Tired of climate change sceptics? There's an app for that.
- 19 February, 2010 11:58
- Comments (7)
An Australian scientist has created an iPhone application to help debunk climate change sceptics' theories.
The free app, called Skeptical Science, provides users with an attributed scientific response to 100 common sceptic arguments listed in three categories. It then logs the event to build a socio-geographic map of sceptic hotspots.
For instance to the argument "It's just a natural cycle", the app displays the response “the 1500 year cycles, known as Dansgaard-Oeschger events, are localized to the northern hemisphere and accompanied with cooling in the southern hemisphere. In contrast, current global warming is occurring in both hemispheres and particularly throughout the world's oceans, indicating a significant energy imbalance”.
Information is fed from skepticalscience.com, a climate change website of peer-reviewed data maintained by solar physicist John Cook, who commissioned a Melbourne company to design the app.
It has already ruffled the feathers of members of climaterealists.com since its launch early this week. A post on the site says:
“A WARNING! There is an iphone app trying to put down what we have to say under the heading of ‘Skeptical Science’.
We need as many of you as possible to promote that this iPhone app is yet another attempt to discredit ‘Climate Realists’.
We can only hope the general public can see through this as a cheap trick to prop up the FAILED SCIENCE OF MAN MADE CLIMATE CHANGE.”
The designer of Skeptical Science is considering releasing an Android version and adding functionality for Facebook and Twitter.
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Comments
anonymous
Fine, but how about an app for the realists who want to hear it like it is, without all the career boosting hyperbole?
Perhaps it could have an amusing sidebar titled Exaggeration of the Day, including a permanent spot for UEA and Al Gore fantasies.
anonymous
It's because of people like you, I am ashamed to be apart of the human race. Wake up to yourself.
jon
There are extremists on both sides, how about a truly independent app that acknowledges some things arent that bad or that some are just theories and we just dont know......
Evan
Maybe some of the skeptics should actually read the data rather than burying there heads in the sand. Unfortunately it is easier to just ignor facts hoping that maybe everybody who has actually studied them is wrong. Alas common sence isn't very common.
anonymous
Interesting that both the warmists who posted here appear to be completely ignorant of basic language skills.
And then they try to maintain the high moral and "scientific" position that their personal beliefs are inviolable and must be accepted by everybody else.
It seems Jon above is right on the money with his proposal, but he will probably get shouted down by the "scientific" warmists because he is inferring that there might be some doubt about the sillier fantasies they unquestioningly support.
sickandtired
I have read about 20 books on global warming and tead thousands of skeptic comments. I just love the fact that in 50 years time, true skeptics will be sitting head in hands unable to comprehend why they went wrong, while industry skeptics will bluster and deny evidence that is undeniable fact. Oh such fun. Good on ya scientists. Keep at it.
D Newman
Both sides of the 'debate' have the King Canute syndrome, just looking at coast line geo will show you that.
We are speeding up change, not causing change the end result is the same, just quicker and no amount of Hybrid cars and twisty light bulbs is going to alter the end result.
For a local example to me, Perth used to be underwater, with seas going right up to the hills, but at the same time, the sea also used to be a km,s further off the currant coastline, as shown by the old swan river course still trackable under water for a good few miles.
Now for both cases i,m pretty damn sure I wasnt running a coal fired power station at the time.
The planets past in geo records clearly shows these trends, and I can safely say Perth will end up underwater again at some point,(should Perth exsist for 200,000 years, nothing changes in WA so it often feels 200,000 years old), and also at some point be a city many many miles away from the sea again, the speed in which this occurs is the real point.
Lets say we all eat grass, after taking anti wind tablets of course(methane), cycle every where and when it goes dark go to sleep(no lights), and we all sit there smug and bored, and then 3 large volcanoes erupt, and everyone is told thats 10 years worth of work reversed, man to have a camera for those face shots.
Being peddled fear and guilt is fine if it motivates a course of action that will change the end result, not just slow something down, the more pressing concerns should be how do we all fit in to a shrinking land mass and feed ourselves, in 200 years time.....Oh hang on thats outside of a 4 year political cycle planning window.
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