getting to the point

[bhakti]

I think this is the most candid and to-the-point argument on climate change that I've heard. It's well worth ten minutes of your time; heck, it's worth watching just out of appreciation for good logic, all apart from its social relevance.

Comments

It's about the folks in the middle.

[bhakti]

Clearly, no, this argument isn't going to persuade people who have already made up their minds that massive global climate change is grossly unlikely. And no, it's certainly not going to persuade the current administration.

But what could persuade the current administration, is an swelling of public pressure. (Actually, such is already starting to persuade the administration -- they've now publicly admitted that climate change is a real issue, which is a big step for them -- but it's going to take more to force them into real action.)

Al Gore's movie and the like have already created a larger public awareness by presenting the hard evidence. But so far as I can tell (from reading relevant blogs and sites, as well as from casual conversation), a lot of people still revert back to thinking, "It's such a large and complex system, we just can't know what's going on with it and why." And a lot of people are still under the impression that global warming is a speculation, not a reality. They seem to hold onto this impression even when faced with pretty strong scientific evidence.

It's these folks -- those who acknowledge the possibility, but just don't feel certain about it -- who might be better reached by an argument like the one in this video. If the science is going over their heads, or if they keep getting hung up on the "but there are so many factors..." snag, then perhaps it's time to discuss the stakes of the gamble.