September 26, 2011 Due September 29, 2011
Piles of scientific evidence exist that have convinced 98% of climate scientists that global warming is occuring and that it is caused by man’s activities. Why, then, do some Americans continue to deny the whole idea of global warming? From presidential candidates to average Americans, some people continue to oppose scientific evidence. These people either claim “it’s natural warming” (of course, they are neither scientists nor historians), or they claim that scientists make huge money off of fears of global warming
http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/
However, what companies lose money from global warming and are making all-time record profits? (hint, burning fossil fuels contibutes to global warming)
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922
I think if I were a scientist wanting funding to make money for myself, I would side on the side of the guys in that article!!
So, why do some people refuse to believe evidence? Think from a theory of knowledge angle. Should reason overcome emotions (like fear or greed)? Read the article below and see if you can help determine what leads to denial of scientific evidence – or also think about what “degree” of scientific proof is enough to be convincing? (Quote all 3 articles for extra credit)
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml
- 37 comments
- Posted under Uncategorized
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ravenwomic
said
A lot of people deny Global Warming because they’re scared of the consequences of it ,and many others deny it because they don’t want to accept the fact that they will have to change their behavior. I think everyone knows it’s real but some people continue to make up their own scenarios on how it’s not real. If you own a fuel company or have a share of one , then you will obviously deny global warming because you don’t want to loose money. In The article “High Gas Prices Mean Record Profits for Big Oil ” it says “Analysts say they expect the world’s largest non-government controlled oil company, Exxon, to report a staggering $10 billion profit — a 60 percent increase.” http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922. This is a perfect example of why some people deny Global Warming. If denying it will make the gas companys more money then they’re going to deny it because they’re only in business for the money.
Some people belive in global warming but they don’t believe that humans are the cause of it, they think that its naturally occuring (climate change). These people belive that its dumb for us to spend a lot of money trying to change everyones ways of life. Economist-ethicist Clive Hamilton states that “The desire to disbelieve deepens as the scale of the threat grows.” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml. He’s basically saying that the more evidence there is to support Global Warming , the more people get scared and choose to deny it. No one wants to believe the fact that the earth is over-heating because it will inconvenience everyone in some kind of way, so we keep on making up reasons why we don’t want it to be real.
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huntercochran
said
I think the reason that Americans deny Global Warming is because they are stubborn and don’t want to believe that Global warming exists. In my eyes I think that Global warming is a bunch of nonsense, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. Because of Global warming, gas and oil companies are making more money. They make more because they have to raise prices, and that’s not our\ fault. The people raising the gas prices are the makers of gas and oil, The Middle East. “The truth is there’s no silver bullet that can bring gas prices down right away”, (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922) is what Obama said, and I agree with him. There’s nothing right now that can change the Middle East’s mind about lowering gas prices any time soon. Because gas prices are going up, so are the prices on groceries. How are people supposed to live in an economy with high gas prices and high grocery prices?
“The desire to disbelieve deepens as the scale of the threat grows”, (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml) is a great quote that explains how as Americans keep shoving the idea of Global warming away, the worst the threat of Global warming grows. How much longer until people start to believe in this idea? Will they believe when it gets to a certain temperature? or the ocean starts to rise? People don’t ponder upon these questions enough.
“How many climate scientists are driving a Mercedes sports coupe or other $100,000+ car into a three car garage in a posh gated neighborhood?” (http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/) This quote tells us that scientists are also contributing to the Global warming idea. They drive these really nice cars that burn up gas and send carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When these gases rise it makes the ozone layer start to get thinner. When the ozone gets thinner, the temperatures rise. We are not the only ones who contribute to Global warming; the scientists who say that it’s bad also contribute to it.
So my point is that people are stubborn and don’t care about what’s going on around them. If scientists “care” so much about the planet, then they need to make a change in their lives first, then we may start to notice. We just don’t believe that it’s going to happen. I guess we are just waiting for something bad to happen to change our planet.
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giiirrrlll
said
I do believe in global warming. Also that us humans have accelerated it… Some Americans refuse to believe in Global warming…or say its real..and that it is mostly our fault….Because we are human beings we know that when we cause something that has bad consequences we’re obviously 90% of the time are not going to take the blame…We consume much fossil fuels ..like gasoline ..And we all know gasoline in America is essential for the most part. We don’t want to have a reason to stop using gasoline..or the prices go up.“ExxonMobil alone has kicked in millions and millions of dollars to deny the science” from the article “Global Warming: Man or Myth?” should open the eyes of some of us..If ExxonMobile is paying this much money just to hush some people then it must be because its true. Because Global Warming is true and is affecting ExxonMobile in a bad way then..they’re going to want to hush them. Like I said We are all human beings..and when we cause something bad that is TRUE then we want to hush it because its not benefitting us…its harming us..Also America is mostly about businesses and companies…and if the company is suffering then they have to cover up some truths in order for them to get money.
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lizadenicola5
said
Some people refuse to believe evedience because maybe they think global warming dont exsist. Maybe they aint sure if anything exsist. All this could be a figure of our imagination. But I myself do believe that we as the people have caused global warming to increase but also it happened naturally we just made it worse with all the fumes from cars and didfferent products. There is no way in stopping global warming cause now that it has happened its not going anywhere.
One effect global warming has had on us is the rise in gas prices.
“We’re the ones getting shafted,” said Jack Foley, a New York City driver. This quote is stated in http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922
And yeah we maybe getting shafted but we only have ourseleves to blame for making the enviroment so unhealthy that no matter how high gas prices are we are still going to buy it and it will just keep thr process of global warming going!
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fly4awhiteguy
said
In one sentence any person who has any idea of what they are talking about will tell the truth about Global Warming. Much sooner than later the non- believers will have to admit something just isn’t natural anymore, and just as Broecker states my favorite quote, “Well, I suppose they could say God is burning us up.”, I realize that some people realy think the warming is just a hoax. The simple fact is, Global Warming is happening, and people are huge contributors to it. People them selves only deny this common knowledge fact because, in general, people are greedy creatures of habit. In simpler terms this means that the top dogs like to make the big bucks, and they don’t want it to change. Also because we love to have frivolous enjoyable things like cars and boats. Im definitely not talking about the scientist “supporters”, which ignorant people say to make large sums of money. Contrary to belief, the scientist don’t make much better than minimum wage according to the co- investigator who quotes “I will receive $48,264.75 over three years ($16,088.25 per year)’. Now to me, that doesn’t sound like a large sum of money to live a year on. He seems to be barely scraping by, let alone saving a multi-figure bank account like some people like to think.
Now a real fact for the gasoline market shows that the major companies have indeed make near record breaking profits, but as Samantha Gross said “ an energy analyst at IHS Global, the real culprits are speculators in the oil futures market who bid the prices up, hedging their pocketbooks on the belief that conflict will get worse in the Middle East”. To me, it still seems almost as if the big head honcho’s don’t mind lining there pockets with the extra cash. I just don’t understand how they couldn’t possibly have control over the pricing of their own company.
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nikiafleshman
said
My personal beliefs on global warming are that is in existence. There has been a mountain of evidence found proving that it actually does exist. That being said, I honestly couldn’t think of any reason that people would deny that it was happening, with the exception of pure ignorance. That is my opinion from just reading and analyzing it from my own point of view. Looking at it from the theory of knowledge aspect gives me a completely different outlook. Analyzing it in that way, I come to the conclusion that people actually fear the reality and gravity of the problem, causing them to shy away from the truth. By accepting the truth, as humans we have to have someone to blame. And we have none other to blame than ourselves. Neither America or mankind is ready to carry the burden of responsibility for essentially destroying the planet. But on the other hand you could look at the non-believers point of views and see that maybe they think global warming is some type of conspiracy to make people buy into doing things to improve the environment, or to gain scientists butt loads of money etc, etc. Causing them to have the “its not real” attitude only because they don’t want to be tricked into something they cant prove. A person can be mislead by people in pursuit of something beneficial to themselves, causing them to do any and everything to get what they want, which could be the main reason why non-believers don’t believe. If that means telling people things that may seem “scary” or “unreal” to get them to d what they want them to do, then that’s what they’ll do. But that’s not the case, so I’m forced to conclude that people are just afraid to accept the truth. Only when the planet starts to blow up and worse things begin to happen will the non-believers start to believe, but by then it would already be too late.
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joshpickett
said
“Since scientific evidence is about probabilities rather than certainties, we can’t be certain that human behavior is contributing to global warming, that our contribution is significant, or that we can do anything to fix it.” (http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/global-warming7.htm) Ok so some scientists believe that we as human cant be certain that we are contributing to global warming since scientific evidence is probabilities so for all we know it could be natural. who really knows?
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paviles2013
said
Global warming… some people beleive its happening, others think its just the sun getting hotter, I beleive global warming is happening and i can admit it. Cars are one of the reasons why global warming is happening; cars create a gas that goes up to our atmosphere and that gas creates a layer that keep the sun’s heat on our palnet which then creates global warming. People do not want to beleive that global warming is happening because they are being greedy, how? well they do not want any of their rights taken away from the such as the use of cars, or the use of some gas using products. Gas prices are going up for people already and they are not happy about it, “We’re the ones getting shafted,” said Jack Foley, a New York City driver. in the article found in http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922, we might be getting ripped off but we are the blame for creating som much pollution, or creating gases with the cars we have that is why more people are switching to electrical cars. Soon enough people are gonna have to accept the fact that it is global warming, “Eventually it’ll become damned clear that the Earth is warming and the warming is beyond anything we have experienced in millions of years, and people will have to admit…” found in the article http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml. Science has shown that there is CO2 in the air so some people think that is evidence and if CO2 is being put in the air then that is whats mainly causing global warming, “As a physicist, putting CO2 into the air is good enough for me. It’s the physics that convinces me,” said veteran Cambridge University researcher Liz Morris in the article found in http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml. So in the end, global warming is happening for sure, people just have to accept that and hopefully they can change their ways.
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jackrosemond
said
The concept of global warming is something that i nether agree with or disagree with. I am not the kind of person that looks at “98% of climate scientists agree” close enough to 100% to justify it being correct. Also, I am not a climate scientist, so no one really cares what I think. Humans have a tendency to believe what they are told, at one time the world was thought to be flat, everything revolved around earth, and that witches were real. Even today we think Area 51 is where the government hides aliens and that Elvis never died. People see a few researches publishing that its all made up and they automatically believe it, but they never see the hidden side of things. “Fossil fuel companies such as ExxonMobil stand to lose revenue if carbon emissions are restricted so they certainly would dole out money to any scientist that was working on a landmark anti-AGW paper. Over the years, ExxonMobil alone has kicked in millions and millions of dollars to deny the science”(www.profmandia.wordpress.com). People even can be shown this and say “well, why would they waste that much money on that?” “Analysts say they expect the world’s largest non-government controlled oil company, Exxon, to report a staggering $10 billion profit — a 60 percent increase”(www.abcnews.com). That is pocket change to them, and it is making them money. Global warming is not like aliens or Elvis’s death, in the fact that it is a very real issue. The government has over the last few years started to get involved,”The opposition by the Republicans has gotten stronger and stronger,” the 79-year-old “grandfather of climate science” said in an interview. “But, of course, the push by the Democrats has become stronger and stronger, and as it has become a more important issue, it has become more polarized.”(www.cbsnews.com). In conclusion, humans will believe almost anything, whether it be the world is flat or the US government is hiding aliens. We challenge any view point and even when it 99% proven we look at that 1% as more powerful that 99%.
Citations:
-http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-–-part-i/
-http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml
-Jack Rosemond
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invitingodin
said
“By 1988, NASA climatologist James Hansen could appear before a U.S. Senate committee and warn that global warming had begun, a dramatic announcement later confirmed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a new, U.N.-sponsored network of hundreds of international scientists.
But when Hansen was called back to testify in 1989, the White House of President George H.W. Bush edited this government scientist’s remarks to water down his conclusions, and Hansen declined to appear.th
That was the year U.S. oil and coal interests formed the Global Climate Coalition to combat efforts to shift economies away from their products. Britain’s Royal Society and other researchers later determined that oil giant Exxon disbursed millions of dollars annually to think tanks and a handful of supposed experts to sow doubt about the facts.
In 1997, two years after the IPCC declared the “balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate,” the world’s nations gathered in Kyoto, Japan, to try to do something about it. The naysayers were there as well.
“The statement that we’ll have continued warming with an increase in CO2 is opinion, not fact,” oil executive William F. O’Keefe of the Global Climate Coalition insisted to reporters in Kyoto.
The late Bert Bolin, then IPCC chief, despaired.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml
i believe the earth is heating up and i don’t think humans has some then to do with it but i don’t believe it is entirely certain b/c i believe global warming is more political then science right now and plus companies are battling it for more money in there pocket.
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Kiera K'mia Love
said
I personally don’t believe in global warming because i don’t think it is possible for humans to change the climate. Even though my beliefs could be false i think that the only reason these scientist or still trying to do research on it is because they are getting research grants. “Here is how the $437,232,67 from my grant will be spent over three years:
1.Participant/Trainee Support Costs = $152,678.50 (135 teachers will participate over three years)
2.Consulting Services = $4000 (To assess the curricula developed)
3.Indirect Costs: $76,064.25 (Administrative fees and other fees that are not collected by those named on the grant)http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/
4.Direct Labor = $204,489.92.
I think this person is truly lying about how he would spend the research grant over a 3 year time spand. Then his wife had the nerve to stand up and say that they gained nothing from the grant. If man did contribute to the climate change then how sure are the scientist on proving so. One man said that he once said that global warming was impossible and then u come back and say that u now know the truth and that there is proof that man could do such a thing. i also agree with everything joshpickett is saying how can scientist prove that its just not a natural cause.
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cojo249
said
I do not believe in global warming. I think it is all BS. According to National Geographic, “Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, cloud forests are drying, and wildlife is scrambling to keep pace. It’s becoming clear that humans have caused most of the past century’s warming by releasing heat-trapping gases as we power our modern lives.” (http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-overview/). What i dont get is how humans can make the climate heat up enough to make glaciers in the coldest part of the world melt? Maybe the earth is just getting closer and closer to the sun maybe? To me it doesnt make any since. Am i missing something?
Also I think the government and the people are making a big deal about global warming to where they exaggerate how bad it is which its really not that bad yet. I know global warming is bad but i just think they are still over exaggerating about it. Well that is my opinion on global warming.
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Damaris Jimenez
said
I feel that society is falling down on Global Warming and humans are not taking this scenario seriously. Scientist are not saying Global Warming exist for the fun of it. Out there in this world many things are happening that people are not realizing. For example we have realized that the climate has been a bit weird, having warm days in the middle of winter or having all these hurricanes and earthquakes happening around the earth consistently. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml
Looking back on the thought of theory of knowledge, I feel that people are afraid to hear the negative stuff, so we tend to shake it off and not believe it’s true. Were so used to blaming others for our actions that in this case we don’t know how to defend this problem so we ignore it. Many people don’t understand that were actually killing ourselves by making fires, driving, using hairsprays, which are building up to carbon dioxide. Nonbelievers need to get convince soon before it too late because Earth only has so much it can handle.
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car1995
said
anyone who has reasonable degree of scientific knowledge will agree with my opinion that global warming is a real and dangerous threat. i think that the main reason that people deny global warming is because if something is hurting you its human nature to deny it to try and make it go away that’s why the first step in grieving is denial. another reason is that the guys making all the money don’t really care if they are hurting the environment as long as their wallet gets bigger as showed by the ABC article stating the quarterly earnings Exxon reported a staggering $10 billion profit — a 60 percent increase.
Shell is expected to post a healthy 22.2 percent gain, translating to $5.9 billion for the company.Another example of this is that BP doubled its profit in 2010 during the ecological crisis in the gulf. others think that its a natural cycle while others say just as Broecker say “Well, I suppose they could say God is burning us up.” some people think that global warming is a joke or that they’ll be long dead before the serious consequences show up but our posterity derives better than a ruined earth. its our generation that in the future will be view as the ones who saved the planet or who didn’t care and let the earth die. While it is true that the earth does undergo natural warming cycles the current trend is not the same gradual increase that we have seen in the past the current trend is accelerated the reason behind that acceleration is that humans in the past century have burned so many fossil fuels. another contributor to global warming is the american mentality that bigger is always better when in fact it isn’t everything in the us is super sized such as our vehicles and along with that our carbon foot print. people continue to have doubts until the cold hard facts are use to slap them in the face the CBS article had a statement from a scientist that the solution to this is that “Eventually it’ll become damned clear that the Earth is warming and the warming is beyond anything we have experienced in millions of years, and people will have to admit…” He stopped and laughed.
“Well, I suppose they could say God is burning us up.” the only problem with that is that by that time it will be to late to go in the opposite direction of the course we are currently on to green cars that function on hydrogen fuel cells or solar powered cars.
also scientist aren’t in it for the money which some people say to make large amounts of money. that not true, the scientist don’t make much more than minimum wage according to the co- investigator who said “I will receive $48,264.75 over three years ($16,088.25 per year)’. that scientist has a degree in environmental science and is getting paid less than a shift manager at McDonald obviously they don’t do it for the money but for the survival of the planet and its species.
companies like Exxon Mobil have “Over the years, kicked in millions and millions of dollars to deny the science”. these companies want to keep people in the dark so that they can keep making money by destroying mankind’s home.
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.–Mahatma Gandhi
one of my favorite quotes is “The Power is YOURS”
Don’t blow it – good planets are hard to find. ~Quoted in Time
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calebbynum
said
I believe that global warming may be occurring on the climate of our Earth. I use the word “may” because I can not say with complete certainty that it is real or not, because I am not a scientist. This means that I have to base my entire knowledge of the subject on a complete stranger’s word. I think this may be the main reason that some Americans do not believe in global warming. We are a people that if we can not see it then we don’t believe it.
Another reason people are skeptical is that humans are afraid of being taken advantage of. If people believe that someone could be getting rich off of lies that they’re telling them, then they won’t be to happy about it. This is why when President Obama’s ratings went down to 47% he was quoted saying “We’re going to make sure that nobody is taking advantage of American consumers for their own short-term gain.” I believe this was a move by Obama to raise his approval rating by exploiting the human fear of being taken advantage of.
There are multiple parties that are gaining from the denial of global warming. However the main one is the oil industry. The use of oil is what fuels our entire society. This is why it would hurt the oil industry dramatically if our society decided to stop using oil to slow down global warming. This is why people believe that oil companies are paying scientists to fake reports. As Scott Mandia states “Fossil fuel companies such as ExxonMobil stand to lose revenue if carbon emissions are restricted so they certainly would dole out money to any scientist that was working on a landmark anti-AGW paper.”
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emilykiser
said
Some people refuse to believe evidence of global warming simply becauase they have not been educated enough on the concept of global warming.”The desire to disbelieve deepens as the scale of the threat grows,” (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml) But we have to remember that everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
People want to disagree with the proof of scientific evidence of global warminf just for thesake of arguing. For some, there will probably never be enough evidence out there to be fully convinced. “Ninety-eight percent of the world’s climate scientists say it’s for real, and yet you still have deniers,” (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml) -and there wil always be deniers.
I have actually heard this argument many times: He is getting rich from research funding! No wonder he claims that humans are causing global warming. He is in it for the money!” (http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/)
Well, scientists get paid no matter what they believe or prove, right? A scientist’s wife even defended her huband when someone said that: “Trust me, I can tell you, he isn’t making any money from this. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Nothing!” (http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/)
As for the theory of knowledge angle, I think people are almost afraid of being blamed for something as big as global warming that they deny it.
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Shonee' Ferguson
said
I think the ABC news article was to make people feel like that they shouldn’t blame the oil company and its the speculators, well I disagree, I think all of them are working together, and it’s not Obamas fault. Burning coal, oil, and other fossil fuels is the only way that global warming is happening, and the pollution. The scientist can keep reasearching all they want but they always come up with the same answer. The Democratic-Republicans said that global warming has gotten serious over the past few years and I absolutely agree, but every since this conglict with the global warming came about, it’s scientist out here that work their hardest to try and prove them wrong.
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kenziekiser
said
I personally do not believe in global warming. I do believe the earth is heating up but I don’t think that humans have anything to do with it. The earth has been heating up more and more almost every other year. Global warming is probably just being caused by earth’s atmosphere.
I think that people who state that global warming is caused by humans by pollution and such, Is just probably making these things up to scare people, or just have people blame ourselves. I think that maybe they would make money off the theory too. They come up with believable statements, for example, “Fossil fuel companies such as ExxonMobil stand to lose revenue if carbon emissions are restricted so they certainly would dole out money to any scientist that was working on a landmark anti-AGW paper.” -Scott Mandia.
I could see why people would think that global warming could be human’s fault. But I just think it isn’t, but if it is, I doubt there is anything we could do to stop it, or anything we would do.
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sadie rankin
said
Why do some people refuse to believe evidence that global warming is real? One main reason is that it is easier to believe that something is a lie than to accept the truth.”The desire to disbelieve deepens as the scale of the threat grows,” concludes economist-ethicist Clive Hamilton.” (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml) This quote shows that the bigger the threat it, the more people look for faults and deny the truth. This can be related to September, 11, 2001. there are so many people who believe in concperiecies about what realy happend. They do this because the threat is so great that their minds cannot handel the truth, so they deny and look for alternate explenations.
Some people refuse to acknolage global warming out or guilt. They do not want to believe that the burning of fossil filus that they participate in has caused such detremental effects on our earth.
And others do not want to accept the reality out of greed. Some of there people are people who are making large sums of money from oil.” big oil companies are expected to report significant first quarter profits later this week.” (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922) If they acknlwledge the fact that it ruining our planet then many others would realize it and major oil componies they would no longer profit from it. ”Analysts say they expect the world’s largest non-government controlled oil company, Exxon, to report a staggering $10 billion profit — a 60 percent increase.” (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922) This perticular quote shows how greed had blinded the oil componies from the effects that out world is enduring. They do not care what the people of the furure will have to enduere, as long as their wallets stay fat they have no intrist in the matter.”There are a few publishing scientists that strongly disagree with the established consensus that humans are the primary drivers of modern climate change and yet they seem to find funding without much difficulty.” “Fossil fuel companies such as ExxonMobil stand to lose revenue if carbon emissions are restricted so they certainly would dole out money to any scientist that was working on a landmark anti-AGW paper. Over the years, ExxonMobil alone has kicked in millions and millions of dollars to deny the science. “(http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/) These perticular quote shows that it is not only the major oil componies that are keeping their wallets fat, but also the scientista are milking the situation for their own financial bennifit.
Should reason overcome emotions ? They should not, nut it unfortunate that in our society today they often do. The fact is that global warming if very detremental to out planet. If we do not change the way we utalise out resources, and begin to use “greener” alternatives to fossil fuler out enviroment will become more dammaged that we have already made it.
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shannalynn18
said
I believe that Americans deny the idea of Global Warming because as a whole, they don’t want to be the blame for such an accusation. We’d rather continue on with our lives as if it cease to exist. But personally I don’t see how they could be so blind not to see it. The evidence is obviously there. “The basic physics of anthropogenic — manmade — global warming has been clear for more than a century, since researchers proved that carbon dioxide traps heat. Others later showed CO2 was building up in the atmosphere from the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels. Weather stations then filled in the rest: Temperatures were rising.” “Eventually it’ll become damned clear that the Earth is warming and the warming is beyond anything we have experienced in millions of years, and people will have to admit…” from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml
People are also denying the Global Warming claims because they know that if we cause something bad like this, there are consequences. For example, “Fossil fuel companies such as ExxonMobil stand to lose revenue if carbon emissions are restricted so they certainly would dole out money to any scientist that was working on a landmark anti-AGW paper.” So what do they do? “ExxonMobil alone has kicked in millions and millions of dollars to deny the science.” from http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/ Companies like this don’t want the news of Global Warming to get out because its hurting them & the money they make. Also, even when evidence like this is clearly there, humans have a nature to believe what they are told & “bangwagon” so to speak. If they hear a few things denying Global Warming, they’re going to believe that & go by that article.
I think the degree of scientific eveidence that should be convinceing is seeing the physical proof that is there … American is all about businesses, companies, & such & we use so much fossil fuels like gas & oil. Its essential for our country to prosper. “While many Americans are seething at gas prices, which have hit $5 per gallon in parts of the country, big oil companies are expected to report significant first quarter profits later this week.” “Analysts say they expect the world’s largest non-government controlled oil company, Exxon, to report a staggering $10 billion profit — a 60 percent increase.” “Shell is expected to post a healthy 22.2 percent gain, translating to $5.9 billion for the company, which is right on par with competitor Chevron’s profits.” from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922 Now how would you possibly think these companies are making so much money, depsite the high gas prices? Global Warming & its effects are not making a big enough impact on America. Its dangers are not being stressed enough so we continue to live our daily lives like nothings wrong & use so much resources.
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christianfralick
said
There are many reasons why people would deny global warming. They do not want the blame put on them and they definately don’t want to change their living habits such as their favorite car and things such as that. Also for some reason people are scared to think that we are rapidly causing a quicker ending to our planet; but thinking even deeper about it, we were all raised into this kind of reality and there was no real way of knowing we were doing any harm. that should eliminate any guilt anyone should have.They should just accept the fact that all humans, including myself, are extremely and unknowingly greedy when it comes to our planet. We weren’t always thinking that we could possibly have such an impact on the Earth, but we have been around for a reasonably long period of time and have created and taken advantage of may harmful resources that can cause the Earth to heat up. Yes the Earth does heat up on its own, though it would have been already gone if it had been going at such a rate for the 4.5 billion years it has been around. Even looking at the simple science of the rate the planet has warmed in the past ten years, you can obviously see a huge difference and know that it has to be a cause of the great human prosperity that has taken place.
–Scientists do the research to see what is real and what is not. They do not do it to gain money for making things up. The same does not go for the fact that scientist are desperate for more money, considering they only make around $16,391.77 per year .Therefore a huge company such as Exxon who has an insanely large amount of money to a scientist, would be able to easily pay off a scientist that is not committed to his own thoughts or is in real financial trouble. The other way around is less likely because there are many who do know about global warming and does try and do better by buying cars that are better for the environment making no real reason for them to pay off people to make up global warming.
–Big oil companies do have a problem with global warming considering that their business contradicts the solution. These businesses gross tons of money. Gas prices going up are a good thing for them; quite specifically is the world’s largest non-government controlled oil company Exxon. Back in April it was expected that they would make a 60% increase profiting them an entire $10 billion. Ifnthey pay off scientists every once in a while to say that global warming is not true, then they know people will believe it and postpone any real reaction from any numerous amount of people, meaning that they can keep making their money.
– “Well, I suppose they could say God is burning us up.”
Again at the point that people tend to think it is just natural warming. scientists have proved that humans could possibly be a threat to the environment. humans create CO2;CO2 traps heat. This is what creates global warming. “The basic physics of anthropogenic — manmade — global warming has been clear for more than a century, since researchers proved that carbon dioxide traps heat. Others later showed CO2 was building up in the atmosphere from the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels.” Humans can absolutely threaten the Earth and they are; especially with the high numbers that they are doing it in.
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cubanaaa
said
Global warming is beyond real. The facts have been here for years. The question “Why does some man kind think that it is a myth?” , is very difficult to capture. I believe that some people don’t believe it because they’re scared to believe it. Just like how some people strongly believe that the holocaust never happened. In this case i do say that reason comes before emotion because if you don’t believe or think about things out of fear then what are you possibly going to do when it actually happens. An economist – ethicist , Clive Hamilton’s said “The desire to disbelieve deepens as the scale of the threat grows,”. I agree completely! Most people are sitting around thinking that they are living in a perfect little world but in all reality Global Warming is just getting worst. “Analysts say they expect the world’s largest non-government controlled oil company, Exxon, to report a staggering $10 billion profit — a 60 percent increase”. Facts such as this is another key reason to believe. If you were a human being to look at absolutely everything through a theory of knowledge point of view then I honestly think you could be that one exception to not believe in it. (:
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cubanaaa
said
Almost forgot >>>>>>>
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml
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chelseaclark2013
said
I personally do believe that global warning is real. There’s proof , we feel it , and there’s no reasonable way to deny that its here. We have even known this from years according to Cbsnews.com ( The basic physics of anthropogenic — manmade — global warming has been clear for more than a century, since researchers proved that carbon dioxide traps heat. Others later showed CO2 was building up in the atmosphere from the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels. Weather stations then filled in the rest: Temperatures were rising.) We as people sometimes tend to deny things we don’t want to believe. Especially when we don’t want to believe that something bad is happening. Denial is just a mechanism we use to feel better. Even if its temporary. The best way to say this is “The desire to disbelieve deepens as the scale of the threat grows,” concludes economist-ethicist Clive Hamilton.” ( From Cbsnews.com). So as the people who are in denial about global warming is ignoring the signs around us, we are in fact letting the problem get bigger and global warming will continue to get worse until we all get on the same page.
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korilipscomb
said
I think that people refuse to believe that global warming is real because its so much easier than taking the time to learn the facts and make a change. “The Arctic Ocean’s summer ice cap has shrunk by half and is expected to essentially vanish by 2030 or 2040, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported Sept. 15. Ashore, meanwhile, the Arctic tundra’s permafrost is thawing and releasing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.”
(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml) The facts are clearly there and they’re being brought to our attention but people just don’t believe it maybe because denial is the first step to acceptance and hopefully they will accept it soon. They find it easy to just believe that the scientist are only doing it to make money but the facts prove that wrong as well.”I will receive $48,264.75 over three years ($16,088.25 per year).” (http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/ ) This is a co-investigator on a research team doing studies about global warming. Assuming he works 52 weeks a year 40 hours a week he only makes $7.73 an hour for his research, that’s a little more than minimum wage!! All the years he must have went to school and all the work he must have done to become co-investigator and he makes $0.48 more than minimum wage! He obviously isnt doing it for any money. The people that should be losing money, their profits have skyrocketed!! “Exxon, to report a staggering $10 billion profit — a 60 percent increase.Shell is expected to post a healthy 22.2 percent gain, translating to $5.9 billion for the company, which is right on par with competitor Chevron’s profits.”
(http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922) People should be riding bikes and walking because of this information but they seem to be driving more. Gas companies are making so much more money its crazy!! People also see presidential candidates “Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry even accuses climate scientists of lying for money.”
(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml) People also see presidential candidates saying they dont believe global warming is real and let them do all the thinking for them assuming they’re so smart but Rick Perry is just as lazy as the people that believe him. Global warming is very real, and it should be taken seriously to save the future generations.
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Brittany Bell
said
People refuse to believe evedience NO matter how true it may be.Global warming is in existence and people are to dumb t realize that and expect the truth. We don’t have noone else to blame than ourselves. I believe we can all sit here and argue about it but arguing isn’t gonna sokve anyhting going out raising awareness is what this society needs. If the world gets destroyed then that’s our fault we will being paying the consequences now and in the future. As I learned in theory of knowledge global warming may not exist the world may not. So how does anyone know or even have a clue about what is happening an what will? They are not god but until it is suppossably gone then the world and how it is affected is our fault our responsibility.
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kalebrostmeyer
said
I believe in global warming. All the evidence shows us that global warming is real and happening. There’s in undeniable proof of it. According to cbsnews.com, “The basic physics of anthropogenic — manmade — global warming has been clear for more than a century, since researchers proved that carbon dioxide traps heat. Others later showed CO2 was building up in the atmosphere from the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels.” Evidence surrounds us, and the burning of these fuels is one peice of evidence. As people, we naturally tend to avoid or deny things that are negative. We do not WANT to believe that global warming is happening. Or, better yet, we do not want to believe that WE are the cause of it. The people who deny it are downright ignorant. Look at the facts, it’s happening.
From a TOK POV, reason is the best way to make your decision about global warming. Reason with yourself, know the facts, and make the conclusion. Emotions often get in the way and cloud our perception. Global warming is real, and it’s well underway.
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kelsieehrlich
said
Many people deny the fact that global warming is happening, and it’s ridiculous; they just don’t want to put the blame on thereselves. Global warming is real and happening and is just getting worse as every day goes by. I think people need to quit denying it and live with the fact what WE are doing to our world. We create carbon dioxide and trap heat, it’s building up in the atmosphere. The air we breathe is no nasty and polluted it’s not healthy whats so ever. We all need to do somethign about it instead of trying to blame it on anything but
ourselves
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kelsieehrlich
said
“As a physicist, putting CO2 into the air is good enough for me. It’s the physics that convinces me,” said veteran Cambridge University researcher Liz Morris. But she said work must go on to refine climate data and computer climate models, “to convince the deeply reluctant organizers of this world.” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml
“The oceans are turning more acidic, too, from absorbing excess carbon dioxide. Acidifying seas will harm plankton, shellfish and other marine life up the food chain. Biologists fear the world’s coral reefs, home to much ocean life and already damaged from warmer waters, will largely disappear in this century.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml
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quayla15
said
Global warming is just one of those topics that really doesnt make sense and is kind of hard to believe. Honestly I dont belive in global warming because I dont get the whole concept of it.
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petercipriano
said
my belief is that these people who claim that the earth’s Increased tempature rate is “natural” is complete bull. We all know that they are being paid off by these giant oil companies to spread lies. in the website provided “http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/” the man keeps stating he will give us the answers in part 2 of the article…. so where is it, i dont see a part 2. he is just trying to beat around the bush and avoid answers.
And, as far as thes “polititians” are conserned… they are being bought by third parties thas include oil companies.
I am not convinced by thier feeble atempts to persuade me, because the science of the subject far out-weighs the stories these third party scientists and hacking up
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southernbelle94
said
I think many people don’t believe that global warming exists because its easier to believe it’s a made up thing for money, then to accept the hard but true facts. “The desire to disbelieve deepens as the scale of the threat grows,” concludes economist-ethicist Clive Hamilton. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml That is true, as a threat gets higher if you just don’t believe it then it won’t affect you as much, but in reality it will end up affecting you even more. Scientists have had proof for years that humans are causing, or severely accelerating global warming. Car emissions, the burning of fossil fuels, power plants, nuclear plants, and many other things are causing global warming. All of theses things are caused by humans. Each person can lower their carbon footprint and help slow it down, but that would take everyone working together, with people refusing to believe it and some people just lazy that makes it harder to do. “We’re going to make sure that nobody is taking advantage of American consumers for their own short-term gain,” he said. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/high-gas-prices-record-profits-big-oil/story?id=13447922 That’s what they say, but it isn’t necessarily true. Many people are saying things just to get money, and be greedy, people that deny global warming are just that. Trying to harp on you and get you to believe whatever they say. It makes more money to not believe in global warming especially for politicians. “Trust me, I can tell you, he isn’t making any money from this. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Nothing!” The truth hurts, doesn’t it? http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/taking-the-money-for-granted-%E2%80%93-part-i/ That statement just goes along to prove the only people making money off of global warming are the ones who don’t believe it. I personally do believe global warming is real; the proof is there, no reason to ignore facts. Even if the truth “hurts”.
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kristinacarpenter
said
I believe in global warming but other people believe that God is just burning us up. Global warming affects the gas companies because they sell oils to make a profit. Many people don’t believe in global warming because they are scared to believe that its ruining the earth and they are scared of the consequences of it. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml)
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dancan16
said
Global warming is obviously an occurring phenomenon. How else would you explain all these weird weather patterns and climate changes.We havent even hardly began to hit the season of fall yet and its already starting to feel like winter outside.
Some people choose to hold on to what they hear because it gives them a feeling of security to know that maybe the world isnt coming to an end and that nothing is really wrong when it obviously is.People choose what they want to believe.They believe the things that make them feel better about life at the end of the day opposed to feeling worse.A ton of people believe that global warming doesnt exist because they are scared of knowing that our existence is being threatened because of the things that we as humans,do to threaten it.This goes hand in hand with what Clive Hamilton,an economist-ethicist,said.”The desire to disbelieve deepens as the scale of the threat grows,”.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml
We have just dug ourselves deeper and deeper into the destruction of our planet and as deep as we are now,Im not sure if theres anything we can do to pull ourselves out of that hole that were in.This world needs to act now on this global crisis before its too late.
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dasiaboo95
said
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/global-warming7.htm
“A few scientists think that data is being interpreted incorrectly by people who are already worried about global warming. That is, these people are looking for evidence of global warming in the statistics, instead of looking at the evidence objectively and trying to figure out what it means.”
I think that this is true because some people interpret things wrong because and try to explain things to other people making people get different stories about global warming. And I don’t know what global warming means because I get different perspectives on global warming
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madisonfalls4
said
I believe in global warming and that we are the cause of it. Everyone is going to have their own opinions about it. I think instead of just letting it happen we should have tried to stop it. Some people don’t believe it even though there is evidence. Some believe it’s just a way for the scientist to get money. Most scientists studying global warming are getting paid a lot. They refuse to acknowledge what is really going on. We have had some crazy weather in the past couple of years and I think it has to do with global warming.
“People tend to focus on the here and now. The problem is that, once global warming is something that most people can feel in the course of their daily lives, it will be too late to prevent much larger, potentially catastrophic changes.” ELIZABETH KOLBERT, The New Yorker, Apr. 25, 2005
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sorry4dawaitjaelan
said
i think people deny global warming because they dont want to accept the consequences. they kno that they will have to change, i think gas companies and oil copanies will be the ones to deny it the most because there selling the stuff that is the most contributing to global warming. to me global warming is fake or not occuring yes it is getting hotter but it could be for a bunch of other mutiple reasons
,”.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/ap/business/main20111268.shtml i really think this will all come to an end soon because we cant stop it so theres no reason to tlk about it