- Climate Change is a perhaps an unfortunate phrase and is now politically/emotionally hijacked - the climate does change, always has, always will. It becomes a question of scale and what are the drivers.
- Climate change debate has components based on models and their predictions.
- All models are wrong but some are very useful e.g. Newton's gravity approach works really well until we get to Mercury, very useful still for our communications, science etc. although GPS needs a bit of Einstein's relativity.
- The climate is a very complicated entity that is historically essentially impossible to model to the accuracy that one would like - gave birth to aspects of Chaos Theory. The challenge of a deterministic universe versus non-deterministic.
- Assumption basis of models is important as are the actual mechanisms modelled.
- Accurate climate data for input into models can be challenge to obtain over the time frames that are desired. Leads to assumptions of extrapolation and interpretation that often occur when this arises.
- All of this contributes to the debate, the emotion and the science & pseudo science.
- Finally, climate change skeptic does not equate to an environmental ravager, to link the two goes to the emotional and political rather than the rational and as a result you get exploitation by both sides of the debate with no chance of sensible resolution.
P.S. What climate change or the views of the Christian right (or any other group) has to do with Astronomy I do not know - back to lurk for the astronomy posts.
P.P.S. Encourage everyone to take care of their environment, it is the sensible thing to do.