Skeptical Science iPhone App: Overcoming Global Warming Deniers

We’ve all been out at the pub getting a seasonal pint, or down at the deli getting a tea and some salad, when you overhear someone next to you say, “I don’t know, I just don’t think that global warming thing is real. At least, it’s not our fault…” Or maybe it’s the friend you’re sitting with. Or maybe it’s someone in your family. Do you ever wish you had some science on hand that applied to their specific argument? Now you do. For all of us green geeks who are passionate about both environmental issues and new technology, there is the Skeptical Science iPhone app– a resource full of peer-reviewed science for nearly every skeptic’s argument.

“I, for one, genuinely wish that the climate crisis were an illusion. But unfortunately, the reality of the danger we are courting has not been changed by the discovery of at least two mistakes… [in IPCC reports],” wrote Al Gore in a New York Times op-ed. Well, Mr. Gore, it’s time you download Skeptical Science.

The app lists around 100 of the most common arguments that climate change/ global warming skeptics or deniers will use to argue against climate change or global warming. Skeptical Science founder John Cook uses his Skeptical Science blog to address what he sees as a pattern of global warming skeptics focusing on narrow arguments in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence.

The app divides the arguments into three categories:

1. It’s not happening.
2. It’s not us.
3. It’s not bad.

Inside each category is a list of arguments you hear all the time, like “It’s the sun,” or “The climate’s changed before,” “There is no consensus,” or even the recent snowstorms on the east coast. And then there’s my personal favorite: “It’s all a liberal plot to spread socialism and destroy capitalism.” What Cook does very well is list arguments from global warming skeptics and find the appropriate peer-reviewed science that addresses that specific argument. You tap the argument and find information, charts, and citations with the science. Right there on your iPhone. Read more about the app or download it at Skeptical Science.

Next time you’re at the pub and somebody does the “I don’t know…I just don’t think global warming is real…” at the pub, pat your pocket to make sure you’ve got your iPhone and then say: “How about we bet a pint on it…”