Be a responsible citizen of the world, and educate yourself about Global Warming, which is by far the gravest threat facing our planet today.  Here’s how:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a)    First, use Google Scholar or Web of Knowledge to look for other articles that cite that article.  If there are none, this suggests that nobody else in the scientific community thought that the original article was even worth gracing with a response.  If there are other articles that cite the article, then read them and see, do any of them point out errors in the article’s reasoning or interpretation of data, or do they point out contradictory evidence?  Can you find any other articles written by independent groups that seem to confirm the data reported by the original article?  If the data reported in the original article has not been independently replicated by other groups, then its validity may be suspect. 

 

(b)   Another good idea is to check the authors’ credentials; in other words, look at their biography and/or curriculum vita (a long academic resume).  You can often find these through the researcher’s personal or department-posted web page at their home university.  Look over the researcher’s background.  Is he/she employed at a highly-ranked academic department in a relevant field?  Was he/she educated in a highly-ranked department in a relevant field?  Has he/she had a large number of journal publications in well-ranked journals in climatology or a relevant field, and has he/she presented numerous talks at well-respected climatology conferences?  If the answers to most of these questions are yes, then the person is more likely to be an authority whose findings and opinions are worthy of respect. 

 

(c)    See if you can determine which organizations funded the person’s research.  There have been a number of cases that have come out in recent years where it turned out that some of the most vocal global warming skeptics actually had their “research” bankrolled by special interests – most notably oil companies - who had something to gain by confusing the public about the scientific facts regarding global warming.  This is very reminiscent to the way that tobacco companies tried for years to confuse the public about the link between smoking and lung cancer.  (And in my opinion, it is no less criminal…  Big Oil should be fined or sued for multi-billions of dollars in a class action lawsuit representing all the people of Earth.)

 

After going through the above process, you will see for yourself that all or nearly all of the most respectable, well-credentialed climatology researchers (and whose work is widely cited, replicated by others, and not clearly refuted) do now agree with each other, either explicitly or through implicit assent, that the vast majority of the global warming we have seen over the last 50 years has been primarily caused by mankind’s CO2 emissions.  As you go through the academic literature, besides just seeing who agrees and who doesn’t, you can also look at the actual data for yourself, and read and evaluate for yourself the scientific arguments supporting this conclusion.  I think that any rational, reasonable person who looks at the evidence objectively, with an open mind, and without a prejudged mindset of unthinking (fear-fed?) denial (and who lacks an ulterior motive) would come to the same conclusion as the leading climate researchers, namely this:

 

WE ARE CAUSING GLOBAL WARMING, AND ONLY WE CAN STOP IT.