originally published August 16, 2007 by Chris C. Mooney
So: Whenever I have a new book out--or an old one out in paperback--I tend to do a lot of radio shows. And as a result, I've noticed a particular phenomenon that has started to get on my nerves a bit: Some hosts like to throw open the telephone lines, and whenever they do, you suddenly get a huge flood of callers who doubt human induced global warming and spout wild contrarian claims like the following (all of which I heard on the Jim Bohannon Show last night):
1. It's warming on other planets too, so isn't it something about the sun? 2. Sea level has been rising for 6,000/8,000 years. 3. Mt. Pinatubo's eruption put more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than anything human activities can do. 4. Carbon dioxide is just a small fraction of the total greenhouse effect; ...
