Although I'm willing to debate on both sides of the issue, I don't personally take a side on the global warming issue. I've seen good scientific data and explanations by people far smarter than me. Tonight on the drive home I heard something on the radio that bothered me so much I felt the need to write about it and make my first post in over a year.
I was listening to clips from a debate over global warming by two groups of scientists. Each side was presenting real hard evidence in an attempt to prove or disprove global warming. Between the audio clips the reporter was talking about the event, the university that held it, etc. However, at the end they flatly stated that since global warming was a fact the debate was mostly moot.
After speaking about the credentials of the debaters and the work they had done for climatology they were immediately discounted at the end by a reporter that, at least in my mind, doesn't have the understanding of the facts that they, the experts, would.
As I said earlier, I don't agree with either side of global warming. The debate of global warming has become so political that each side is not only trying to show their facts, but silence their critics. Dr. Heidi Cullen, a meteorologist for the Weather Channel, posted to the Weather Channel blog that those who didn't know the facts and support global warming should lose their certification (
link). Recently there have also been several scientists coming out against global warming that have been silenced or had their funding disappear.
The changes proposed by all sides of the global warming debate will have major consequences for our planet, ranging from global economic upheaval to changes in industry and government. In my mind, before anyone can decide what needs to be done, the politicians need to get out of the way and fund science on both sides of the issue. This will let the experts openly discuss the issue to determine what is really happening.