The Science of Climate Change and the Changing Climate of Science – Philip Taylor

Date: Thu. September 10th, 2015, 4:15 pm-5:15 pm
Location: Rockefeller 301

Isn’t science supposed to be a field of study in which everybody eventually agrees on what is correct and what is mistaken? Yes, it is, but do we agree on how long it will be before “eventually” happens, especially when $5,000,000,000,000 per annum depends on whose science is correct? Probably not. The American Physical Society is laboring mightily on a new version of its 2007 Climate Change Statement, but seems likely to give birth to a mouse. How did it happen that both Pope Francis (“Obstructionist attitudes, even on the part of believers, can range from denial of the problem to indifference”) and Islamic leaders (“The present climate change catastrophe is a result of the human disruption of this balance”) seem to have a better grasp of the problem than our beloved APS? Be amazed!

The American Physical Society is laboring mightily on a new version of its 2007 Climate Change Statement, but seems likely to give birth to a mouse. How did it happen that both Pope Francis (“Obstructionist attitudes, even on the part of believers, can range from denial of the problem to indifference”) and Islamic leaders (“The present climate change catastrophe is a result of the human disruption of this balance”) seem to have a better grasp of the problem than our beloved APS? Be amazed!