The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism
Posted on 8 December 2010 by John Cook
Scientific skepticism is healthy. In fact, science by its very nature is skeptical. Genuine skepticism means considering the full body of evidence before coming to a conclusion. However, when you take a close look at arguments expressing climate ‘skepticism’, what you often observe is cherry picking of pieces of evidence while rejecting any data that don’t fit the desired picture. This isn’t skepticism. It is ignoring facts and the science.
The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism looks at both the evidence that human activity is causing global warming and the ways that climate ‘skeptic’ arguments can mislead by presenting only small pieces of the puzzle rather than the full picture.
The Guide explains the science in brief, plain language without getting too technical. For those who wish to dig deeper into the science, more detailed treatments can be found at the following pages (often presented with varying levels of complexity from Basic to Advanced):
- Human CO2 emissions is tiny compared to natural emissions
- Global warming stopped in 1998
- It's cooling
- Climate sensitivity is low
- Climate has changed in the past
- CO2 lags temperature
- CO2 doesn't cause much warming
- The warming trend is due to microsite influences
- The temperature record is unreliable
- The hockey stick is broken
- Global warming is a good thing
- Climategate shows there's a conspiracy among climate scientists
- There's no scientific consensus
How people are using the Guide
The Guide is being used by teacher associations, museums, websites, student groups and other organisations. Read some of the examples of how the Guide is being used.
Translations
To translate the Guide into another language, there is a two-column Word document plus a PDF Overview of the Guide to mark each section for translators. Please download the Word document and email me back the document with translated text. But first contact me to ensure noone else is already working on your language.
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Skeptical Science is a strong brand - has there been any discussion related to using the framework and name for other areas in need of science communication (I'm thinking vaccines and GMOs for starters)?
I would be happy to assist in the translation of this guide in Greek. Please notify me, if you are interested.
NPR has published a short article and 26-Minute Listen "Fake News Is Scary. Here's How To Spot Misinformation" as part of their Life Kit series of guides.
It is a good supplement to the this Guide.