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Beyond Debate: Answers to 50 Misconceptions on Climate Change

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Beyond Debate: Answers to 50 Misconceptions on Climate Change Beyond Debate: Answers to 50 Misconceptions on Climate Change Contents Preface vii Introduction: Climate Change 101 1 Natural Change 1. Greenhouse gases don’t really trap heat. 21 2. No one really knows what prehistoric CO2 and 25 temperature were like. 3. Volcanoes are warming the earth, NOT people! 31 4. Earth’s natural cycles can explain recent warming. 24 5. Solar cycles are to blame! 36 Climate Conspiracy 6. Scientists are “in” on a climate hoax! 41 7. There’s no 97% climate consensus 44 8. Climate change is a Chinese hoax! 47 9. Climategate – What about “the emails? 51 10. “Glaciergate” proves a climate conspiracy 55 11. The IPCC is corrupt and/or misleading 58 Doubt 12. Climate change is just a “theory” 63 13. The atmosphere is huge, we can’t possibly affect it. 65 14. The scientists are wrong! 74 15. There is still “uncertainty” around climate change. 76 16. Most climate studies aren’t even about the “climate 83 science” 17. The “climate debate” means the science isn’t settled 86 18. Temperature and CO2 are within the range of natural 92 variation 19. CO2 can’t be measured with precision. 97 20. Scientists are just defending their work! 99 21. How can we predict next year’s climate when we can 104 hardly predict next week’s weather? 22. Warming is due to the urban heat island effect 110 23. Climate models don’t account for the strongest 113 greenhouse gas—water vapor! 24. Don’t you know the sun is getting brighter? 117 25. We breathe out CO2, so how bad can it be? 119 I 26. CO2 isn’t even toxic! 124 27. Extreme weather is old news and is not due to climate 129 change. Jobs & the Economy 28. Environmental regulation is bad for the economy 137 29. A carbon tax is just a way for the government to take our 141 money! 30. Green energy is killing jobs! 146 31. The Paris Climate Accord was a “bad deal” for the U.S. 150 32. Pricing carbon will hinder the free market 155 Conflicting Evidence 33. CO2 levels aren’t really increasing 163 34. What about mid-century cooling? 168 35. Paleoclimate graphs show that CO2 rises after 173 temperature rises, not before. 36. Glaciers aren’t melting, Antarctica is even gaining ice! 179 37. What about that global warming “hiatus” a few years 185 back? 38. Sea levels around Greenland and are falling! 188 39. Greenland used to be green, so the earth must be cooling. 192 40. What about the Medieval Warming Period? 195 41. We’re still emerging from the Little Ice Age 198 42. Some areas are getting colder, so where’s the global 202 warming? The Flip Side 43. More CO2 is good for plants and agriculture! 207 44. Who cares about 1-2 degrees of warming? Maybe it’s a 215 good thing! 45. Geo-engineering will save us! 221 46. Plants and animals will adapt. 228 Solutions 47. Electric cars aren’t all that green! 241 48. The public is divided on global warming 248 49. It’s too late for the climate. 255 50. I’m only one person. There’s nothing I can do. 260 Notes 283 Acknowledgments 299 Index 301 I .
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