Imagine a world where the polar icecaps are expanding at record-breaking rates, where global temperatures are dropping annually and global cooling is inevitably leading humanity to an icy grave. This imagined world doesn’t seem very likely because everybody knows that the globe is getting warmer. Yet, this worldview was quite popular in the scientific community in the 1970s. The world is getting warmer, right? Our newest Nobel Peace Prize recipient Al Gore can’t be wrong, can he?
The seemingly vast number of people worldwide who buy into the rhetoric of Al Gore and friends never ceases to astonish me. Even the most brilliant of intellects and scholars (including some of our professors) are quick to jump on the bandwagon, no questions asked! It seems there can be only two explanations for their careless dismissals: (1) They either choose not to think reasonably, or (2) they are perhaps ignorant of reason altogether; although, the former seems more likely. Humans seem to have an amazing ability to see the world as they choose, and proponents of global warming are no exception.
Al Gore’s global warming crusade pays homage to the flag of scientific truth, while the very essence of global warming arguments disregards the most basic of scientific principles. The foundational evidence for global warming depends on global-temperature tracking throughout the last century (I will not expound the fact that global temperatures have only just recently been accurately recorded). By looking at recorded global temperature over the past hundred years, scientists have noticed an increase in temperatures, particularly over the last decade or so. Inevitably Al Gore and some scientists deduce that these trends of global warming foretell the doom of our planet. However, rational people should not come to these same conclusions, primarily because the arguments used by global-warming proponents depend primarily upon observational extrapolation! Conclusions drawn in the field of natural science derived from observational extrapolation are not necessarily scientific or conclusive; indeed, they should merely be first steps of a long and extensive study.
Another argument popular among global-warming supporters is pollution has never been as vast as it is today; therefore it is feasible that the rise in global temperatures is being caused by human pollution. However, I will remind you of Occam’s razor. The earth experiences extreme climate shifts with or without human intervention (i.e. the ice age), so any assignment of blame for global warming disregards a simpler explanation for variations in global temperatures. A more likely explanation for global warming is that the earth’s climate has natural cycles of various sorts (hurricanes, tornados and even temperatures follow cycles) and that the earth at this particular time in history is in the warmer portion of its natural cycle.
We cannot be so irresponsible that we allow scientific observation and scientific theories to usurp our good sense. The study of any science demands skepticism, hard evidence and relentless testing. If an absolute answer cannot be found, then an absolute conclusion cannot be drawn. Gore’s conclusions for the recognition of global warming as a possible Extinction Level Event should be heavily scrutinized, not blindly embraced by his constituency.
Give Al Gore his Nobel Peace Prize; but who lives in a more peaceful world because of Al Gore? Whose life has he saved? Personally, I would have given the $1.5 million and the Nobel Peace prize to Irena Sendler, a woman who risked her own life to save thousands of Jewish children during the Holocaust. But the media, politicians and even some of our distinguished professors still feel Al Gore seemed a more deserving recipient. Ahh, back up! They feel Mr. Gore is more deserving. Could that be the problem?
Hear me now: Use your minds as they were intended. Do not be swayed by popular opinion. Listen to all sides of an argument openly no matter how good it seems at first. And above all else, transfer the basic principles of logic and reasoning from the classroom to all aspects of your lives.
About the writer:
Eric M. Renfro is a junior music performance major. He can be reached at [email protected].
