Since "Global Warming" has to be "Believed", why is it hard to see people are going to have different views?

Question

Global warming has to be believed as no one knows if it will be warmer or colder in the future.

So if it is a belief system based in science, why are the believers so hateful of those who don't believe as much as they do?

Since it's a belief, isn't there room for all levels of beliefs?

Answer 1

'i believe the laws of physics to be a fairly accurate representation of the real world.'

Answer 2

Because those silly believers don't consider it a belief, they consider it a fact.  Thats scientists for you, never want to consider the opposing view!

Answer 3

Whats funny is that many of the people how believe in global warming are atheists.

I know its real and its happening but I very seriously doubt its going to end in some dooms day event.

Answer 4

I've never imagine anyone could base their ideology behind ("What If") scenario's,... " computer generated at that". Plausible cause and effects should be accepted on this type of subject. It just keeps getting blown out of proportion into a realm that has no dimensional boundaries. Now I understand what they mean by artificial intelligence (AI).

Answer 5

People get very passionate about their religion.

Answer 6

hear hear, i put my opinion across and get a load of abuse for it as if i'm some kind of evil freak

Answer 7

Your right, but it is based on the economy we have today. Since people just dont give a c**p about the enviremoent and care about themselves these days, they trash it. They thuink nothing will go wrong, right?! WRONG! Like you said, its going to get colder asnd hotter in the future. Fact is, it all ready does that, everyday, every hour. Think of the past: Ice age, got melted, another mini ice age in Europe in the 1600's, melted. Now I like in So Cal, i dont know hewre you live, but every hour every day it gets hot, then it gets cold.

I kind of got confues about your question so if this answer is a waste of your valuable time, I understand

Answer 8

They are all brainwashed sheep. If I could afford a multi-billion dollar campaign to convince people the earth was flat, I could get a lot of people to believe it too, but there would be the few who can think logically and for themselves, who would call me out on it.

And littlero.. what  does physics have to do with global warming?

Answer 9

"Global warming has to be believed as no one knows if it will be warmer or colder in the future. "

LOL. Yes, it's a theory, but that doesn't mean all alternative theories are equally legitimate

Answer 10

You don't have to "believe" anything.  Simply look up any of the scientific papers and understand them:

http://norvig.com/oreskes.html

The consensus was quantified in a Science study by Prof. Naomi Oreskes (Dec. 2004) in which she surveyed 928 scientific journal articles that matched the search [global climate change] at the ISI Web of Science. Of these, according to Oreskes, 75% agreed with the consensus view (either implicitly or explicitly), 25% took no stand one way or the other, and none rejected the consensus

A very small percentage of people don't understand that the earth is warming.  Most of them either haven't looked up the data, or they are incapable of understanding it.

Yes, there is room for those people.  For example, about the same percentage of people don't believe in the Apollo lunar landing either:

"A 1999 poll by the The Gallup Organization found that 89 percent of the US public believed the landing was genuine, while 6 percent did not..."

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

Answer 11

You can show how global warming works by using basic chemistry. Still we can only extend the data about weather trends we have now based on increased levels of carbon dioxide, methane etc.

Basically, carbon dioxide absorbs infrared light that the earth gives out into space and gives it out as heat, but the sun is still radiating UV and light energy to the earth, so the theory is that since there earth has more heat energy the temperature will increase. (And the chemistry teacher who taught us this was a devout Christian.)

It's highly likely that this will happen but since your right about it being in the future theres a slight chance it may not; perhaps scientists will be able to counter it or there will be another reaction mechanism occuring which will counter the effects.

Scientists tend only to believe things they find plausible based on the laws of science, so many of them will say "based on the ability of carbon dioxide to absorb IR and give out heat I believe that increased CO2 would cause increased temperature" but not "I believe that there is an invisible, sentient all powerful force controlling the universe and all non-sentient particles" since that wouldn't make sense scientifically to them. Basically if they can't find evidence of it or predict it's existence using existing scientific theory most of them say it probably doesn't exist, and find it odd that other people believe such 'strange' things, maybe even becoming hostile to their beliefs. However since it can't be proven one way or the other some scientists do believe in a God  of one form or another (Einstein did!).Science is a way of understanding the universe, regardless of who made it, or indeed if anyone did.

Most scientists get more frustrated when religious people say they don't believe in something that can be supported  by scientific evidence rather than when they say they do believe in something which can't.

(PS: Sorry for the Essay! I guess I just love boring people about chemistry.)

Answer 12

yes, and yes. Global warming is actually based on the past and charted throughout current events; so it is in fact a proven thing. Just look up carbon di-oxide and its contributions to the green house. And to say that something is a belief means that, in common sense, that thing will be believed in different ways. Some may not want to believe is, because who wants to believe in something that basically states the world will end? But others like knowing things, and just because they know of certain things, doesnt mean that they believe it either. To believe in something is apparently in todays world to "go grey"; while in the past the world has always wanted to see itself as either swaying between black or white, if not choosing one over the other....

Answer 13

Because global warming has more in common with a religion than any scientific truism. So, as with religion, blind faith is required.