The Manpollo Project

How might you go about convincing sceptics that global climate change is something to be worried about?

  • Step 1: Create a short (say 10 minute) video outlining the basic science behind the subject and then use risk management techniques to identify the relative risks of doing something vs doing nothing.
  • Step 2: Release it to the world and wait for the deluge…
  • Step 3: Create a comprehensive set of add-on videos that expand on the subjects and counter every conceivable argument to the science, math, and logic in the original (ie: No, it’s not Pascal’s wager and here’s why…)

This is exactly what wonderingmind42 (a US high school science teacher) has done. The result is a multi-hour youtube tour de force that extensively (yet accessibly) covers the basic science of global climate change along with the fundaments of risk management, the scientific method, information source assessment, and more. All the while keeping it civil and funnily hatted.

Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I watched (and enjoyed) the entire thing.

If you’re not sure about this whole “global warming thing”, this is a good place to start. If you’re already convinced, but are looking for ways of explaining the risks to the more skeptical around you without degenerating into pitching horror scenarios, these videos are a great source of information and technique.

The Manpollo Project page has links to all of the videos here.