What's Scarier Than Global Warming? People Not Thinking.
The trailer for An Inconvenient Truth.
First of all, since this seems (seems?) to be a very liberally-minded film, I think it's amusing that the same folks who accuse the religious right of being so completely arrogant about putting a stake in the ground about their beliefs can be so equally arrogant when it comes to what, for many of them, is their own religion of choice: environmentalism.
Environmentalism is like a religion? Yes. Because just like a religion, you buy into it and simply stop thinking. I've been both a Christian and an eco-freak and I can tell you that, boy, did the two feel a whole lot alike. Why did I stop being them? I started thinking, honestly.
Back to the trailer, though: it says that there is a scientific consensus about global warming? For God's sake, when was the last time you heard a scientific consensus about anything? The heliocentric model? We live in a world where science can't even make up its collective mind about whether or not coffee will kill you, much less the causes of global warming. When somebody says, "Everyone agrees…" or "Scientists agree…"–whoever they are–then beware. They're urging you to not think.
I'm not just talking about how there are some scientists who will argue that evolution is bunk–you can always find somebody to disagree. After all, that's what the tenth dentist is for, right? Somebody, somewhere thinks something different. But, I mean, just a freaking Google news search will show you there's a wide variety of theories about global warming: the causes, how long it's going to last, what the effects are, and so forth and so on. There is no consensus it's even happening, as opposed to the consensus that, yes, mankind had to come from somewhere, be it from a divine hand or a monkey.
Do I claim to know everything there is to know about global warming? Hell no. I'm no expert–I'm a shmoe. What I do know, however, is that it is the height of human arrogance to assume that we can do anything to harm the planet. The planet's like a corporation. It doesn't love you or hate you or even give a shit about you. It's totally indifferent to the fact you're on it. This Gaia world-spirit nonsense is just that–nonsense.
I also know it is the height of hubris to assume that, when you look at what we do know about climate change versus what we don't know about it, well, it simply must be mankind's fault that things are getting hotter. Why? Because we're mankind, of course, and it scares the hell out of us when we consider that, in the cosmic view of things, we matter about as much as a housefly's fart. Because we can't deal with how insignificant we actually are, we have to go and claim hyperbolic nonsense like "We're killing the planet!"
And if you say, well, even before we have enough facts to figure out what the hell needs to be done, we have to do something–then be wary of how that can quickly lead down the path of not-thinking defined as "1) Something must be done. 2) This is something. 3) Therefore, it must be done." If you go that route, then, congratulations–you're fully qualified to become a lawmaker.
Anyway, as I said, there's no even a consensus the planet is getting hotter–I heard a scientist on the radio at one point talking about how the very concept of global warming is incorrect since not every place on the global is warming up! Some freaking consensus, folks.
So don't come and tell me that "Everybody knows" global warming is happening. That's a sure sign that you're not thinking and you're buying into whatever else they tell you. And if you're not a religious person and the concept of that Bible-thumping "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" rhetoric drives you apeshit…then exchange "God" for "Gore" in that idea. Think about how much like a televangelist Gore was acting in the trailer and ask yourself: how are you any different than the non-thinkers on the other side of the fence? Did you question anything he said? Or did you just accept it, like a good little member of the congregation?
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Widge,
You're critique is well placed but allow me to offer a different perspective. I work in a building packed with climatologists, meteorologists, and a myriad of other -ologists from varying disciplines. These are the people that get quoted in Time and Newsweek and are the people that tell you to duck and cover when a funnel cloud is about to flatten your trailer. They are right in the thick of the global warming debate.
I have observed that they don't have a massive grasp on causes yet, but that their is a mountain of data suggesting that things are changing. Are we partly responsible? On the regional scale the answer is often times, yes. People in the building have published papers showing how deforestation in Central America affects rainfall totals in the region. They have been able to take both satellite data and data taken in situ and make both predictive models and descriptive models. Then they are able to look backwards and discuss if this is maybe the reason the Maya in the region died out abruptly. It seems that people can destroy an ecosystem AND influence climate at the same time.
Globally there is much more dissention among the ranks as you point out. The climate is changing. It changes all the time, actually, we just haven't been looking and noticing this for very long. That's really part of the problem; sophisticated data sets aren't available for a long enough period to really allow for precision predictions. This is what the majority of the dissenters are really dissenting about.
Now, this issue of whether the climate is being changed globally by humans should be separate from the "environmental" movement. We, as humans, should think twice before dumping a whole bunch of who-knows-what into our environment. Why? Cause who knows what the consequences will be? As you say, instead of just accepting that things will be fine and that chasing the all-mighty dollar is the end all, be all of existence we ought to THINK about the consequences of our actions more thoroughly than we do. I realize this concept is not in vogue at the moment.
Technology is what humans do. It is the defining trait of our species, really. Instead of using it to completely blast our surroundings maybe we can start to push it towards helping us be more comfortable in conjunction with the envrionment. Unfortunately the environmental movement wraps its arguments in emotional hyperbole and talks about "killing" the planet. You're right, this won't happen. Life has shown through the previous mass extinctions that it will find a way. It IS presumptuous of humanity to think it can affect that. However, why should say, "Well what we do doesn't matter so to hell with it all!" We need balance, we need to think about what we're doing.
Morph: Thanks for the comment. However, seeing as how you're the one reader we can classify as "Has Ready Access to an Army of Meteorologists," understand my post wasn't necessarily directed your way.
Nor, mind you, do I advocate simply saying "Fuck it" and doing whatever the hell we want with the environment.
What I want is a balanced, sane discussion without hysteria…just like your comment is. It is simply not helpful to throw rhetoric out there and get people all riled up and ready to do Something! Right! Now! Because that normally makes for a very stupid course of action.
I'd be much more impressed if we had a two-hour movie that showed everybody's point of view, presented all the evidence, all the holes, all the suggestions, and let people make up their own minds.
This trailer wants to make up your mind for you, IMO. And that's never a good thing.
Is good to see opposite opinions about global warming. The person that wrote the first text has a good point, not everybody knows about global warming, and yeah why care about it, I mean it is not like we KILL the environment. I have to say that I also find this very selfish. The second person explain that is true, we have to think, and yeah let's think about what could be the consequences of our actions. So if we really don't seem to know what's global warming. Before we think we should find out what global warming is. So I support the idea of the video but honestly, let's think about it…You proove that not everybody cares about Global warming. So WHY would the bunch of people that doesn't care about Gloval warming now care about a movie that teaches them this???? So at the end the only ones that will end up watching this will be the same people that say we are killing the planet.
I also would like to say that, it's true the planet is not a human or something that we could kill. I mean okay we kill the planet, but yeah.. Where do we live?? IN the planet, I thought so… So I guess that instead of having the environmentalist say"OH no! we are killing the planet" they should stop giving the human race so much importance because to the planet we are just like any other animal. So instead of saying we are killing the planet we should say. "well it seems like we are somehow making the environment get all funky, and if we make things worst we won't be able to live in this planet (hat hopefully won't end up like Venus, and us trying to survive), so yeah I don't know do you fell like doing something about it for the future humans that will live here, or should we just ignore until it becomes a real issue??
Well I don't know why I end up writing so much but the only point I wanted to make was… Don't just agree with "destroying human race" neither with "saving human race". The best thing you can do is to find information about global warming that's not biased and will educate you enough so that you ca n make up your own mind about.
Oh yeah, I'll like to say thank you to whoever decided to write about this issue. This is the first peace of information I found showing both sides. This will make it easier to write my research paper, because now I won't just be targueting one opinion… So yeah, Thank you!
Ps: sorry for anything that was written wrong or if I forgot to end any ideas. I probably did both
Lala, I think it's fascinating that after reading Morph's comment and yours, the two of you imply–at least imply–that because I don't necessarily agree with the global warming meme, I must not care about it. Morph mentions saying "Just fuck it," whereas you seem to say that that means I don't care.
This, and not to belabor my metaphor, but I'm a writer and that's what I do, seems a lot like religious folks who say "you don't believe in God" = "you must be a lawless bastard who isn't worried about your soul." People who are at one extreme always assume everyone else must be at another extreme. Therefore, me not agreeing with the "consensus" of the eco-folks about global warming must mean that I give not shit-one about the climate.
And that's bunk. I have to care about the climate–I live in it. The "varmint," my grandmother called it, "that we all live in." Just because somebody doesn't subscribe to your ideas doesn't mean they don't care about the topic. Look at how many words I've already thrown at this thing and you'll get an idea that I do, in fact, care a great deal.
What I care about most of all is A) getting people to think for themselves and 2) keeping us from taking actions that will hurt us more in the long run than the warming they were meant to fix. Anytime you bring government in to fix anything, you can pretty much be certain it's going to get fucked up.
Anyway, all of that to make you aware of where I stand on this. I would love to get some non-biased information that would convince me one or the other, but there aren't any sites like that in existence, to my knowledge.
And sweet: I dig being in a research paper.