I see that you replied to Utar, and so again I am unsure if you want to hear from me. If not, please feel free to let me know and I'll simply stop. It's never my wish to make folks upset or uncomfortable.
Between that and your previous post I get the feeling you really don't like Mr. Gore. I'll admit I've only met him once, but I don't really have strong feelings about him. I am sorry to hear when any one decided to close down to hearing new information; making a conscious decision to not to be open to new understanding. It's particularly sad when that results from the actions of a single person.
I really am sad to hear that you stopped listening, especially because of the end of your post which to me someone who has a lot of passion and courage. (Disclaimer: I recognize I don't know, or anything about you. I am trying to ascertain things from writing, and online writing at that, so if my observations are untrue for you, please know I mean no offense.) To me you seem like the kind of person no discussion should lose. Being willing to go against the group and speak out takes bravery. An unsung bravery to be sure; we don't give that type enough credit. But humans are not wired to go against their group. We crave being part of the group. We fear being judged by the group or worse being ostracized by the group. We have a tendency to blindly follow the group and put our better judgement aside. There are a number of studies in psychology that demonstrate this to surprising degrees. As one example, subjects were shown a picture of a cat, and identified it as a cat, but then when the survey group (composed of people in on the study) all said it was a dog, most people changed their minds and stated they in fact saw a dog. The most surprising part is that when the researchers followed up with the subjects a month later they nearly all recalled the picture as a dog. They came to believe what the group's view was against their own senses. So, never underestimate the inner strength it takes to go against the group, especially one you identify with. Though it may seem simple, your speaking out about plastic bags, did take strength. That's what I come away from this thinking of you.
And your frustration about the "cycle" is shared by so many. Of course the classic joke about this is eggs: today they are bad for you and tomorrow they are bad for you - make up your minds, what is it?! We all want clear answers and certainty. Unfortunately, that is not how the process of discovery works. Evidence mounts and it is rarely clean. In the case of eggs, we probably could figure it our if as a society we decided running controlled experiments on our fellow humans was ethical. As it is we just have correlation for health studies. But, I'll show my hand here and say that I unequivocally support the idea that it is naughty to take people and place them under experimentation against their will. Back to discovery, when that back and forth plays out in the media, who love to say the latest study is clearly the definitive answer, it can be frustrating. I understand that completely. But even when it is clear, people don't always want it to be, remember how much cigarette companies wanted to question whether their products were really harmful. The science was clear, but they successfully sewed doubt in the public imagination. I think looking back we can now all agree smoking is n ot great for you. I support people making the choice to do it is they want, but even smokers know it's not improving their health. It's why I always try to let the data lead me. And yes, sometimes the finding go against how I think the world should work. But it is me who needs to adjust. I can't bend reality to my wishes. Though I really wish I could!
