Dinner party guide to the climate change debate
Before you get sucked into a vortex of dissent for your views about climate change over wine and victuals, read this to disperse the clouds shrouding the issue.
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IT WAS not long ago when the rule for polite conversation at dinner parties was to avoid religion or politics. If one could not find a neutral topic, then the suggestion was to "talk about the weather". Alas, this is no longer applicable, as the weather - like politics and religion - has become a controversial topic. Indeed, any freak or extreme weather event is almost invariably accompanied by a knowing nod and reference to climate change.
Belief in global warming has itself become a quasi-religion, and one is faced with the obvious choice between enlightened affirmation or "anti-science" denial. For those not willing to be bound by this binary straitjacket, here is a list of reasonable positions to hold in any dinner party or social gathering of moderately well-informed people. Consider it as your passport to intelligent polite conversation while remaining true to a fair reading of a difficult and complex problem.
"97% cannot be wrong"
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