How is global warming a controversial issue?

Question

How is global warming a controversial issue?

Answer 1

Here in the U.S. our news media wants to sell advertising minutes, and advertising rates are driven by ratings, so they go for ratings instead of accuracy.  Our culture also values "balance," which unfortunately leads us to get a false appearance of equality and controversy between the two sides presented:

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/05...

This desire to display an appearance of balance also makes the U.S. media easy for ExxonMobil and friends to influence.  That's why Americans are uniquely misinformed compared to citizens in other countries.  

It's truly embarrassing.

The oil industry even funds people linked to lobbying for the tobacco industry, hence the similarity in denial, misinformation and propaganda tactics:

At Fox News, a Pundit for Hire

http://www.freepress.net/news/print.php?...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Mill...

http://www.scholarsandrogues.com/2007/11...

http://www.nowpublic.com/whos_paid_to_de...

Check out some of the links.  They make fascinating reading.

Answer 2

basicly because some people think they are smarter then climatologists.

Answer 3

It's controversial because there isn't a truly decisive cause. While the media will tell you that there is a "consensus" of scientists who believe global warming is the cause of climate change, there are many scientists who point to the fact that we had higher temperatures thousands of years before the Industrial Age. Everyone knows that our planet has repeatedly experienced ice ages, and warmed when it came out of them. In fact, our planet just came out of the Little Ice Age around 1850, and has been warming up since, otherwise we'd still be in the ice age.

Also, people are in debate about how best to deal with global warming. The Kyoto Protocol, the most popular solution, is only projected to decrease temperatures by a six hundreth degree celsius by 2050. Senator James Inhofe describes it as "a lot of economic pain for no climate gain".

For more information, please follow the below pdf link to read a transcript of Senator James Inhofe's senate floor speech.

Answer 4

Because scientists' opinions are quite divided among this issue. About half believe that the Earth is warming naturally, for it is the way it was meant to be. The other half believe that humans have influenced its temperature with modern day machinery. I personally believe that humans have had a great influence in the rate that the Earth has warmed, regardless of the possibility that it may be warming naturally.

Answer 5

It's controversial because you have scientists on one side and the oil industry with huge PR budgets on the other side.  Money talks.  Logic doesn't.

Answer 6

because many people think it isnt real because something like this happened like 40 years ago and they think it is just a repeat in temperatures that will fade soon because it faded before.