Would you rather be proved right, or wrong?

Question

If your understanding (or lack of it) of the global warming science leads you to conclude:
a) we are doomed, or
b) we are doomed unless we act quickly
c) we might be doomed, but we have plenty of time to save ourselves
d) we are not doomed, it's all a storm in a teacup
e) we are not doomed and those who say we are will doom us if they get their way.

Which conclusion do you think sums up your attitude?
If you are proved wrong, would you be happy or sad about it?

I'll add my hypothesis about the results when I select a best answer.

Answer 1

B, we are doomed unless we act quickly. Of course I would rather be wrong, Its not an ego thing , its just my assessment,based on the information available to me.

I would much rather be wrong, since I doubt mankind has the insight or motivation to change the course we're on. We are a shallow lot and seem to choose big business and money over health and quality of life. Sigh.................

Answer 2

There are at least two reasons I think your question is badly stated.



First, we're not "doomed". Life will go on for the vast majority of us. It just will be hard and we'll be a lot poorer. Some poor people (not all) will die of starvation.



Second, it's a phony choice. It's like this. Suppose a friend of mine is going to jump off a cliff, insisting that a miracle will save him. If he jumps, do I want a miracle to save him? Sure. Is it going to happen?



The data on global warming is overwhelming.



"I wasn’t convinced by a person or any interest group—it was the data that got me. I was utterly convinced of this connection between the burning of fossil fuels and climate change. And I was convinced that if we didn’t do something about this, we would be in deep trouble.”



Vice Admiral Richard H. Truly, USN (Ret.)

Former NASA Administrator, Shuttle Astronaut and the first Commander of the Naval Space Command



Even the most unlikely people are coming to see that.



"Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich challenged fellow conservatives to stop resisting scientific evidence of global warming"



http://www.newt.org/backpage.asp?art=4331



There's a lot less controversy about this is the real world than there is on Yahoo answers:



http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/329.php?nid=&id=&pnt=329&lb=hmpg1



And vastly less controversy in the scientific community than you might guess from the few skeptics talked about here:



http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5702/1686 and:



"There's a better scientific consensus on this [climate change] than on any issue I know - except maybe Newton's second law of dynamics. Global warming is almost a no-brainer at this point,You really can't find intelligent, quantitative arguments to make it go away."



Dr. Jerry Mahlman, NOAA



Stphen k said much the same thing in his short but great answer, which nicely modified your question.

Answer 3

I don't think we're doomed in the sense that we're all going to die but large numbers of people, especially in Africa and Asia, are already been affected by the consequences of global warming. In future many more people will have to adapt.



Some people are doomed and the World Health Organisation has published a report indicating that the effects of global warming are claiming one life every three minutes and that within in 20 years this number is set to double.



I've done a lot of research myself into global warming, global cooling, climate change etc and would be delighted if my findings are proved to be wrong. Unfortunately, my conclusions have largely come to fruition and although it would be good, I don't think the future predictions will be proved wrong either.



As for which conclusion sums up my attitude - I'd have to say f) - some people are doomed, most will be affected, we have some time to act, we can mitigate most of the consequences.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, I lean toward a.



I dearly hope I'm proved wrong.



I've watched this "debate" grow for at least the past twenty years.



In the public mind, global warming has become the equivalent of a religious debate, with some groups looking at scientific evidence and saying, "Look at this! We've gotta do something," while others say, "Aw, its nothing, the earth's climate has always changed, we didn't cause it," or worse, "Ahh, it's all a bunch of crap to scare us into electing somebody."



How sad.



The same division no longer exists among scientists, except for the few who prefer to ignore the evidence and stick to their non-global-warming religion.



We've seen how easy it is to change people's deeply held beliefs.



Since our political policies are determined more by public opinion and short-term economic interests than by what might be best for everyone, I'm pessimistic about our ability to correct the damage done, before the surface temperature of the Earth exceeds that of Mars.

Answer 5

Since you asked, I think the correct choice would be "b) we are doomed unless we act quickly".

For some of us it is already too late. Katrina was a result of global warming and she was only one example, we can expect far worse.

The current droughts, floods, forest fires and tornadoes, being suffered by the US are the thing of the future and they will get worse, ranging further afield and destroying lives and livelihoods, worldwide.

Answer 6

D is my answer at the moment on how I feel about the current global warming debate.



However, if it was undoubtedly proved one way or another, I would accept the outcome. Just now there are too many loose ends and rash conclusions to believe the hype.

Answer 7

we can't guarantee our existence on this planet no matter what we do ,the sun,the planet itself or outside influence can brush us aside. having said that,it is our duty to respect what we have and continue to take our heads out of the sand and act on the obvious, we need to harness the waves and winds energy big time ,re use what we are getting as waste as much as possible and a big issue is drinking water

Answer 8

I would rather be proven wrong, that I was over-reacting, than I was proven right and we are all doomed