A_Muse_Mint101: "A fellow biologist wrote this recent commentary on the topic, also much worth attaching:
"Dear all, many of you recently congratulated me on completing my PhD. If you were sincere in that congratulation and actually think that my degree was worthwhile and that my decade of training in the sciences has actually given me a good understanding of science and ability to evaluate it, then please listen to me and the rest of the world’s scientists when we talk about climate change. I’m not saying that you should automatically believe something just because someone with a PhD told you to, but hear me out. Actually, listen to the facts and evidence. If you actually have any respect for the training and years of study that I and other scientists have gone through, then you should realize that we understand topics like climate change better than people who lack that training, and you should seriously listen when we warn you about it.
The current fires in Australia illustrate why this is so important. Australia has always had fires, but the multi-year trends show that they are getting worse, just like scientists predicted decades ago. Australia is becoming drier. The southern half of the continent is experiencing increased droughts, just as scientists warned about, and the current fires were caused by an exceptional drought that set the stage for this type of disaster. This is what scientists warned about. This is why we have been so concerned.
The simple reality is that climate change is happening and we are the primary cause. Despite the lies that the internet and politicians might tell you, scientist's predictions have been very accurate, and the climate is continuing to warm. The data are still being compiled for 2019, but it is either going to set a new record high or take second place. Either way, all 6 of the six hottest years on record will have occurred in the past six years, and 19 of the 20 hottest years will have occurred in the past 20 years (2000 being the only one not among the top 20). Let that sink in.
Scientists have looked at the cause of the current warming dozens of different ways and every shred of evidence shows that we are the primary cause. This is not a “liberal conspiracy” or a “Chinese hoax.” Thousands of scientists from all over the world have conducted thousands of studies, and the results of those studies are as clear as they possibly could be.
For example, we have conducted studies of past climate changes and found that natural fluctuations in CO2 are a major driver of natural climate changes. We’ve also looked at the current sources of CO2 and the isotope ratios make it undeniable that we are the cause of the current increase in CO2. Now put those pieces together. If increasing CO2 causes climate change, and we have increased the CO2, what is going to happen?
We have also carefully examined other natural drivers of climate change and things that can influence the climate, including the output from the sun, volcanoes, orbital cycles, etc. and the result has consistently been that those factors cannot explain the current warming, and our greenhouse gases must be included in the calculations before the warming can be explained.
If all of that wasn’t enough, we literally have satellites that have been measuring the amount of heat that CO2 traps in the atmosphere. Guess what, that amount is increasing, and the increase matches our increase in CO2 production. This is a direct measure of our CO2 trapping excess heat and causing warming. It is a fact that our emissions are trapping heat. This is a smoking gun that humans are the cause.
I’m going to post several links below that go over the evidence that we are the primary cause of the change in more detail (with ample citations to the peer-reviewed literature), go over the evidence that heat waves, drought, etc. are all increasing as a result of climate change (again, with citations), and finally debunk most common arguments against climate change (with citations). Again, I’m just asking you to look at the evidence and actually consider these arguments. Before you give some knee-jerk response and default to an argument that is easily debunked, please actually read these articles and look at the evidence contained therein. Please consider the possibility that the thousands of people who devoted their lives to studying science actually understand science better than the people who have not received that training. Stop blindly dismissing scientists and scientific evidence and actually look at the facts. The current tragedy in Australia shows why this is so serious, and we cannot afford to continue denying science.
Again, if you were sincere in congratulating me on my degree and actually think that it was a significant accomplishment, then why won’t you listen when I and other scientists warn you about the reality of climate change?
More info on the cause of the warming https://thelogicofscience.com/2016/06/06/global-warming-isnt-natural-and-heres-how-we-know/
More info on extreme weather "In short, there is very clear evidence that extreme weather events are increasing, and that increase is linked to climate change (which we are causing). Heat waves, floods, and droughts are all on the rise, and they bring with them heavy economic, environmental, and health burdens, with thousands of people dying as a result of them. Further, the intensity of these events is increasing as well as their frequency. Similarly, for hurricanes, storms are becoming more intense, and the strongest, most dangerous categories are becoming more common. This is a very real and dangerous consequence of our actions." https://thelogicofscience.com/2018/09/17/extreme-weather-the-effects-of-climate-change-are-already-here/
Responses to many counter arguments "there is an overwhelming agreement that we are causing the climate to change, and that agreement is based on an extraordinary mountain of evidence. Nevertheless, given the amount of junk science on the internet, this disconnect between what people think and what scientists have found is hardly surprising. Therefore, I want to clear up some of the confusion surrounding this topic, and in this post, I will debunk 25 myths, misunderstandings, and faulty arguments about climate change."
"Dear all, many of you recently congratulated me on completing my PhD. If you were sincere in that congratulation and actually think that my degree was worthwhile and that my decade of training in the sciences has actually given me a good understanding of science and ability to evaluate it, then please listen to me and the rest of the world’s scientists when we talk about climate change. I’m not saying that you should automatically believe something just because someone with a PhD told you to, but hear me out. Actually, listen to the facts and evidence. If you actually have any respect for the training and years of study that I and other scientists have gone through, then you should realize that we understand topics like climate change better than people who lack that training, and you should seriously listen when we warn you about it.
The current fires in Australia illustrate why this is so important. Australia has always had fires, but the multi-year trends show that they are getting worse, just like scientists predicted decades ago. Australia is becoming drier. The southern half of the continent is experiencing increased droughts, just as scientists warned about, and the current fires were caused by an exceptional drought that set the stage for this type of disaster. This is what scientists warned about. This is why we have been so concerned.
The simple reality is that climate change is happening and we are the primary cause. Despite the lies that the internet and politicians might tell you, scientist's predictions have been very accurate, and the climate is continuing to warm. The data are still being compiled for 2019, but it is either going to set a new record high or take second place. Either way, all 6 of the six hottest years on record will have occurred in the past six years, and 19 of the 20 hottest years will have occurred in the past 20 years (2000 being the only one not among the top 20). Let that sink in.
Scientists have looked at the cause of the current warming dozens of different ways and every shred of evidence shows that we are the primary cause. This is not a “liberal conspiracy” or a “Chinese hoax.” Thousands of scientists from all over the world have conducted thousands of studies, and the results of those studies are as clear as they possibly could be.
For example, we have conducted studies of past climate changes and found that natural fluctuations in CO2 are a major driver of natural climate changes. We’ve also looked at the current sources of CO2 and the isotope ratios make it undeniable that we are the cause of the current increase in CO2. Now put those pieces together. If increasing CO2 causes climate change, and we have increased the CO2, what is going to happen?
We have also carefully examined other natural drivers of climate change and things that can influence the climate, including the output from the sun, volcanoes, orbital cycles, etc. and the result has consistently been that those factors cannot explain the current warming, and our greenhouse gases must be included in the calculations before the warming can be explained.
If all of that wasn’t enough, we literally have satellites that have been measuring the amount of heat that CO2 traps in the atmosphere. Guess what, that amount is increasing, and the increase matches our increase in CO2 production. This is a direct measure of our CO2 trapping excess heat and causing warming. It is a fact that our emissions are trapping heat. This is a smoking gun that humans are the cause.
I’m going to post several links below that go over the evidence that we are the primary cause of the change in more detail (with ample citations to the peer-reviewed literature), go over the evidence that heat waves, drought, etc. are all increasing as a result of climate change (again, with citations), and finally debunk most common arguments against climate change (with citations). Again, I’m just asking you to look at the evidence and actually consider these arguments. Before you give some knee-jerk response and default to an argument that is easily debunked, please actually read these articles and look at the evidence contained therein. Please consider the possibility that the thousands of people who devoted their lives to studying science actually understand science better than the people who have not received that training. Stop blindly dismissing scientists and scientific evidence and actually look at the facts. The current tragedy in Australia shows why this is so serious, and we cannot afford to continue denying science.
Again, if you were sincere in congratulating me on my degree and actually think that it was a significant accomplishment, then why won’t you listen when I and other scientists warn you about the reality of climate change?
More info on the cause of the warming
https://thelogicofscience.com/2016/06/06/global-warming-isnt-natural-and-heres-how-we-know/
More info on extreme weather
"In short, there is very clear evidence that extreme weather events are increasing, and that increase is linked to climate change (which we are causing). Heat waves, floods, and droughts are all on the rise, and they bring with them heavy economic, environmental, and health burdens, with thousands of people dying as a result of them. Further, the intensity of these events is increasing as well as their frequency. Similarly, for hurricanes, storms are becoming more intense, and the strongest, most dangerous categories are becoming more common. This is a very real and dangerous consequence of our actions." https://thelogicofscience.com/2018/09/17/extreme-weather-the-effects-of-climate-change-are-already-here/
Responses to many counter arguments
"there is an overwhelming agreement that we are causing the climate to change, and that agreement is based on an extraordinary mountain of evidence. Nevertheless, given the amount of junk science on the internet, this disconnect between what people think and what scientists have found is hardly surprising. Therefore, I want to clear up some of the confusion surrounding this topic, and in this post, I will debunk 25 myths, misunderstandings, and faulty arguments about climate change."
https://thelogicofscience.com/2016/10/17/25-myths-and-bad-arguments-about-climate-change/
""