These idiots can’t take no for an answer, so they string dozens of incoherent thoughts together in hopes of baffling their audience.
The future of human life depends on how we respond to the risks of climate change. How we respond to those risks depends on how well the general public understands the messy world of real science.
……………….
Because of that, NOAA says it would be problematic to claim the recent spate of tornadoes in the Southeast were caused by climate change. But that’s not the same as saying tornadoes can’t be caused by climate change. It’s not the same thing as saying that climate change isn’t a contributing factor. Or that tornadoes won’t be caused by climate change in the future. It’s not even the same as saying that, years from now, with better data and technology, we won’t look back and see a trend happening that isn’t obvious today. NOAA’s assessment is based on indirect evidence focused on one area of one country. The big question–Are tornadoes caused by climate change?–is made up of lots of little questions. And we don’t know all the answers to the little questions yet. This is still good science. We still have enough information to say something about how the world works. But that statement comes with a lot of caveats.
It’s not really just a “yes” or “no” answer. It doesn’t follow party lines. And it doesn’t tell us what we should expect in the future.
This is scientific uncertainty–where the things we know and the things we don’t know collide, and we are left to figure out how to use what we have to make decisions anyway. If we want people to understand science, we can’t just give them facts to memorize. Scientific literacy isn’t about being able to win a game of quiz bowl. It’s about understanding how science works, and how science can be used to guide human decision-making. It’s about knowing that we don’t have all the answers. But it’s also about knowing that “we don’t have all the answers” isn’t the same thing as “we don’t know anything.” If we pump people full of facts, but don’t teach them about uncertainty, then we can’t be surprised when they dismiss anything that isn’t 100% certain.
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/05/27/tornadoes-climate-ch.html