Focusing on the rhetoric that surrounds the issue of climate change, this groundbreaking book analyses why the debate continues to rage and examines how we should argue when winning the argument really matters. It explains the mutually exacerbating problems that permit many of us greet catastrophic predictions with an equivocal shrug. The book argues that the argumentative situation around climate change makes a certain kind of skepticism - "fair-minded skepticism" - not only possible but likely. It also strikes a hopeful note, reminding us that people do change their minds in response to effective argumentation that appeals to deeply shared values.