The purpose of this forum (Read this first!)

[BaerbelW]

If you've read Greg's book and you think that there are better bellwethers than James Hansen, post about them in this forum.

It would be most effective if you first give criteria by which you think the quality of a bellwether should be measured. Then explain how your proposed candidate and Hansen (or others) stack up within those criteria. (Just like Greg established “Credibility Factors” before looking at different sources.) For the title of your post, please use the name of your proposed bellwether.


Generally applicable reminders:

Try to keep in mind that people are here -- at this particular site -- because they’re tired of the shouting match. We may not all agree, but we want a new way to go about discussing that disagreement. A more civil way. A more reasoned way. A way with some shared tools and vocabulary, so that we can hear each other, and together try to get closer to the best bet, i.e. the closest fit to the physical reality of this Lifeboat Earth we all find ourselves on together.

Some things to gently but persistently remind yourself of:

• You are not here to convince others of your viewpoint, but to try to bring your own viewpoint closer to physical reality, to the best bet for what (if anything) we should do.
• Use the checklist of Red Flags for yourself. Politely remind others to do the same.
• If you find yourself debating with someone, and one or both of you seem to keep saying the same thing again and again, try to each indicate that you are listening to the other. You can do this by simply saying “I hear that you think/are concerned with/consider _______” and put their viewpoint into your own words, in a way that you think they will agree with. Ask the same of them.
• If a term or concept starts to become a sticking point in a discussion, using brief operational definitions and asking others to do so will help a lot.
• If you “flame” or “troll”, you may be ignored, or even asked to leave. There is a whole web out there for you to practice those skills on. Let’s try to keep this site as a solace from the shouting match as we discuss and disagree. Sort of like the quote “Peace is not freedom from the storm, but equanimity within it.”