In case you haven’t been paying attention, climate change is
the current name for global warming. I
think it’s a good idea to remind people about the fact that the climate is
changing. The climate is always changing. As the Buddha reminds us: Everything changes, nothing remains without
change. Now here is an article about an
admitted global warming alarmist changing his mind about the urgency of the
problem. He says that his predictions
were too extreme, but the last sentence of the article is very
instructive where he says: If he had rightly been more
cautious, it would have spoiled his book.
There are a few things to learn here. People in all walks of life are often
motivated financially by such things as book sales and the need for funding of
their research. This causes them to
express their opinions more forcefully. Among other places, it is particularly evident in attention-getting news headlines. In the face of these
pronouncements we must keep a cool head.
Strong behavior in the area of perspective is characterized by
moderation.
What ever happened to the hole in the ozone layer that
people, especially NASA – think funding -- were so worried about twenty or so
years ago? When we stopped spraying the
wrong chemicals into the air, it started to close up. Now some scientists are worried that this may add to global warming!
How do they explain that some of the glaciers in Asian mountains are getting thicker? Well,
they don’t. In that case they admit that they don’t really understand the situation well enough. They are just guessing.
Just as we should expect more from advertisers, politicians
and the news media, all of whom have a stake in our believing what they say, we
must hold our scientists more accountable to fully justify their claims and be
willing to debate those with a contrary point of view. Whenever you hear any of these people stooping to name-calling, you know it's time to be skeptical of their claims and moderate in your reactions.
