RVAmeche, this is always a touchy subject. Many use unreliable sources for their information. I stopped debating because it's too time consuming and it's useless.
I used to be on the far right but am there no longer. Growth, I suppose. About 4 years ago, I finally decided to listen to the scientists and engineers doing the research and publishing their research. YouTube is a great resource for this endeavor. I read reports, looked at some of the data, looked at the math they used, etc. It was quite a lesson and eye-opening, i.e., my opinions were changed. There are standards for climate scientists for education, doing climate research, and publishing, consistently, their climate research. If people putting forth their opinions about climate science don't meet the criteria, I don't bother with them. I'd prefer having a more informed opinion than an uninformed one. The only way to get informed is to listen to the people doing the research and consistently publishing it.
I also know some of the climate scientists and have a good deal of respect for them and their work. They're trying to put together projects on shoe string budgets. For those that think climate scientists are all about money and the power money brings, that isn't true from my observations. They also understand the importance of being right and wrong. They get it in ways we do not.
I also used to believe the Bible but I don't any longer. I learned too much about microbiology because of Lyme disease to believe the Bible. And, there are flat earthers in pockets of the country you wouldn't expect due to education and affluence. There seems to be something about the Bible and unquestionably believing it that leads to flat earthism. A fellow engineer said gullibility is a problem peculiar to the USA and has roots in the early settlers, who came here for religious freedom. Does that mean it's genetic? I don't know and don't remember if he read that in his travels or not.
The Central Chapter of NSPE-CO is having a program tonight on climate science modeling. Colorado used to have plenty of permafrost for Kevin Schaefer to study. He now has to study it in Alaska because we don't have it now. I thought more would be interested but they are not. Last year, we had a Ph.D. chemist present on the chemistry of climate science, which was also not well attended. I don't have any feel for why but there is no interest. I guess things will have to get really bad for anyone to really understand the changes coming and the significance of those changes and to become curious enough to start listening to the people doing the research. It may well be the same principle at work here as it is with flat earthism and we "didn't put man on the moon" thinking.
When people start talking conspiracy theory stuff, with climate science, politics, money, etc., I just walk away, if I can. If I can't, I listen without engaging. I have childhood friends, and others, that believe outrageous stuff but it seems perfectly normal to them. They don't bother to fact check and it's really easy to do with history dating back to the Civil War. Laziness, lack of interest, belief that they're right, etc. could all be possibilities for not checking their sources. But they do not see themselves as part of the problems we have. They see themselves as part of the solution even though they believe lies. They can dig up more false information to refute than I have time or interest to deal with. They either get curious about truth on their own and listen to the people doing the work or they don't. I'm not in charge of anything including what they think, consume, decide, etc. I can barely do those things in my own life. ;-)
An educator I consider a friend wrote that she's glad she wasn't trained on the math the climate scientists use. That was in response to my statement that I recognize the math because I was trained in it. I've used it but for controls problems not climate science. I thought her response was ignorant and petty. But, she's welcome to her thoughts. But this is the attitude some have that are educating our youngsters.
As an EE, I am not trained to do climate research and my experience doesn't lend itself to doing it either. If I want them to trust me, I need to trust them. Trust is a fundamental aspect of human relationships. Sadly, we have too little of that these days. We're all "experts" even though we really are not.
I was taught in HS to vet my sources. The teachers didn't want to read reports based upon charlatans or unreliable sources. They taught us how to vet sources. That requirement continued in college. Sadly we do too little of that today and the internet makes it easy to find false information.
Keep up the good work!
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
NSPE-CO, Central Chapter
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