PaulConventionWV
Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2011
- Messages
- 16,041
it is if
1) it's an extraordinary claim
2) it's a claim which will affect policy
By the way, there's a difference between "I don't believe global warming is caused by CO2" and "I don't care if it is, I just don't want carbon taxes"
No, the burden of proof is the person making the positive claim. The people who claim that it is happening can't immediately shift the debate and demand that the deniers prove that they're wrong. They first have to prove that they're right before anyone can debunk them.
It doesn't matter if it affects policy, and no, "extraordinary claim" doesn't enter into it, at least not the way you want to use it. Some person doesn't bow down to the scientific establishment and all of a sudden denial is an "extraordinary claim"? I don't think so. Saying that CO2 is going to warm the planet into a crisis, I would say, is a pretty extraordinary claim. Let's focus on keeping the burden of proof where it is REALLY supposed to be... on the people making the positive claim, not the ones making the negative claim. Capiche?