Arguing with Pigeons

Regarding the science of Climate Change

• That CO2 and certain gases trap heat in the atmosphere is established science which has been known since the late 19th century.
• That the concentration of CO2 has increased by about one third since pre-industrial times is also well established. It has been possible to measure the comncentration directly since the 19th century and the science to determine concentrations in the remote past (e.g. from ice cores) is well-established.
• An analysis of the prevalence of different isotopes of carbon in atmospheric CO2 indicates that the increase has come from burning fossil fuels, not volcanoes or any alternative source. See http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2004/12/how-do-we-know-that-recent-cosub2sub-increases-are-due-to-human-activities-updated/

Now if a Climate Scientist were able to come up with rigorous research, testable theories, models /mechanisms and calculations that indicated that in spite of the anthropogenic changes to concentrations of CO2, the global temperature will not rise significantly and the climate will not be adversely affetced, and had this published in a reputable, peer-reviewed scientific journal, there might be a debate. In fact, such a scientist and the institution that they worked for would be on the receiving end of rivers of gold from the fossil fuel industry.

So why are the deniers relying on clowns like ‘Lord’ Monckton, bloggers and writers with little or no scientific training, plus a few with scientific qualifications that are only peripherally or not at all related to climate science (e.g. Bob Carter – Marine Geology; Frederick Seitz – Physics)? Why are they reduced to hacking emails? Or poring through 8,000 page IPCC reports looking for typos? Can’t they find credible climate scientists to support them?

They are like creationists – they know the answer, they just need retrofit the evidence or ignore any that contradicts their faith. And arguing with a creationist is, as they say, like arguing with pigeons: 

http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/4722822/Pretty+accurate+description/

Anyway, the pigeons will claim victory regardless.