Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
On occasion individual scientists can be the worst! But in the end the community corrects. The body of science is not something that is made up from opinion polls or viewpoint. It it made of of measurable, repeatable replicable facts.
 Something is happening, something bad is happening, we may not know exactly why but that should be only more reason to find out and do what we can to make it better. If we wait til the 25th century, it may not come.
And that's okay too I guess because 99% of all species that every lived are now extinct.
We'll just let mother Earth start over and try again. I expect I'll be long gone in even one more century (unless of course Ray is right). |
I'll say again that scientists are not infallible and if the scientific community wanted to push an agenda, it would be incredibly easy for them to band together to support that agenda. I know this sounds incredibly like Conspiracy Theory mumbo-jumbo, but I tend to be cynical about things like this.
The recent memo controversy could a case in point. I also tend to agree with the previous poster that brought up grant money as a reason for all the press. Grant money is a huge chimera to people who are woefully under paid. We educators are encouraged to apply for as much grant money as we can get.
I will say this, I'm not altogether opposed to scientists taking this route to open the publics' eyes about climatological changes. Sometimes we do need to be smacked upside the head with a two-by-four to get us to listen.
Although, in all honesty I would prefer. . .well, honesty. I'm fairly intelligent and like to draw my own conclusions, whether that conclusion is popular or not. Sometimes, I feel the powers that be think the public is too stupid to think for themselves. I, for one, take great exception to that.
As to the future, can we consider that if the effects are over a long period of time, humankind would adapt to the changing conditions? It seems a bit simplistic of an example but, I lived in South Florida for several years. When we first arrived from the Chicago area, I thought Florida was incredibly hot and humid. Fast forward eight years and I found the climate comfortable. When we moved to the Northern Virginia area, I was constantly complaining about the cold. Now after 6 years, I consider the winters mild compared to the winters of my youth. In other words, my body adapted to the climate of my current habitat. Just something I think about when teaching habitats to third graders.