Don't Take The Bait: Climate Change Debate not Settled

Here's the bait: "Don't you believe the globe is warming?"

Implication: How you respond determines whether you're a "denier."

No room for nuance or complexity; no discussion about ramifications, solutions, priorities. Just the gavel and the judgment. Welcome to the brave new world state.

I refuse to take the bait. The globe may be warming, but questions of cause and effect, solutions and priorities are still wide open, in my view.

Here are two short videos that are worth considering, both posted on Prager University's website (I have a few words to say about Prager U following the videos).

The first video, "What They Haven't Told You About Climate Change," is presented by Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace. Moore's focus has to do with the bigger picture of climate change, putting change over time in perspective and raising questions about man's contribution to global warming. Of course, Greenpeace has completely disassociated itself from Moore, including publishing a statement on its website denouncing Moore as a corporate sell-out. To which I say, What's new? Scientists who question the so-called settled science of climate change do so at their own professional risk, which is probably what accounts for the frequently cited but highly dubious statistic that 95% of scientists agree that climate change is a catastrophic problem.

The second video, "Is Climate Change our Biggest Problem?" is presented by economist Bjorn Lomborg, who is director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and author of The Skeptical Environmentalist. Lomborg's work, too, has been subject to scrutiny and criticism, and he has been accused of flip-flopping (correcting?) previously-held views and conclusions. The video is useful, I think, in its pragmatism.

"What They Haven't Told You About Climate Change,"presented by Patrick Moore.



"Is Climate Change Our Biggest Problem?" presented by Bjorn Lomborg.




A few comments:

For those who were previously unfamiliar with it, Prager University is not an accredited university. Founded by conservative talk radio host and author Dennis Prager, the site offers professionally-created five-minute videos hosted by experts in a variety of fields. The site is free to visitors. More about their mission and vision here. 

I find Prager U to be a good resource as conversation starters or class-writing assignments. Obviously, most (if not all) of the topics can't addressed fully in 5-minute spots. It's up to visitors to do whatever further research or inquiry they wish. Indeed, if I had any "druthers" as to how Prager U might be improved, I would like to see "For Further Reading" sections listed for each topic presented. 

As for those who would dismiss the views of Moore and Lomborg because they've been denigrated by mainstream media and climate change alarmists as "deniers," I can only say, Don't buy it. I refer you to Kirsten Powers' recent book, The Silencing, which illustrates what she calls the "illiberal" left's tactics of silencing by intimidation. She writes about it here in The Daily Signal. You can read my mini-book review of her book in this June 3, 2015 blog entry here.