Skeptical Science - may we never be stuck for the answers again! 

by Jodie

Working for Good Energy means that we’re frequently on the receiving end of questions from enthusiastic climate sceptics.  With colleagues that include our CEO Juliet, a climate scientist who founded Good Energy because of the observations she made during her studies, our commercial director Chris, who frequently talks regulation with Ofgem and DECC, we are in the enviable position of being able to get the answers from some of the best in the business.

However, it doesn’t just happen when we’re at work. And, for all sorts of reasons, the voices of the climate change sceptics have been growing louder lately. So sometimes, perhaps as a dinner party is winding down or we’re out on a brisk Sunday walk thinking of other things, someone throws us a curveball and we have to admit that we just don’t know the answer.

Luckily, help is at hand.

We first heard about Skeptical Science in a recent Guardian review of their top 10 green iPhone apps. This free app sorts climate-sceptic arguments into three categories: it’s not happening; it’s not us; and it’s not bad. Once you’ve decided which category your question falls into, you get at a list of common sceptic arguments.  You can then read the full sceptic stance, and choose from a short scientific counter-argument or a much more detailed explanation including links to data, reports and research.

I’m a big iPhone fan and I think it’s a really well-designed app, both from the point of view of the wealth of information it provides and its usability. I haven’t had the opportunity to use it in a debate yet, but it’s still really interesting to read through the arguments and the evidence anyway.

Of course, you might be of the opinion that a green app is all well and good, but should you really have an iPhone (or other electronic gadget) at all? I’m a Good Energy customer, so when I’m charging stuff I know that for all the electricity I’m using, Good Energy has sourced the equivalent amount from a renewable generator. In the long run, manufacturing processes will increasingly be powered by renewables as we generate more of our power from them globally. They should also become more energy efficient as technology advances. In the meantime, I think it’s important to spread the word about climate change and the importance of renewables and energy efficiency, and one of the best ways we have currently to disseminate information and encourage discussion and debate is via the internet.