Climate Science Forum


	*Reliable News and Analysis in Climate Science*
	SUMMER 2002 Volume 1 Number 2

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From the Editors

Pity the Poor Policy Planners

As we put the finishing touches on this second issue of Climate Science Forum, we began to realize that all too few of the questions on which we report have clear answers. Sometimes the facts are contradictory; sometimes our leading scientists reach opposite conclusions about the same data. With this heated debate among the experts, how can our non-scientist legislators establish climate policies?

A few years ago, a friend of mine in Los Angeles was opening a new office and consulted a feng shui master to make sure that the office space and its furnishings arrangement would bring good fortune. Unfortunately, the venerable master concluded that everything - from the walls to the very compass direction of the office - was wrong and should be started anew. However, having put out a great deal of money on office construction that could not be recovered, my friend consulted a reportedly even greater master than the first, paid him quite a bit, and received a comforting assurance that the original space and furniture placement were absolutely perfect.

At times, a course of least resistance might certainly be best. Certainly, a cynic might suggest that, where climate change is involved, a decision-maker under stress could just as well follow the advice that seems most comfortable at the time.

Nevertheless, we have created Climate Science Forum as a means to present unvarnished issues and as clear a picture as possible of current scientific opinion, including different sides of disputed issues. History shows us that the truth is sometimes obscured by popular consensus, and the ghosts of Galileo's detractors might be embarrassed to know that the world is not really flat.

Thus, our "open" forum may present ideas from legitimate climate researchers that are out of step with prevailing scientific opinion. Until we are certain what is happening with global warming or cooling, we cannot afford to dismiss any serious theories.

Michael A. Fortune
Robert Wang

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