Remember when you first heard about that big hole in the ozone? Remember how they called it “the ozone hole”? Man, life was good then.
Raise your hand if you’re sure … what you’re talking about.
Now everyone’s talking about global warming. Or, actually, climate change. Or … uh … anthropogenic forcing?
What we’ve got, to most people’s ears, is global gibberish. This scientific lingo isn’t just confusing the way, say, particle physics is confusing. It’s also politicized beyond belief. Industry groups, politicians, scientists, and activists battle over terminology, wresting phrases from each other left and right. Onlookers are left scratching their heads: is this science, or mud wrestling?
As the rhetorical stew thickens, it gets harder to keep track of the relevant words and phrases. So I’ve prepared this handy guide to some of the more confusing, contentious, and complicated terminology.
Global Warming or Climate Change?Back in the 1890s, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius was the first to theorize that the industrial revolution would one day... Read more
