The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change
“There is a scientific consensus on the reality of anthropogenic climate change”, writes Dr. Naomi Oreskes, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Science Studies Program at Universtiy of California at San Diego in this week’s issue of Science magazine.
Dr. Oreskes writes: “The scientific consensus might, of course, be wrong. If the history of science teaches anything, it is humility, and no one can be faulted for failing to act on what is not known. But our grandchildren will surely blame us if they find that we understood the reality of anthropogenic climate change and failed to do anything about it.”
She writes further: “Many details about climate interactions are not well understood, and there are ample grounds for continued research to provide a better basis for understanding climate dynamics. The question of what to do about climate change is also still open. But there is a scientific consensus on the reality of anthropogenic climate change. Climate scientists have repeatedly tried to make this clear. It is time for the rest of us to listen.”