Several years ago, I had a heated discussion about global warming with one of my wife’s friends – a self-proclaimed scientist. She had jumped on the global warming bandwagon and thought that anyone who disagreed with the “facts” that the world was quickly warming up and humans were the primary cause was an idiot. This particular evening, I was the idiot she decided to attack.
The latest on global warming? “U.N. Forecasters: Global Temperatures to Decrease.”
I’m no scientist, but I do have a Jesuit education, which qualifies me as a lifelong skeptic. I wasn’t arguing with her that recent past years were warmer. I could feel that myself. I also thought that maybe humans were the cause. My point, the point which apparently made me an idiot, was that I just didn’t know why recent past years were warmer. I read everything I could get my hands on about the topic, and none of the data convinced me that anyone really knew.
I think my saying that I didn’t know was actually a more scientific approach than why my so-called “scientist” acquaintance was taking. “I don’t know” fuels scientific curiosity and exploration. If you pretend to know and jump to a particular conclusion, then exploration stops, and you never have a chance of discovering the truth. That’s pretty much my definition of “ignorance.”
Even in the days of the poet Robert Frost, “scientists” were lining up on the two sides of this issue. Frost’s poem ”Fire and Ice” gives us a historical perspective on this debate.
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.Robert Frost
Is the world heating up or cooling down, and if so, why? I dunno.
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Joe, good to have stumbled across your blog!
Well, to this post I can only say, “Remember Galileo?” Some people think those days are long gone. I think not so much, and I don’t mean people blindly following the teachings of some church.
It goes both ways. If you disagree with the majority, then you are an ignorant fool. I’ve heard the story of at least one scientist who has researched and provided evidence counter to the commonly held view of global warming. Anybody who thinks scientists are open minded — as you would think is required by their profession — should hear his story. His colleagues treat him like a heretical maniac that should be locked up.
I, too, struggle with the global warming debate. I hear, see, and read contradicting evidence. Is it happening? I’m with you. I dunno.
Agreed – open-mindedness should be a prerequisite not only on the issue of global warning but in all scientific discussions, at least until all the facts are in.
What generated most of my skepticism on this particular topic is that the world has experienced significant warming and cooling in the past – long before humans were wandering the planet.
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