Assumptions about climate change skeptics

In his editorial in the August 2018 issue of Physics Today (page 8 ), Charles Day writes about his interaction with a climate change skeptic. Like all of us, he has made some assumptions. The most troubling of those is that the skeptic has some understanding about the nature of science.

Day writes, “I can point out that the current mean temperature is 1 °C higher now than it was in the 1950s.” Were he to make that point and then ask the skeptic what temperature indicates, he would get some insight into how shallow the skeptic’s understanding is. If he were to ask the difference between heat and temperature, Day would undoubtedly be even more dismayed.

When giving presentations to teachers and the public, I am careful to make sure the participants understand the difference between temperature and heat. I then emphasize the enormous amount of energy (heat) it takes to raise the temperature of Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and surface by just 1 °C.

I would not qualify Day’s acquaintance from the embassy as a legitimate skeptic unless that person has some basic understanding of climate science.