One of the topics we touched on in a recent discussion was the pressure we all feel to conform to the views of our social group. Steve offered to spell out something of what that feels like, using global warming as a worked example.
Steve sent me a short article, which I have slightly reformatted and added a brief top and tail, which we agreed to use as the starting point for our discussion in September. You can download it here - if you have any difficulty, let me know.
The aim is to talk about global warming and net zero, but also ask the question: how do we engage with a real and important issue, articulating clearly what we understand and believe, but also allowing others in our social group to believe and understand differently?
Comments
Mark, I also disagree with some of what Steve said - but that is rather the point! We need to be able to listen to each other and find out where we agree, where we disagree, and why. I agree with you: I think the scientific evidence is pretty clear, so I need to hear where others think the reasonable doubt is.
But I do think his chart of which countries are producing how much carbon is worth considering and responding to.
As I said in the email - if you would like to contribute a different perspective, I would be more than happy to circulate it alongside Steve's paper?
Also, with just 0.04% of the atmosphere being CO2, human emmissions have a much greater ability to affect a smaller percentage than they do a larger percentage. It's still a big number though, 0.04% of atmospheric CO2 is a huge amount! However since the industrial revolution started the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has doubled. The problem is that Carbon stays in the atmosphere for a very long time, unlike methane, which although is also a greenhouse gas, which doesn't.
The current concentration, is 431 ppm, the highest value for 14 million years. Compare this with 280ppm prior to the industrial revolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_in_Earth%27s_atmosphere
I think I just replied to myself, rather than you...
I think Steve's suggestion that there is not consensus around global warming is wrong. For me it isn't conforming to peer pressure or of our social group to go with the scientific expertise on the subject.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change