Re:Massive Government Report Says Climate Is Warming and Hum...
by austincheney on Thursday November 02, 2017 @06:22PM
(#15614844)
> I'm led to believe there must be a deeper root cause that prevents someone from objectively looking at data
Because almost nobody does this.
Most people want to feel smart so they read science journalism, which isn't the research conducted by climate scientists. There is much that gets lost in translation. Consider the following:
* "Humans are primarily to blame for global warming". This means the majority of blame falls to humans. Majority is 51% or more but not necessarily 100%. There is more that happens in the world than people driving cars to work.
* "The primary cause of the problem is CO2." That doesn't necessarily mean atmospheric composition, but rather a huge host of variables to include feedback mechanisms and cycle durations. You could easily argue humans do more to change the surface of the planet (and oceans) than they do to change the composition of the atmosphere, which in turn dictates the frequency at which feedback mechanisms collect CO2 from the atmosphere.
* "CO2 is the worst greenhouse gas." No, the science doesn't indicate this. CO2 is a primary concern because it has the greatest ratio of cyclic duration in the atmosphere to the percentage of atmospheric composition. Water is a more effective greenhouse gas and, in many parts of the world, a larger composition of the atmosphere than CO2. Water's feedback duration is about 8 days (speaking liberally) while CO2 sticks around in the atmosphere closer to 72 days, though.
* "A primary cause for alarm is rising oceans." This is a cause for alarm, but one among many and likely not the most important. It is just something clearly visible for simplistic commentary.
* "Summers are going to get warmer." This goes without saying, but it isn't complete. Weather will likely become more extreme in many areas, which means warmer summers (actually median average temperatures for most seasons) and likely also cooler winters in temperate areas. Global warming isn't as simple as turning up the house thermostat a degree.
---
Bottom line is that most people don't read science. They want to feel informed and smart, but cannot be inconvenienced to decipher facts and analysis written for experienced meteorologists. Most people need the real work dumbed down (substantially), which is what feeds the absolutely unscientific personal belief systems that many people cling too (both for and against).
Because almost nobody does this.
Most people want to feel smart so they read science journalism, which isn't the research conducted by climate scientists. There is much that gets lost in translation. Consider the following:
* "Humans are primarily to blame for global warming". This means the majority of blame falls to humans. Majority is 51% or more but not necessarily 100%. There is more that happens in the world than people driving cars to work.
* "The primary cause of the problem is CO2." That doesn't necessarily mean atmospheric composition, but rather a huge host of variables to include feedback mechanisms and cycle durations. You could easily argue humans do more to change the surface of the planet (and oceans) than they do to change the composition of the atmosphere, which in turn dictates the frequency at which feedback mechanisms collect CO2 from the atmosphere.
* "CO2 is the worst greenhouse gas." No, the science doesn't indicate this. CO2 is a primary concern because it has the greatest ratio of cyclic duration in the atmosphere to the percentage of atmospheric composition. Water is a more effective greenhouse gas and, in many parts of the world, a larger composition of the atmosphere than CO2. Water's feedback duration is about 8 days (speaking liberally) while CO2 sticks around in the atmosphere closer to 72 days, though.
* "A primary cause for alarm is rising oceans." This is a cause for alarm, but one among many and likely not the most important. It is just something clearly visible for simplistic commentary.
* "Summers are going to get warmer." This goes without saying, but it isn't complete. Weather will likely become more extreme in many areas, which means warmer summers (actually median average temperatures for most seasons) and likely also cooler winters in temperate areas. Global warming isn't as simple as turning up the house thermostat a degree.
---
Bottom line is that most people don't read science. They want to feel informed and smart, but cannot be inconvenienced to decipher facts and analysis written for experienced meteorologists. Most people need the real work dumbed down (substantially), which is what feeds the absolutely unscientific personal belief systems that many people cling too (both for and against).