Fake skeptics retch at the phrase “settled science.” Well they should. They’re wretched.



They’ll try to persuade you that there’s no such thing, that even to suggest it perverts science. They want you to believe that they reject any notion of “settled science” because they are scientific purists seeking only the truth, but the real reason they object so strongly is that there’s some very real, very genuine, very settled science which is in conflict with their political, economic, and/or religious ideology. Hence they reject the very notion of settled science in the vain hope to make unreasonable doubts seem reasonable.

In fact there are a lot of things which are settled science. For example: cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. That’s settled science. If you happen to meet Murry Salby, ask him point-blank whether or not this is so. Don’t accept any answer other than “yes” or “no.” Do let us know how he responds. Be sure to note whether or not he gags.

Far too many have spent their lives denying the truth of settled science. Some denied the link between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer — in fact there used to be quite a few scientists who did so, even long after the science was settled. Some were paid to do so by the tobacco industry. Some of those same scientists went on to deny the reality of global warming. But these days, denying that little bit of settled science is too difficult to get away with — we all know that anyone who denies that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer is either a liar, and idiot, or deranged.

Here’s another bit of settled science: the increase of atmospheric CO 2 since the start of the industrial revolution is due to human activity. Not just a little of it, the vast majority of it, for all intents and purposes, all of it. That’s settled science. It’s a fact. It’s undeniable unless you are either a liar, an idiot, or deranged.

Yet many waste their time and ours denying this settled science. Like Murray Salby. And Roy Spencer. You can add Joe Bastardi to the list.

There’s a great deal about climate science that is not settled. But when people — like Murry Salby, Roy Spencer, and Joe Bastardi — seriously claim in public discourse that the increase in atmospheric CO 2 is not wholly man-made, their statements should be called what they are: bullshit.

Congratulations to Al Gore for doing it. They’re up in arms about it. They’re claiming that Al has “lost it.” That’s just more of their bullshit.