Why You Should Care About Global Climate Change
Why You Should Care about Global Climate Change (image courtesy of Roberto Rizzato on Flickr)
An Oregon teacher created a viral video last year on the global warming debate. No matter what you think about each side’s positions, you really need to watch this short. Greg Craven’s video explains in straightforward, easy-to-understand terms, why you should care about global climate change.
Obviously, Mr. Craven has worked with students – and skeptics – before. The 40-year old high school teacher in Independence, Oregon, has made quite a name for himself concerning political activism, as well as logic.
Its hard to argue with his point that we never have to settle on an answer as to whether humans are causing global warming because:
“the risk of not acting far outweighs the risk of acting.”
To draw in viewers, he’s entitled his work with the inflammatory moniker, “The Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See.” With a bit of humor (lots of smoke, but no mirrors…) Craven actually debates global climate change with himself. That is, with the alter ego, dressed-up-like-a-devil Greg Craven.
Its the most worthwhile 9 1/2 minutes you’ll spend today:
Two hours after posting it on You Tube, Craven’s video had drawn 10,000 viewers. As noted in a Seattle Times piece:
“Now, six months later, Craven’s earnest and quirky appeal to act on climate change has collected more than 4 million views worldwide — roughly 500 times the population of [his hometown] Independence. That puts it near the top of YouTube’s all-time list for views in the news and politics category.”
Greg Craven has continued to stir things up, spurred on by thousands of comments, and since produced a 44-part, six hour video series,”How it All Ends.” You can see all of his work from his YouTube page, wonderingmind42.
More importantly, you are urged to take the lessons learned from “The Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See,” and apply them. Talk it up, tell skeptics why you should care about global climate change. Its time for us to stop debating the cause and start thinking about the response – and acting on it quickly!
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The flaw in this logic occurs at the beginning. He makes the assumption that GGC or global climate change is caused by humans. See, the AGW skeptics agree with the AGW Believers that the earth’s climate changes, they only disagree on the cause. Believers blame human activity and the skeptics blame something else unknown (many blame the Sun). This view changes the results of the matrix considerably.
For example, if we take action to mitigate climate change and it turns out to be false, we will spend considerable money and cause global depression and end up with a sad face. If we decide to take no action and it turns out to be false, we end up with no costs and a happy face. Just like in the video. No change here.
However, if we take action to mitigate climate change and it turns out to be true (but it is caused by the Sun), then we have spent considerable money, caused a global depression, and we still end up frying anyway in the worst case scenario with wars and droughts etc (because we have zero effect on the Sun). If we decide to take no action to mitigate climate change and it turns out to be true (but it is caused by the Sun), then we still fry anyway in the worst case scenario and end up with another sad face.
So with the view that climate change is not caused by humans (Sun perhaps), we end up with 3 sad faces and only one happy face. The only happy face resides in the “Take no Action” column and in the “False” row.
The other flaw in this in the logic which needs to be addressed by the author is the belief that Climate Change is going to be bad. Remember, only 20,000 years ago the entire northern hemisphere was covered in ice down to the 45th parallel. Climate change opened it all up for us. Climate change can be good. I would be more worried about Global Cooling, I think a new glaciation would really be bad news.
Well, I think we are so far away from “Global Cooling,” that its not even worth bringing up. And, I disagree with your statement that the author makes the assumption that global climate change is caused by humans. He said that we should put aside the blame game and look at what will happen if True, if False, and if we do something about the changing climate, or if we do nothing.
I would love global climate change itself to be false, but no matter the causes, how many more images of drowning polar bears, dying forests and tides creeping ever closer do we need?
I don’t think its really up for debate – as your assumption goes – that the climate is changing at a dramatically fast pace. Regardless of whether human or “naturally” caused, we need to do something. Soon.
“Regardless of whether human or “naturally” caused, we need to do something. Soon.”
How can we do something about the changing climate when it might be caused by the Sun? Just doing something, anything, is better than doing nothing? I’m not sure if that is so. ADAPTING to Sun-caused climate change makes complete sense, but fighting it is illogical.
The skeptics (I’m included) believe that the climate changes naturally. It changes rapidly sometimes and slowly at others, but it never stops changing, whether humans exist or not. If the sun is responsible then there is not a whole lot we can do about that, apart from adapt and flourish as we always have. We can’t fight the Sun.
If humans are responsible then there is no discussion, the Skeptics will join the Believers and do what is needed to combat the human component, because we can fight it. So it makes a big difference in the video whether humans are at fault or if it is naturally occurring. The video make no sense otherwise.
Just stumbled across this post. You all might be interested that I’ve accidentally written a book that refines the assessment: “What’s the Worst That Could Happen? A Rational Response to the Climate Change Debate.” Video trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e10ZNpogv4
Ken (and Stephanie), it answers your questions.
Cheers!
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