As promised before I got sidetracked with my lightning hit from last week, I now provide another installment on climate change…specifically a warning concerning learning about climate change. The reason is simple: there is a multitude of information out there, and not all of it is legit.
The widespread use of computers and the internet means that anyone can have thoughts and ideas aired around the world with a click of a mouse. Overall, this has been a great development and is a testament to the power of free speech, but it also means we all need to have “the filter” on; we have to be more careful in differentiating between fact and fiction.
There are plenty of opinions out there concerning climate change and other aspects of weather and why they happen…some ideas good, others not so much. And it’s ALL out there in cyberspace for everyone to see. In fact, there is little to stop someone from creating a website, call themselves an “expert”, and tell us the sky is green; all it takes are a couple of people to believe the credentials to make the idea “valid”.
I have seen this pop up in “letters to the editor” sections of newspapers. While many writers give very thoughtful and intelligent opinions, others are reduced to rants based on a few talking points they have picked up. Quite often, we will be told by these writers that we can “look it up on the internet”, but in many cases the “validation” for these opinions arrive from very questionable sources. This serves to perpetuate myths, whether the subject is climate change or anything else.
Always be sure to take a little time to educate yourself on issues that you find important, and don’t necessarily believe everything you read…make sure you are listening to the real experts: climate scientists who study this stuff for a living. As mentioned in a previous blog, this is something the broadcast meteorology community, as a whole, needs to do to better answer your questions on climate change.
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