An interesting post by Tom Nelson
(This post was written to respond to Don’s Twitter question here)
Don, off the top of my head, here are some things I believe:
1. CO2 is a greenhouse gas
2. Greenhouse gases have a warming effect
3. Human activity has caused atmospheric CO2 to increase over the last 100+ years
4. The Earth warmed during the 20th century
5. Global sea levels rose about 7.5 inches since 1901
Continued below the fold
6. We can’t burn fossil fuels forever without running out
7. Alternative energy research is a good thing
8. Energy efficiency is a good thing
9. Destroying the environment is a bad thing
10. I want the best, safest world possible for future generationsSome things I don’t believe:
11. The Earth is a more dangerous place at 61F than at 59F.
12. Carbon dioxide taxes can prevent bad weather
13. Increased CO2 causes droughtIf the hard evidence supported the idea that trace CO2 is dangerous, I would be fighting very hard ON YOUR SIDE.
Anthony Watts adds
I would add these to “Some things I don’t believeâ€:
14. Global warming/climate change causes severe weather (There’s no proven link.)
15. “Ocean acidification†as a claimed byproduct of increased CO2 (It is not a significant problem).
15. Michael Mann (on anything).
16. Various explanations for “the pauseâ€:
Let me note regarding #3 that, yes, Man has contributed to the rise in atmospheric CO2, but that addition is small. For #4, yes, it has warmed, but the majority of the warmth is mostly natural. #5, sea rise is well within the average, and, really, if this was a big warm period, should be much, much higher. That’s the way averages work.
Let me also note things I believe
- Methane is a much more potent GHG than CO2, and we should look for non-economic destructive ways to reduce the output
- Farming is actually one of the biggest global issues for GHG output, but, deal with it, because people need to eat
- Land use and the urban island effect (UHI) are two of the biggest causes of the perceived rise in global temps
- An increase of 1.4F since 1850 is much ado about nothing
- Clean air is good, but CO2 is not a pollutant
- Energy efficiency is good, but not at the expense of increasing the control a centralized, unresponsive, non-listening, tyrannical government implements
- We should stop pissing taxpayer money away on alternative energy projects and focus more on research to create ones that will work, will not jack up energy costs (which leads to price increases on everything else), and do not take up giant swaths of the countryside
- Warmists should get off their asses and practice what they preach
Things I don’t believe (in addition to what Tom and Anthony wrote)
- That this issue has anything to do with science: it’s pure politics
- That we’re Dooooooooomed!
- That the world will see a temp rise of 2C by the end of the 21st Century
- That Warmists will ever practice what they preach
- That warming causes cold and snow
- That everything, from hot to cold to wet to dry to drought to flood to earthquakes to volcanoes to racism to war to etc and so on, are caused by a slight increase in atmospheric CO2
- Warmist computer models
- Warmist prognostication
- That Warmists will ever come to their senses, because this political issues is too important a way to push their “nice fascism”
Now I’ll sit back and listen to Warmists tell me I’m wrong, I’m lying to you, I’m misrepresenting, etc, all while refusing to give up their own fossil fuels usage and go carbon neutral.
