"Global Warming" or "Climate Change"?

[Patiod]

Dear folks who understand this issue better than I do:

I usually use the phrase "climate change" instead of "global warming", only because the way I understand it, not everywhere will experience warming - some areas are in for more rain & storms, and maybe even cooling, especially if the Gulf Stream gets screwed up - it could make places like Ireland, which are warmed by the Gulf Stream, colder. Although overall, most of the globe will be warmer.

Now, I find out that wingnuts are calling it "climate change" (hey, at least they've finally acknowledged that SOMETHING is going on)

Which term is correct, or more clear & accurate? Why has "climate change" become the conservative way to discuss it?

[kenny blankenship]

1. What's the matter? Aren't you libruls always telling us that "Change is Good"?

Now all of a sudden change is bad somehow. I guess you just make it up as you go along.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. The globe is going to warm.

So I don't have a problem calling it global warming.

"climate change" is conservative marketing.

[Caoimhe]

3. Climate change is easier for dipshits to understand

because for some reason, the uneducated can't get past the fact that overall global warming isn't disproved by cold localized weather. Only an idiot will say "Hell it's 10 below, Cletus, so much for global warming! hyuck hyuck" but it's true, there are a lot of idiots. The simpler you make it for their wee brains to wrap around, the better.

[Patiod]

10. That's exactly why I stopped calling it Global Warming

and changed over to climate change! Just trying to figure out if there's something wrong with that -- why is it conservative marketing?
(not arguing, just want to understand).

[depakid]

15. This is very true

There are a couple of people like this on a board I run. They'll say things like that all the time because they're unable to wrap their minds around the larger issues. Remember, 100 is the mean IQ, which means about 150 million Americans fall below the mean- and get fed non-sense all he time by the corporate media.

[RufusTFirefly]

16. What Caoimhe said

Although the euphemism is a product of Frank Luntz, the wingnut wordsmith who brought us "Clear skies," "Healthy forests," and the "Death tax," I think in this particular instance the Luntz prescribed expression actually works in our favor because it's easier for the "morans" to understand.

Most people aren't suitably impressed when you tell them that the Earth's average temperature will be increasing by several degrees Celsius (in fact, most Americans don't even understand Celsius), but if you ask "Have you noticed how strange the weather's been lately?" they get it.

[Raksha]

20. Gawd, the wingnuts on another board are ALWAYS doing that

every time there's a snowstorm or a cold spell anywhere in the country. Like when our citrus crops here in So. Calif. froze during a cold spell a few weeks ago. "So much for global warming, yuk-yuk-yuk..." What a bunch of ignorant knuckle-draggers.

[hogwyld]

4. For me, it's all the same

Global Warming = Climate Change = Mankind screwed

[porphyrian]

5. "Climate change" is a eupemism, but still accurate.

Frankly, I don't give a shit what we call it, as long we do something about it. Now.

[Subdivisions]

6. Same thing. n/t

[orpupilofnature57]

7. El ya no

[ClassWarrior]

8. Climate crisis.

Both the other two are too mild and inaccurate, in my view.

NGU.

[Patiod]

13. You know, I think that's the answer I was looking for

Climate crisis.

Emphasizes how important it is, but doesn't confuze folks who say "if there's global warming, why is it snowing in LA?"

[Deep13]

9. "global warming"

"climate change" is a Bushism to make it sound more vague and less threatening. On the whole the Earth is warming. That does two things of consequentce that I know about. First, the higher temperature means less ice and permafrost. (Higher sea levels, less reflectivity and more greenhouse methane) Second, the added kinetic energy in the air (temperature is molecules in motion) means more violent weather and significant chances to weather and climate everywhere. Consequently, changes in prevailing winds can push arctic air further south (in the N hemisphere) and make it colder locally.

[cool user name]

11. Climate Change ...

So that the simpletons will understand that not every place gets warmer; some actually get colder.

[goodhue]

12. the globe is literally warming cauing the climate to change

[Homer12]

14. Mechanism

Global warming or cooling is a driving factor or mechanism in climate change. A symptom you could say of the temperature rise.

Explain the earth as a machine and system, like you would a car, in some sense.

The earth ecosystems and local climates react and change to rise in global temperatures, and then to the changes in other ecosystems and local climates. For instance if the Gulf stream changes course or stops (due to a warming atlantic ocean), the local climate in Englad would become much colder since the warm gulf water that keeps English weather mild (i.e. The gulf stream acts as a buffer to the colder nothern temps), England would become more like Wisconsin climaticaly than what it is now.

They are both conected, and if you want to get more complex, climate change can facilitate in inscrese global temperature rise (i.e. You could have a warm ocean current change direction into a cold climate that stores water as ice, the ice melts, releasing pressure on crust pushing down the magma, and the earth could form more Volcano's releasing more greenhouse gases into teh atmosphere; thus, increase global warming or people could just burn more coal for the same effect.)

[LSparkle]

17. Al Gore refers to it as "global climate change" not just Rethugs

I think that's a more accurate way of describing what's happening to the planet.

[orpupilofnature57]

18. I'll trust Al

[RufusTFirefly]

19. It's a question of cause vs. effect

Global warming is the cause
Global climate change -- not simply warmer weather -- is the effect.

[damntexdem]

21. It's both. And 'climate change' evades some idiocy:

"well if there's global warming, why is it so cold here today?"

[Bobbieo]

22. Geologic climate change hastenend by human activity !