The last blog that we published on climate change was after the presidential debate when Chris Wallace asking if Pres. Trump could now believe in the science of climate change. I saw a quote from Bill Moyers, a Christian and journalist, who said that we should not be asking if people believe in the science of climate change but rather “do you understand the science of climate change?”*
I heard Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist, explore the whole notion of believing in science on Real Time with Bill Maher. His basic idea is that science is not a belief system. It is facts. And when the facts change science does as well.
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| Neil deGrasse Tyson on Real Time with Bill Maher |
Science is theories, facts, and a few laws that have been thoroughly examined and scientifically shown to be true. The method of science is speculation, then research, data collected, trials tested, and conclusions formatted.
Faith or belief is in things not seen. I believe - as well as many scientists - in the Divine.
There is much in science that I do not understand. I remember asking Sarah’s brother, a nuclear physicist, about electricity because it just seemed like magic to me. He patiently took the time to explain it to me and I understood. Bill is one of those scientists who also believes in the Divine. I would say that he finds science as a way to see the Divine in “the things not seen.” His faith is deep and his love of science is also deep.
I think one of the modern-day problems of science research is the money being poured into the laboratories. Too many labs and scientists are funded in order to get results. "Companies that sponsor research have an interest in producing research results that can support the development and marketing of their products or services. "
For example: a coffee company funding research tends to find results showing the benefits of coffee. A tea company funded-research tells us how good tea - not coffee - is for us. And an independent medical research team says both are horrible in excess, but a little of either is okay.
And this is the argument around climate change research… there have been scientists and labs funded by oil companies… so their research is the research that so-call climate change deniers use to continue to confuse people.
But when “the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change,” then it is long past time for us to understand the science and start working on a solution.
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| photo - https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/ |
As Desmond Tutu, South African bishop, said, "Twenty-five years ago people could be excused for not knowing much, or doing much, about climate change. Today we have no excuse."
-Kathleen
*I have tried to find this quote again, but cannot. I apologize.
