Global Warming Is Real

A couple decades ago people argued about whether tobacco and asbestos actually caused cancer. Even when the evidence began to mount, there were still scientists who would scratch their heads in public and say they just weren't sure (they were, of course, paid to say so by the tobacco and...

By Jesse Hyde

March 30, 2006

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A couple decades ago people argued about whether tobacco and asbestos actually caused cancer. Even when the evidence began to mount, there were still scientists who would scratch their heads in public and say they just weren't sure (they were, of course, paid to say so by the tobacco and asbestos companies). Tim Flannery, an Australian biologist and paleontologist, brings this up in his new book on global warming, called The Weather Makers. As in the current debate over climate change, "a nonspecialist cannot know whether the view being presented is fringe or mainstream thinking, and so we may come to believe that there is a real division in the scientific community on these matters," Flannery writes. When it comes to global warming and its causes, the debate is over, Flannery says, and the Earth is fast approaching "a global climatic tipping point." Flannery, who was recently featured on National Public Radio, will be at the Science Place, 1318 Second Ave. in Fair Park, Wednesday to talk about the book. The lecture, held in the auditorium, begins at 6:30 p.m. A $5 donation is suggested. Call 214-271-4719 or visit dallasdino.org.
Wed., April 5, 6:30 p.m.

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