There is an often thought distinction between what is manmade and what is natural. Certainly there are objects that are obviously one or the other. Yet there are other examples wherein, artifacts, or systems are not so easily classified. The often contentious opinion that climate change is not ��human-caused�� instead rests on the idea that the changes in global climate that have been experienced during the industrial change are instead caused by ��natural forces��. Why make this distinction? In this example, the detractors of anthropogenic climate change believe that ��there is nothing humans can do to change natural forces�� and therefore are off the hook, so to speak, about doing anything to mitigate the effects of climate change. Another arena where the distinction between manmade and natural is seen the marketing of foodstuffs. This can be more obvious when you make a contrast between cookies that are made in a bakery, and an apple that was picked off the tree in an orchard. The assumption oftentimes is that something that is natural is inherently ��better�� than something
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