Climate Change Scepticism
This article, from a columnist I generally respect... is a fairly articulate argument for the 'climate change skeptics' camp. It does challenge some of the general 'truths' I find myself automatically accepting, coming from a left-leaning perspective.
There is probably something to be said for taking a longer term view of climate events - and that the Earth is constantly evolving and changing. Throughout its history, many different species have come and gone, each changing the composition of the atmosphere and indirectly, likely to have changed the climate.
Actually, I don't believe human activity can destroy the earth (unless you count some major Nuclear disaster that changes to mass of the earth, thus destabilising its orbit). Nor will we wipe out life. Life will evolve. Humans have probably stopped evolving - and therein lies the problem. We want to preserve the environment as we know and perceive it. If our actions hasten the change to our environment, then we owe it to ourselves to try and reduce our impact. Perhaps 'dramatic' climate change, as we perceive it through our relatively insignificant timescale, is inevitable. But if we want to enjoy life as we know it, we need to look after our own environment.
I think the skeptics camp is advancing an argument that is analogous to "My house will eventually crumble and fall down. Therefore, I shouldn't worry about keeping it clean". Its a matter of making our surrounds as pleasant as possible for as long as possible.
There is probably something to be said for taking a longer term view of climate events - and that the Earth is constantly evolving and changing. Throughout its history, many different species have come and gone, each changing the composition of the atmosphere and indirectly, likely to have changed the climate.
Actually, I don't believe human activity can destroy the earth (unless you count some major Nuclear disaster that changes to mass of the earth, thus destabilising its orbit). Nor will we wipe out life. Life will evolve. Humans have probably stopped evolving - and therein lies the problem. We want to preserve the environment as we know and perceive it. If our actions hasten the change to our environment, then we owe it to ourselves to try and reduce our impact. Perhaps 'dramatic' climate change, as we perceive it through our relatively insignificant timescale, is inevitable. But if we want to enjoy life as we know it, we need to look after our own environment.
I think the skeptics camp is advancing an argument that is analogous to "My house will eventually crumble and fall down. Therefore, I shouldn't worry about keeping it clean". Its a matter of making our surrounds as pleasant as possible for as long as possible.
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