| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
'Historically, CO2 never caused temperature change'
Not so |
Coby Beck |
28 Dec 2006 |
Gristmill |
| (Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide) Objection: In the geological record, it is clear that CO2 does not trigger climate changes. Why should it be any different now? Answer: Given the fact that human industrialization is unique in the history of planet earth, do we really need historical precedent for CO2-triggered climate change before we accept what we observe today? Surely it is not far-fetched that unprecedented consequences would follo ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, climate science, greenhouse-gas emissions, How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic (all these topics) |
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'Geological history does not support CO2's importance'
Just not true |
Coby Beck |
27 Dec 2006 |
Gristmill |
| (Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide) Objection: Over the last 600 million years, there hasn't been much correlation between temperatures and CO2 levels. Clearly CO2 is not a climate driver. Answer: While there are poorly understood ancient climates and controversial climate changes in earth's long geological history, there are no clear contradictions to greenhouse theory to be found. What we do have is an unfortunate lack of comprehensiv ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, climate science, greenhouse-gas emissions, How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic (all these topics) |
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'CO2 doesn't lead, it lags'
Turns out CO2 rise is both a cause and an effect of warming |
Coby Beck |
27 Dec 2006 |
Gristmill |
| (Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide) Objection: In glacial-interglacial cycles, CO2 concentration lags behind temperature by centuries. Clearly, CO2 does not cause temperatures to rise; temperatures cause CO2 to rise. Answer: When viewed coarsely, historical CO2 levels and temperature show a tight correlation. However, a closer examination of the CH4, CO2, and temperature fluctuations recorded in the Antarctic ice core records reveals that, ye ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, climate science, greenhouse-gas emissions, How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic (all these topics) |
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'There is no proof that CO2 is causing global warming'
There is no proof in science, but there are mountains of evidence |
Coby Beck |
26 Dec 2006 |
Gristmill |
| (Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide) Objection: Correlation is not proof of causation. There is no proof that CO2 is the cause of current warming. Answer: There is no "proof" in science -- that is a property of mathematics. In science, what matters is the balance of evidence, and theories that can explain that evidence. Where possible, scientists make predictions and design experiments to confirm, modify, or contradict their theorie ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, climate science, greenhouse-gas emissions, How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic (all these topics) |
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'The CO2 rise is natural'
No skeptical argument has been more definitively disproven |
Coby Beck |
23 Dec 2006 |
Gristmill |
| (Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide) Objection: It's clear from ice cores and other geological history that CO2 fluctuates naturally. It is bogus to assume today's rise is caused by humans. Answer: We emit billions of tons of CO2 into the air and, lo and behold, there is more CO2 in the air. Surely it is not so difficult to believe that the CO2 rise is our fault. But if simple common sense is not enough, there is more to the case. (I ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, climate science, greenhouse-gas emissions, How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic (all these topics) |
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'Natural emissions dwarf human emissions'
But emissions are only one side of the equation |
Coby Beck |
22 Dec 2006 |
Gristmill |
| (Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide) Objection: According to the IPCC, 150 billion tonnes of carbon go into the atmosphere from natural processes every year. This is almost 30 times the amount of carbon humans emit. What difference can we make? Answer: It's true that natural fluxes in the carbon cycle are much larger than anthropogenic emissions. But for roughly the last 10,000 years, until the industrial revolution, every gigatonne of ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, climate science, greenhouse-gas emissions, How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic (all these topics) |
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'Volcanoes emit more CO2 than humans'
Not even close ... |
Coby Beck |
20 Dec 2006 |
Gristmill |
| (Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide) Objection: One decent-sized volcanic eruption puts more CO2 in the atmosphere than a decade of human emissions. It's ridiculous to think reducing human CO2 emissions will have any effect. Answer: Not only is this false, it couldn't possibly be true given the CO2 record from any of the dozens of sampling stations around the globe. If it were true that individual volcanic eruptions dominated human emissions ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, climate science, greenhouse-gas emissions, How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic (all these topics) |
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