There was a time when I was unconvinced of the case that greenhouse gases were causing the planet to warm and that action was needed to curb them. I’m not one to jump to conclusions on such an important matter. But over time, I noticed something fishy. The people who began by rejecting the case kept changing their story.
First, they said the planet was not getting hotter. Then they said it might be getting hotter but not because of carbon dioxide. Then they said that maybe the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was causing it but that it was a good thing. Then they said that even if it’s a bad thing, it would be costly or futile to take remedial action. At each stage, they devised a new argument.
What didn’t change was their unshakable commitment to doing nothing. They didn’t consider the evidence and then sort through it to reach a logical conclusion. They reached a conclusion and then found ways to justify it no matter what. Most of these people, as it happens, were Republicans. Continue reading.