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Alan: Whenever a preponderance of scientific evidence is as dominant as it is in the case of anthropogenic global warming, it is morally incumbent on reasonable people to behave "as if" the evidence is true, even though there is a vanishingly remote chance it is not.
Consider.
Peronally, I belive in levitation and therefore my belief in "The Law of Gravity" is not absolute. http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/COPERTIN.htm
Even so, I always align my political and personal behavior with "the preponderance of scientific evidence" which, in this case, supports The Law of Gravity.
In the end, we are called upon to "do what reasonable people would do" and,very often science tells us, with relative certainty, what lies on "the safe side" of "reasonable doubt."
However, many American conservatives - and virtually all Christian conservatives - disdain any scientific principle that threatens them ideologically, and as soon as they've located (or think they've located) "an exception to a scientific rule" they argue (or at least imply) that Scientific Rule be supplanted (or at least be overthrown) by the The Exception.
A revealing aside...
Decades ago, I met a San Franciscan who -- convinced he could fly -- jumped off the upper deck of the Bay Bridge and was blown back on the lower deck where he snapped his spinal cord, leaving him paraplegic.
In the end, we are called upon to "do what reasonable people would do" and,very often science tells us, with relative certainty, what lies on "the safe side" of "reasonable doubt."
However, many American conservatives - and virtually all Christian conservatives - disdain any scientific principle that threatens them ideologically, and as soon as they've located (or think they've located) "an exception to a scientific rule" they argue (or at least imply) that Scientific Rule be supplanted (or at least be overthrown) by the The Exception.
A revealing aside...
Decades ago, I met a San Franciscan who -- convinced he could fly -- jumped off the upper deck of the Bay Bridge and was blown back on the lower deck where he snapped his spinal cord, leaving him paraplegic.
Self-arrogation of the "right" to manipulate epistemological outcomes according to pre-existing beliefs is as dangerous as leaping from the upper deck.
Truth is what it is.
We discover it.
We do not invent Truth or "tailor" it to our liking.
"The Death of Epistemology"
"The Rules" are "The Rules."
And "Exceptions to Rules" are "Exceptions to Rules" - statistical outliers void of scientific significance.
It is benighted (as only The Prince of Darkness can be) to believe -- and, even worse, to preach/promote -- that "Exceptions to Rules" are grounds for "New Rules" or reason to disregard old ones.
The Guardian: John Olivers' Viral Video Is The Best Climate Debate You'll Ever See
Stewart, Colbert, Oliver Probe The Spectacular Idiocy Of Climate Change Deniers
Take for example the conservative chestnut that 1934 was an exceptionally hot year in the United States.
Yes, it was.
However, that year's anomalous heat is not an argument against the massive (and growing) body of evidence that demonstrate the reality of global warming and, more specifically, anthropogenic global warming.
"1934 Is The Hottest Year On Record." What Science Says Vs. Dodgy Lies
Global Warming Deniers Are Full Of It. Here Comes The Enema!
Consider Christian conservatism's twin objections to global warming.
On one hand it is believed that God -- as a function of his "meta-level oversight" -- would "take out the garbage" for us so that we humans needn't bother de-toxifying our waste.
On the other hand, once "we" determine that humans are responsible for "taking out the garbage," immediately there is inexorable need for collective, political action to undertake "de-toxification," a fact that contradicts the primary conservative Christian belief in Individual Conscience as "supreme and inviolable." And so conservative Christianity refuses countenance any appeal to moral mandate under aegis of collective decision-making.
Pope Francis: Moving The Moral Compass From "The Individual" Toward "The Collective"
Pro-Science Pontiff: Pope Francis On Climate Change, Evolution And The Big Bang
Pope Francis: What Christianity Looks Like When Believers Realize "God Is Love"
Does the Pope believe in global warming?
En route from the Philippines to Sri Lanka Thursday, Pope Francis told reporters that he is convinced that global warming is 'mostly' man-made.
In his strongest declaration yet about climate change, Pope Francis said Thursday he is convinced that global warming is "mostly" man-made.
He also said he has nearly finished writing an encyclical on climate change to be published in June that he hopes will encourage negotiators at a climate change meeting in Paris in December to make "courageous" decisions to protect God's creation.
"I don't know if it (human activity) is the only cause, but mostly, in great part, it is man who has slapped nature in the face," Francis told reporters Thursday aboard the Papal plane en route from Sri Lanka to Manilla, Philippines. "We have in a sense taken over nature."
Recommended: Are you scientifically literate? Take our quiz
"I think we have exploited nature too much," he added, mentioning practices like deforestation and monoculture. "Thanks be to God that today there are voices, so many people who are speaking out about it."
The comments marked the Pope's most forthright statement to date on climate change, a topic that has sparked global debate and divided Catholics.
But his remarks should come as no surprise. Since the day of his election as pope, Francis has pledged to make the environment a priority and has spoken out frequently about what he calls a "culture of waste."
He will have another opportunity to make his case in the Philippines, where he is scheduled to visit Tacloban, the center of the area devastated in 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan, which the Philippines government has said is an example of extreme weather conditions wrought by climate change. Climate change models predict that, as global surface temperatures increase, typhoons will worsen.
Francis will also meet with survivors of Haiyan, which killed about 6,300 people and affected millions more. Some two million people are expected to attend an open-air mass on Saturday in Tacloban, where the Pope is likely to speak about the environment and climate change.
With his Saturday mass, the Pope will likely also indirectly address world leaders working on climate change. Last month in Lima, Peru, almost 200 nations met to broker a global deal to combat climate change. Under a deal reached there, governments agreed to submit plans to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
But Francis faulted the Lima conference for not doing enough to fight climate change and used his pulpit to urge more action at this year's climate conference in Paris.
"The Peru meeting was nothing much, it disappointed me. I think there was a lack of courage. They stopped at a certain point. Let's hope the delegates in Paris will be more courageous and move forward with this," he said.
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