a grain of salt....

so the stamet thread prompts me to inquire...how do you decide who to believe?

the first think I look at is if someone is making money off their ideas, especially from the general public whos thoughts on the matter are generally far from the equivalant of a peer review.

Maybe the first step is ... if you have to decide, then there must be at least two people with different ideas, right?

I suppose it's one of those things where if it is an area where you know absolutely nothing, it's really hard to decide.  Mountains of research are called for. 

If it has to do with farming, then, well, you already know a lot of stuff.  And then when you hear something new, you consider it and think of how probable it could be true. 

Another option is:  who is saying it?  Has that person been right in the past? 

Sometimes it's not about being right, but looking at it from the right angle.

For example, it drives me crazy to hear everyone talking about global warming. It has become such an overused thing. (I know I'm offending some just by going here.) And then there are quite a few adamant naysayers who say global warming is not caused by people at all, but it's the natural cycle of the earth.

Personally, I don't have the time or interest to research which side is "right," and here's why: just about everything that produces global warming (according to those who say it is happening) harms our environment in some way regardless of whether it is actually warming the earth. I don't want humans (myself especially!) to continue on a destructive path, so from that angle, I completely agree with the global warming crowd. Who wants more smog and chemicals in the air, water and soil? Who wants to keep depleting our natural resources? Duh.

To me, it's similar with our bodies, too. Herbs and, I'm learning, mushrooms, can heal us with less side effects and burdens on our livers and kidneys than synthetic, chemical prescriptions. I'm not totally sure what you mean by the money issue. Does Stamets make money off his shrooms? Yes. Does he have the same kind of mark ups as prescription drugs? Probably not. Would I turn to a prescription drug if the natural remedies aren't working and my child is very ill? In a heartbeat.

Are there companies making boatloads of money from all of a sudden being "green" and buying carbon offsets? Yes. Does that mean I shouldn't patronize them? Not necessarily. I think common sense can go a long way without having to be overly cynical, or have a Ph. D. in the subject. Sometimes it's simply side-stepping the "in your face" part to get to the heart of the matter. The heart of the matter to me is "keep it clean." Maybe I'm with you Leah, in that I'm cynical over any trend or fad, because in some ways I'm really done with all the "low carbon footprint" propaganda.

Good point!

Once doubt is thrown on global warming, then it would seem that polluters can say "we don't pollute."  And if we do focus so much on CO2, then polluters can buy carbon fixing stuff and say "We have zero carbon foot print!  All of this toxic gick is therefore eco and green!  Yay!"

some very good points..

at this point in my life i've become a bit cynical I think. We have been lied to and cheated so many times by people that we thought we could trust that I have come to a point to where I question everything..

probably not a bad thing.

I however do have strong faith as well, which has to be taken by, well faith.

I have strong questions about global warming, but also know it is true that pollutions pollutes..

Since i was a small child I could tell that monocropping made no sense..but farmers of the earth continue to do it..like blind leading the blind.

I guess at this point, nearly elderly, I have learned..to study and learn as much as I can, question everything and find the answers yourself not trusting others answers based on the fact that they gave you an answer, but to weigh it.

I was one of those children who was never taught by her elders, but learned just about everything I know now by reading, studying, asking and doing..learning from mistakes...and learning you can't trust most people..