What to say to sceptics… list of responses

I stumbled across an article at climateprogress.org that put a smile on my face. It listed all the common misconceptions and general rubbish that the ill-informed regurgitate after hearing it in the popular press and the simple responses.

The original post is available here. This post gives simple explanations of common sceptic arguments but for more information I would recommend looking at the sites in my links section or SkepticalScience.com.

Sceptic Ripostes

	Sceptic Argument	One Liner	Paragraph
1	“It’s the sun”	In the last 35 years of global warming, sun and climate have been going in opposite directions	In the last 35 years of global warming, the sun has shown a slight cooling trend. Sun and climate have been going in opposite directions.

C4′s ‘What the Green Movement Got Wrong’: A Quick Riposte

The recent documentary ‘What the Green Movement got Wrong’ by Stewart Brand was a welcome change of focus and many thought it would address the clouding of the climate issue and the problems with its framing within the media. However it appeared one sided focusing on nuclear power and GM foods and how if environmentalists hadn’t campaigned against them at the time the world would be a better place.

This short article quickly shows the counter points and corrects some of the more sensational statements made. If you haven’t seen it yet watch it here.

Opposition to GM foods caused starving in Africa

The report blamed environmentalists for starvation in Africa and energy scarcity throughout the world. “That blame is misplaced. Of all those at fault for drought and food shortage in Zambia, environmentalists rank low on the list”, Adam Werbach, former Sierra Club President. War, corruption and disease are far greater to blame and those needing to blame someone for these should focus on the bigger issues affecting the African nations.