We went to the gym this morning, where we try to go at least
three times a week, to move and improve our mature selves. And there we encountered an acquaintance, a
basically lovely individual who joins us in supporting our local library, who
lives in an area where some of our dearest friends live. And the weather having been the topic of
news, concern, interest, all that, for several weeks now, and the day being
damp and chilly, the subject of it being damp and chilly came inevitably
up. And to the comment by our
acquaintance that it is damp and chilly, of course I replied that at least it
was nothing as bad as in most of the rest of the country today, what with
record snows and record cold and most areas being brought to a standstill, but
here being only damp and chilly. And she
replied to me that the cold and snow and ice certainly meant “so much for
global warming,” as if changes to our planet were being refuted. We could only chuckle noncommittally as we
walked off, but the entire encounter, while I was continuing my exertions, left
me with lots of questions.
So here are some of the questions that popped into my mind
that I would like to direct to all the scoffers of global warming: Have they never used a thermometer to check
for fever? Have they never turned a
pancake over on a griddle? Have they
never watched TV or used a phone or driven an automobile or just ridden in an
automobile? Oh, my, the list is very
long. And yet each one of these events,
plus just about everything in modern human life, deals with science. With agricultural science, with
meteorological science, with medical science, with engineering science, with
electrical science – that list is even longer than my question list. So why is
it that a huge number of fellow humans on this planet blithely accept all of
the inventions and tools that seem to just fall into our little paws without
questioning sources, and yet would prefer to believe, rather than scientists,
the people who make so much wealth from ignoring science, the owners of coal
mines, the owners of natural gas and oil producing companies, the owners of
manufacturers whose products fill our air with measurable solids that we
actually breathe, all those who spend huge amounts of money to push the denial
of science?
But I know it will do no good to ask my questions. It will only offend the folks who are already
dedicated to ignoring scientists and ignoring facts that we are presented with
on just about every newscast. But why? Some of it is fear and frustration because of
a sense of helplessness. Some of it is,
of course, the refusal of listening, observing and forming conclusions rather
than just accepting the naysayers. And
some of it, perhaps, is indifference, the saddest thing of all.
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