Re: Al Gores movie, An Unfortunate Circumstance.. (global warming)

Thomas Bartkus wrote:
<Russell.Martin@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1153946560.692972.298500@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thomas Bartkus wrote:
<Russell.Martin@xxxxxxx> wrote in message

snip

That seems reasonable since if one thinks people are not
causing it, it is a small (if illogical) step to the position that
people can do nothing about it, and/or a very small step to
the position that if we didn't cause it why should we be
asked to deal with it? IMO if we are going to do anything
about it we need less excuses not to try to do anything
about it.

Ouch!
You would turn science into a propaganda tool to achieve good ?
You would tinker with results in order to achieve a positive social
benefit
?
You would publish/withold findings depending on how they would be
received ?

Not accusations. Just asking that you think about what you said.

Your questions seem to arise from the idea I would
challenge "reasons" not to do anything, but the word I
used was "excuses". They are not indentical.

It's at the very core my argument with Al Gore.
He very much implies that questioning the conclusion is socially
irresponsible.

Ahh, well now I'm beginning to see the burr under your
saddle. I'd say responsibly questioning the conclusion
would be socially responsible, but perhaps Gore does
not believe there is a responsible way to question it.
IMO that brings us into very gray regions with blurry
lines.


You are probably correct to say that:
"... we need less excuses not to try to do anything about it."

If people are convinced global warming is not human caused, it may well be
more difficult to move people to sacrifice in order to mitigate pollution.

No doubt, nor should we logically be expected to sacrifice
fossil fuels if in fact fossil fuels are not the problem. OTOH
we live in a society and society often expects us to do things
that at some level and for various reasons, good or otherwise,
we may not agree with, so if society decides to take some
action about global warming, some individuals may feel put
upon. That is a difficult problem in more gray regions, IMO.
Like other such things it is a tricky balancing act.

And while that may be unfortunate, it should be utterly irrelevant to a
scientific inquiry.

Oh there is a whole book which is largely devoted to trying
to distinguish between science and the policy decisions
flowing (or that some would have flow) from it: _Prediction:
Science, Decision Making, and the Future of Nature_.
Basically the conclusion, as I recall, is that science is
inherently difficult to use for setting policy and will tend to
be used poorly or misused, yet policy makers have a large
appetite for it, for the reason that it provides arguably
objective points of reference in an endeavor which is
otherwise filled with subjectivity. The book covers in
detail why the objectivity may not be so objective in some
cases, and as we've seen even if it is objective that
doesn't convince everyone for a variety of reasons.

I might add that using that technique (as Al Gore
does!) actually brings discredit and distrust to his arguments.

The chips have to fall where they may - always.
Thomas Bartkus

Cheers,
Russell

.

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