A School for Skeptics

Just a few days ago, several of us were talking about an endangered species: the climate-change skeptic. By now, most Americans accept that global warming is a problem, and that humans are the cause of it. But what about the minority? Many of them are sincere in their doubts and, in a way, it's hard to blame them. Perhaps some of the people who remain the most skeptical are the same ones who would feel the gravity of the situation most keenly if they had to accept it.

But those of us who do think that global warming is a serious problem that needs to be addressed before it's too late could use the help of those skeptics. And if we can't convert them (and, let's face it, a certain percentage will never budge), it would be nice to at least counter them with the facts. What we need, we figured, is a list of answers to climate-skeptic canards like "The Medieval Warm Period." Before we could get around to putting one together, though, the BBC did it for us.

Sample:

"As the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) puts it: 'The idea of a global or hemispheric Mediaeval Warm Period that was warmer than today has turned out to be incorrect.'"