Climate change is a national security issue, "a threat multiplier in already fragile regions, exacerbating conditions that lead to failed states — the breeding grounds for extremism and terrorism."
The longer we delay action, the more wrenching the transition will need to be - and the less likely we are to avoid the worst-case climate impacts.
Buying green and changing personal behavior won't save the planet.
Imagery and data:
Yes, the earth is warming.
(a mountain of evidence and infographics)
It's happening now, we're causing it, and if we just hide our heads in the sand, things could get very bad - Katharine Hayhoe presentation (~25pp pdf, images and graphs) to Republicans for Environmental Protection
Economists weigh in on actions to take:
Read Building a Green Economy (aka Climate Economics 101; read this. Please.) from Paul Krugman.
("... [in summary] We know how to limit greenhouse-gas emissions. We have a good sense of the costs - and they’re manageable. All we need now is the political will.")
Surprise—Economists Agree!
A consensus is emerging about the costs of containing climate change.
There is general consensus among economists and policy analysts that [putting a price on] CO2 emissions ... should be a central element of any domestic climate policy."
"Action on climate is justified, not because the science is certain, but precisely because it is not."
- The Economist - Spin, science and climate change
Consensus that it's human caused:
Man-graph image illustrating the consensus among climate scientists
Doubting climate scientists "remain a group small enough to fit into a typical American home bathroom."
Long list of organizations and their statements regarding the climate consensus
If you're a doubter...
Compare standard doubter's claims against what the science says, at skepticalscience.com
(with iPhone app)
Could you be wrong? Would you really bet your children's security that you're not?
Beware of confirmation bias. Beware of the Dunning-Kruger effect.
"If you're only learning from deviant views, you're probably going to be misled"; so take a college climate science course (videos) or see high school science teacher Greg Craven's YouTube videos.
The disinformation effort:
Most "skeptics" aren't, really. Real skeptics "seek answers and scrutinize arguments before accepting the current state of scientific knowledge as fact. [Fake skeptics] dismiss sound arguments, solid data, and experimental evidence in favour of propositions that have long been shown to be flawed."
(What, If Anything, Can [real] Skeptics Say About Science? "Most of us are laymen who don’t have the professional experience and analytical skills to properly evaluate the data and the methods. To pretend we do (or to reject it on a hunch) separates us from the very scientific enterprise we [real] skeptics purport to value.")
Book in press exposing the climate disinformation effort:
Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming, by UCSD's Oreskes and Conway
(video)
For countering disinformation, try the UCSD Scripps climate FAQ or John Cook's SkepticalScience site
