[Moltke]

Just remember (what I tell any warmists I encounter) that 110+ years ago there was a scientific consensus about an aether being the medium which makes electromagnetic radiation propagation possible. Many of the truly (at least otherwise) bright scientists of the time subscribed to the aether theory.

And then there was the Michelson-Morley experiment and later Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, and the cardhouse collapsed.

Only back then no one tried to extort hundreds of billions of dollars from the people on account of the aether theory... CONSENSUS IS NOT PROOF.

[redgolum]

Funny thing is, calling electromagnetic energy a wave implies it is moving in something. Just of one those things that don’t make sense quite yet.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

“110+ years ago there was a scientific consensus about an aether being the medium which makes electromagnetic radiation propagation possible.”

That's a good example, I'll have to remember to use it. The only problem with it is that many warmists are so ignorant of science, that they probably have no idea about what you're talking about — or, they still believe in the aether theory. (Consider the petition to ban H20, signed by many at the Cancun gabfest.)

I sometimes ask whether the warmist can name a scientific breakthrough. Then, I point out that it was a breakthrough, because it disproved the previous scientific consensus. I also add that every single scientific advancement has come at the expense of the previous scientific consensus.

“CONSENSUS IS NOT PROOF”

Exactly. I have often said that anyone who uses the term “scientific consensus”, as if it were proof of something, is completely ignorant of science. If you hear that argument used, you don't have to know anything more about your interlocutor. He's either an ignoramus, or duplicitous.