My approach when talking about climate warming with those who call it a hoax, etc., is as follows.
1) ok, we know 99% of the worlds top scientists that agree 100% that global warming is a man made event and getting worse and worse. So, your ok with a 100-1 shot response? Lets say it was 75%, say that.
2) So, are you willing to take a 4-1 chance that your right and the top minds with excelent equipment are wrong. 2012 is named the drought of the century and July 2012 was just named hottest month ever.
3) So, we can keep playing this number game. For example, you have a pistol with 1 round and 5 empty chambers and you can win a million dollars by surviving one try or your head gets blown off as they are using dummie rounds that are outlawed. Most people would pass on that 1-6 shot in their favor, but many of you have no problem standing behind 99.9%-1 odds that will blow our planet away.
4) ok, so we have 99% top scientists in aggreement that we are in a very serious situation with rising temps. Let's say that they are half right, should we listen or blow them off? You listen you get less pollution, green energy, solar, wind, etc. So, even if later they were proven wrong, you still had used very clean energy and created jobs, not to shabby. However, you ignore them and they are proven right = you shi* and sat in it/game over.
5)lastly, many of us have auto insurance, home insurance, accident insurance, life insurance, etc. These policies, in most cases get covered in dust, yet we must pay for the 350-1 shot flood and you get the idea. But, we all do it because you never know??? Highly unlikely but we must be protected.
However, when we have 99.9% of the top minds in science with state of the art equipment and millions of years of data telling us we are soon DOOMED can be easily ignored by many people as "not happening" and why respond with solutions, heck there is a good 1000-1 chance that I am right.
Wrong approach and poor logical thinking.