carries an article suggesting that the 2,500 scientists from 130 countries were simply wrong in their findings that global warming is happening and human activity is the main contributor. Nigel Calder, former editor of New Scientist, writes that perhaps a greater contributor to the recent changes in the global climate may be solar in orgin. Calder presents evidence that changes in the Sun's magnetic field may be temporarily changing the nature of the shield that protects the solar system from cosmic rays originating from extrasolar sources.
The evidence Calder presents is plausible. This is science for you. The debate continues. The truth hasn't been found. In every scientific field, until proposed theories can stand up to critics, they continue to face scrutiny. What the general public fail to understand is that this is just science at work. It's slow, tedious, sometimes sure of itself, sometimes not -- and regardless, could be wrong. That's how it is.
In this case, a couple of thousand scientists could be wrong. But when the vast majority warn of impending doom unless we change our ways, and there are few a credible naysayers that contradict them, I think the prudent choice is to heed the warning. Even if the conclusions are wrong, the fact still remain that we're altering our climate, environment and life on this planet for the worse. That should be enough of a wake up call to panic and do something about it. We have the means today. There's no excuse. The only thing that prevents us is the will to do the right thing -- regardless of the debate over the cause of climate change.
The evidence Calder presents is plausible. This is science for you. The debate continues. The truth hasn't been found. In every scientific field, until proposed theories can stand up to critics, they continue to face scrutiny. What the general public fail to understand is that this is just science at work. It's slow, tedious, sometimes sure of itself, sometimes not -- and regardless, could be wrong. That's how it is.
In this case, a couple of thousand scientists could be wrong. But when the vast majority warn of impending doom unless we change our ways, and there are few a credible naysayers that contradict them, I think the prudent choice is to heed the warning. Even if the conclusions are wrong, the fact still remain that we're altering our climate, environment and life on this planet for the worse. That should be enough of a wake up call to panic and do something about it. We have the means today. There's no excuse. The only thing that prevents us is the will to do the right thing -- regardless of the debate over the cause of climate change.
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