If you were to jump on a wagon, you’d probably want to know it was structurally sound. If you didn’t know much about said wagon, you might inspect it closely or research its history. Well, the same should hold true for bandwagons.

Convincing most of a population something is true is tricky. But there is one thing that does it well. Fear.

And that’s what the mass media and Al Gore are using to make the country believe that human-induced global warming is hard fact. The ice caps will melt, whole species will die, the Earth will explode. OK, maybe not that last part. But it sounds pretty bad. The thing is, when we get scared, sometimes we don’t stop to do some boring research.

I’m not saying global warming doesn’t exist. Do I think it does? No. But I have been wrong before.

I’m just getting tired of being fed information on global warming like it’s absolutely true. Everyone acts like it’s been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. It’s an inconvenient reality that there’s a lot of evidence pointing against it. That evidence just doesn’t get any media attention.

John Coleman, founder of the Weather Channel and the first weatherman for “Good Morning America,” says that global warming is a myth, and the only reason any scientists have accepted the theory is that “they all have an agenda.” Just like Al Gore.

Yes, I’ve seen “An Inconvenient Truth.” Yes, all of it. I watched Gore prance around his Powerpoint, quoting friends who seem to have no names. Many of his graphs have no titles and no scale to let you know what you’re reading. Guess you just have to take Al’s word for it.

According to The Guardian, a judge decided that the film could be shown in the United Kingdom’s schools, but that any teacher showing it has make clear there is another school of thought on the issue. Oh, and point out the recognized nine different scientific mistakes in the documentary.

One of these points that many people are familiar with is the statement that the snow on Mt. Kilmanjaro is disappearing directly because of rising temperatures caused by humans. The judge ruled that the general opinion is this cannot be confirmed one way or another.

Same was found to be true for Hurricane Katrina’s alleged fellowship with climate change.

Al Gore also tried to point out the “drying up of Lake Chad,” according to the Guardian, as an effect of global warming. However, the judge said, “It is apparently considered to be more likely to result from … population increase, over-grazing and regional climate variability.”

Gore’s response to being accused of exaggeration? In an interview with Grist, an environmental magazine, he said, “Nobody is interested in solutions if they don’t think there’s a problem. Given that starting point, I believe it is appropriate to have an over-representation of factual presentations on how dangerous it is.” Yup, he admits it. He meant to scare us. Taking advantage of our good natures is the only way to get us to believe something that is debatable. And the only way for him to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Anyone who has seen the movie “Ice Age” knows the Earth undergoes climate shifts all the time. At one time, the Earth was warm enough that, according to PBS, the Vikings farmed in Greenland. It was obviously much warmer then than it is now.

Coleman also says 19,000 scientists have signed a petition against global warming, and many scientists are “speaking up [against global warming].” But the press won’t give them any attention. He also points out all the awards and research grants those supporting global warming are receiving. Money and fame is usually a good incentive to continue a hoax.

If you want to pick up trash, recycle, use cloth shopping bags instead of paper or plastic, go green, go for it. I don’t think we should dump toxic wastes in the river, either. Pollution does have other, concrete, effects.

But, next time a bandwagon comes along, let’s all inspect it and make sure it’s structurally sound before hopping on. Because if it collapses, we’ll all look like donkeys.

– Bailey Lewis is a sophomore in English from Indianola.