General

Everything you’ve always wanted to know about climate change (but were afraid to ask)

Ok, maybe not everything, but the five most essential facts

The climate change debate is often anything but civil. That fact has become especially clear since emails stolen from Climatic Research Unit scientists were leaked on the Internet earlier this month. In an effort to bridge the knowledge gap between scientists and laypeople, science/tech website Ars Technica brings us the five facts everyone can (or should) agree upon when discussing the oh-so-sensitive issue: (1) adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere warms things up; (2) the acceptance of the greenhouse gas effect is “deeply engrained” in scientific circles; (3) the sheer number of variables that come into play when measuring the extent of climate changes leaves “plenty of room for scientific disagreements”; (4) climate and weather are entirely different things; and (5) “the best piece of advice one can have when attempting to engage with climate science is simply to recognize scientific data and reasoning.”

Ars Technica

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