Re: [Phys-l] Solving American ______________

[William Robertson <wrobert9@ix.netcom.com>]

The problem, John, is that scientists (and politicians like AlGore) do  
not just stick to the facts. What they tell the public is that all  
He** is breaking loose. Sea levels will rise and civilization as we  
know it will cease to exist. Students all over the country are exposed  
to nothing more than An Inconvenient Truth. Hansen at NASA is an  
alarmist. This doesn't help the cause. When people discover that many  
of these things are exaggerations, they lose faith in the people  
saying them. Students are told to accept it because a consensus of  
scientists believe it. That's not what science is about. As I said in  
my post regarding science, politics, and religion, the scientists do  
themselves no favors by distorting things. By all means, the things  
you mention should be part of any discussion of global warming.  
Unfortunately, they are not. There is little attempt to inform the  
public about the science behind the issue. Instead, people are told to  
accept it because that's what scientists believe.

I don't think there was any claim that scientists are hiding what they  
know. It's all about how this is disseminated to the public.

Bill


William C. Robertson, Ph.D.


On Nov 9, 2010, at 10:41 PM, John Mallinckrodt wrote:

> On Nov 9, 2010, at 7:41 PM, marx@phy.ilstu.edu wrote:
>
> > ... if people were shown the evidence for global warming and not  
> > just told to accept it because lots of scientists
> > claim its happening, then people might be persuaded.
>
> Right.  Why is it that climate scientists absolutely refuse to  
> reveal the evidence (about current and historic CO2 levels, about  
> the temperature record, about the infrared absorption bands of H20,  
> CO2,and methane, about satellite observations of reduced upward  
> radiation in those bands, about arctic ice coverage, about positive  
> CO2 feedback mechanisms from thawing permafrost, about the effects  
> of increasing albedo, etc.) with the rest of us?  Why is it that we  
> are told to just shut up and accept it?  Really makes you wonder  
> about motives, doesn't it?
>
> John Mallinckrodt
> Cal Poly Pomona
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