{"id":16674,"date":"2014-01-17T18:17:20","date_gmt":"2014-01-17T23:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/?p=16674"},"modified":"2014-01-17T23:25:23","modified_gmt":"2014-01-18T04:25:23","slug":"if-you-see-something-say-something","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/archives\/2014\/01\/if-you-see-something-say-something\/","title":{"rendered":"If You See Something, Say Something"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Gavin provided a thoughtful commentary<\/a> about the role of scientists as advocates in his RealClimate piece a few weeks ago. <\/p>\n

I have weighed in with my own views on the matter in my op-ed today<\/a> in this Sunday’s New York Times<\/em>. And, as with Gavin, my own views have been greatly influenced and shaped by our sadly departed friend and colleague, Stephen Schneider. Those who were familiar with Steve will recognize his spirit and legacy in my commentary. A few excerpts are provided below:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nTHE overwhelming consensus among climate scientists is that human-caused climate change is happening. Yet a fringe minority of our populace clings to an irrational rejection of well-established science. This virulent strain of anti-science infects the halls of Congress, the pages of leading newspapers and what we see on TV, leading to the appearance of a debate where none should exist.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\n.<\/p>\n

\nMy colleague Stephen Schneider of Stanford University, who died in 2010, used to say that being a scientist-advocate is not an oxymoron. Just because we are scientists does not mean that we should check our citizenship at the door of a public meeting, he would explain. The New Republic once called him a \u201cscientific pugilist\u201d for advocating a forceful approach to global warming. But fighting for scientific truth and an informed debate is nothing to apologize for.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\n.<\/p>\n

\nOur Department of Homeland Security has urged citizens to report anything dangerous they witness: \u201cIf you see something, say something.\u201d We scientists are citizens, too, and, in climate change, we see a clear and present danger. The public is beginning to see the danger, too \u2014 Midwestern farmers struggling with drought, more damaging wildfires out West, and withering, record, summer heat across the country, while wondering about possible linkages between rapid Arctic warming and strange weather patterns, like the recent outbreak of Arctic air across much of the United States.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\n.<\/p>\n

The piece ends on this note:<\/p>\n

\nHow will history judge us if we watch the threat unfold before our eyes, but fail to communicate the urgency of acting to avert potential disaster? How would I explain to the future children of my 8-year-old daughter that their grandfather saw the threat, but didn\u2019t speak up in time?<\/p>\n

Those are the stakes.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I would encourage interested readers to read the commentary<\/a> in full at the New York Times<\/em> website. <\/p>\n

Constructive contributions are welcome in the comment section below :-)<\/p>\n\n<\/div> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gavin provided a thoughtful commentary about the role of scientists as advocates in his RealClimate piece a few weeks ago. I have weighed in with my own views on the matter in my op-ed today in this Sunday’s New York Times. And, as with Gavin, my own views have been greatly influenced and shaped by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16674","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-climate-science","7":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16674"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16729,"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16674\/revisions\/16729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}