Is it? Are we still debating “evidence”?
Did somebody ring a bell, and now we have to start over from the beginning?
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The animation shows a clear temperature increase exactly when scientists said human activities would and were causing one. Whether that counts as making it clear human activities have increased temperature is I guess a matter of semantics, but it’s really hard to imagine someone wouldn’t interpret it that way without very motivated reasoning.
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I agree that this is how to interpret this graph in the context of other information. It’s simply incorrect to say that this animation demonstrates that global warming is anthropogenic.
It is! This graph helps explain the first part, that warming is real and getting worse over time. But if we want people to make data-based, science-based decisions, we also have to present the science correctly.
ETA: It’s not semantics. It’s the difference between proof and belief. If you already believe that global warming is anthropogenic (as I do), it would be more accurate to say that this animation demonstrates the effects of manmade climate change. Or, to slightly rephrase the original post “The animation makes clear how human activities have increased global temperatures over time.” That assumes the reader agrees with the premise, but it at least doesn’t set the animation up as proof.
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Of course not. The overwhelming evidence indicates raising temperatures are caused by human activity. Nevertheless, this graph doesn’t not represent that. If “the animation makes it clear that human activities have increased global temperatures over time” where then is the pole/axis and data for human activity to demonstrate correlation/causation?
Sloppy science reporting and unsubstantiated claims doesn’t do anyone any favors - even if Mark is a good guy making a claim all here would generally agree with.
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Edited above. Yes, it would have been nice if NASA had highlighted various events (wars, volcanic eruptions, etc,) but that’s not really the point of this data visualisation. There are people out there who still buy the idea, sold to them for decades by fossil fuel companies and right-wingers, that what’s shown in the data viz isn’t happening.
The basic fact that the average global temperature has undeniably been trending hotter over the long term needs to be brought home in any way to people who don’t find math and stats intuitive. Once they understand this they might further accept that humans (through the vehicles of nation-states and trans-national corporations) just might be able to stop the spiral – whether or not they believe in anthropogenic causes.
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I agree with this 100%
This is the part that makes me want to rip my hair out. Sincerely, why are we arguing about what caused the increase instead of directing that energy toward trying to solve the problem. I know, I know, in some ways we need to know the cause in order to solve it…but for those hold outs…do we really?
Weren’t we (well, in most sane nations) looking for solutions and protections from COVID-19 before we fully understood where it came from?
Even if climate change weren’t caused by us humans, wouldn’t we have the power and intellect to combat or prevent its most massive devastation??? Why would there ever be an argument that “if we didn’t cause it, we needn’t try to address it.” 
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Exactly! Whatever the cause, we should all be able to agree that the effects are harmful and devastating. I find it so maddening that the conversation in the media so often turns to arguments of the cause instead of recognition of the effects and discussions of how to minimize or reverse them.
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