A discussion with a right wing climate denier [View all]

[UtahJosh]

I'm wondering if I could get some info here on a few issues that a climate denier friend of mine has been trying to put forth which seem ridiculous to me, but I don't have the expertise to refute (I'd be interested in anyone pointing me to any websites and/or scientific papers that might help).

First off, he claimed that the thousands of peer reviewed papers regarding climate change were "pop science", amounting to a conspiracy of like-minded, politically influenced dittoheads out to fool us. He also called the 97% "mob science". He further claimed "whatever the majority agrees on must be the truth and whoever disagrees should be shunned and told to stop burying their heads in the sand, right? For every modern scientific "agreement" you can find an historical agreement to the contrary. Science is, especially these days, severely biased and in collusion with politics and government."

He further argued that peer review is unrelated to the scientific method (I have to admit I claimed that the peer review was *part* of the process using the scientific method, so I guess I gave the guy an opening in this case).

I'd like to see some info on the importance of the scientific method in reaching consensus on these matters, unless I'm wrong, in which case I'll concede the point (I'm certainly happy do so if I'm wrong or off-base on this).

Thanks in advance for any info/links/sources that might enlighten me on this issue, so that *maybe* I can enlighten my friend.