The theory of the relivance of Joe Barton

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Okay, let’s try this out for my friends who do not believe in science.

If you stand on top of your garage (if you do not have a garage substitute something more than a story tall…it is easy to do…) Now jump.  What happens?

I’ll give you a second here.  Enough time? Right. You fall and bust your ass.  Why?  Gravity.

Have you seen gravity?  Nope?  Neither have I.  In fact neither has anyone in science. That is why it is called the theory of gravity. We know it is there. We can explain parts of it, but it is still one of those evolving mysteries for mankind to solve.

Oh there was that word.  Evolving.  Gives you the willies doesn’t it?  But stay with me. We’ve got miles to go yet.

Joe Barton, our congressman from Arlington, Texas has just proclaimed that humans have nothing to do with global warming.  (He is at last after years and years and hundreds of thousands of dollars from the hydrocarbon industries finally admitted that global change is occurring. That alone is huge.) But buddies of Joe rushed in on talk radio today to say that global warming is just a theory.  As one bright guy said, ”Like evolution. They think they can pass this off onto us like they tried evolution.”

Just listening to him reminds me how right Darwin truly was.  He is just one step out of the primordial goo. But I digress.  The viewpoint was that if it is a theory it is not good science. It is not real.  Let’s go back to your sore ass from the fall off the garage.  Not real?  Afraid not.

To say something is a theory does not conclude it is a myth. It is a theory because all of the parts of its developing laws can’t be explained or examined. We have not encountered all edges of it in our experimentations.

So your sore ass tells you that gravity is a cruel mistress. Good.  Now let it remind you that other things science and scientists deal with are also theories, but they are just as real and there is just as much evidence as to their existence. They may be still called theories because we are still gathering knowledge about their totality and how they work.

Climate change is real. We have empirical data on it.  Whether Joe Barton and his non-believers want to admit it or not. And mankind is a huge factor in the development of the gasses that are warming the earth.  Not the only reason. But one of them. An important one, too. And we play a role that could be changed.  We can’t stop volcanoes. But we can reduce and then eliminate hydrocarbons emissions into our atmosphere.  But of course, if we did that,  Joe would lose his job as a mouthpiece for the oil and gas lobby. I am assuming that…it is just a theory.