Did the Hurricanes Harvey and Irma give climate change deniers second thoughts?

Alfonso Llanes, studied at Florida International University

Answered just now

Probably the most recognized voice on the issue of global warming is Vice-President Al Gore with his superb work of awareness and documentaries. Gore explains that the vast majority of climate scientists agree that global warming is happening and that it poses a serious threat to the planet. Scientists also agree that the issue is caused largely by human activities releasing greenhouse gases, such as burning fossil fuels and deforesting the land. This scientific consensus emerged gradually over decades of research and debate. The present state of knowledge on the subject climate is found in the periodic reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This report is a collection of data from thousands of scientists. Regrettably the report states, much of the American public remains unaware or unwilling to acknowledge this scientific body of knowledge. Most of the blame comes from well-coordinated campaigns by interest group to spread misinformation about global warming.

The Environmental Defense Center as an NGO proclaims a mission statement that reads: “EDC is dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people, including the right to clean air, clean water, healthy food and flourishing ecosystems. Guided by science, we work to create practical solutions that win lasting political, economic and social support because they are nonpartisan, cost effective and fair.”

In 2005 the Environmental Defense Center published a scathing report which is partially reproduce here:

“The Latest Myths and Facts

On Global Warming “

By

Dr. James Wang ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE SCIENTIST and

Dr. Michael Oppenheimer PROFESSOR OF GEO-SCIENCES, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

MYTH: Global warming can’t be happening, since winters have been getting colder

FACT: Winters have been getting warmer. Measurements show that Earth’s climate has warmed overall over the past century, in all seasons, and in most regions.

MYTH: Satellite measurements of temperature over the past two decades show a much smaller warming in the atmosphere than is measured by thermometers at the surface.

FACT: Recent research has corrected problems that led to underestimates of the warming trend in earlier analyses of satellite data.

MYTH: The global warming over the past century is nothing unusual. For example, the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), roughly from A.D. 1000 to 1400, was warmer than the 20th century.

FACT: Ten independent scientific studies all have found a large 20th-century warming trend compared to temperature changes over the past millennium or two.

MYTH: Human activities contribute only a small fraction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, far too small to have a significant effect on the concentration of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.

FACT: Before the Industrial Revolution, the amount of CO2 emitted from large natural sources closely matched the amount that was removed through natural processes.

MYTH: The Earth’s warming is caused by natural factors like increased sunlight and sunspots or decreased cosmic rays, not by greenhouse gases (GHGs).

FACT: Modeling studies indicate that most of the warming over the past several decades was probably caused by the increase in human-produced GHGs.

MYTH: The warming observed during the past century was caused by urbanization (urban heat island effect).

FACT: Urbanization does increase temperatures locally, affecting thermometer readings in certain areas.

MYTH: Models have trouble predicting the weather a few days in advance.

FACT: Climate prediction is different from weather prediction, just as climate is different from weather.

MYTH: The science behind the theory of global warming is too uncertain to draw conclusions useful to policy makers.

FACT: The primary scientific debate is about how much and how fast, rather than whether, additional warming will occur as a result of human-produced GHG emissions.

MYTH: Global warming and increased CO2 would be beneficial, reducing cold-related deaths and increasing plant growth (“greening the Earth”).

FACT: If society does not limit further warming, the beneficial effects probably will be heavily outweighed by negative effects.

MYTH: Society can easily adapt to climate change; after all, human civilization has survived through climatic changes in the past.

FACT: While humans as a species have survived through past climatic changes, individual civilizations have collapsed.

MYTH: CO2 is removed from the atmosphere fairly quickly, so we can wait to take action until after we start to see dangerous impacts from global warming.

FACT: Global warming cannot be halted quickly. CO2 and other GHGs can remain in the atmosphere for many centuries.

In closing the EDC states that this report is intended to provide a comprehensive discussion of common myths and misunderstandings regarding climate change. The goal is to provide members of Congress and their staff, journalists and the public with detailed, well-researched and user-friendly information on these issues. This will allow readers to see that global warming science is not split between two opposing camps, as the public may often believe. Our rebuttals of myths are based on peer-reviewed, widely accepted scientific publications, which are cited and listed at the end of the report.