About the environment and our grasp

On the ride home from Philadelphia late into 2 am on Thursday, my dad brought up the topic of Global Warming.
He mentioned a recent article explaining that apparently quite a few scientists have been kept from stating their data that Global Warming wasn't affecting temperatures as much as scientists have claimed recently.
While I didn't read the study myself, it brought some realizations for myself.
Through the teachings and journals I have read about environmental issues, many of them revolving around predictions of damages in the future, how can I be sure that what I learn is correct without extensive research, meaning can I take anything for face value. I'd like to, I'd like to take my American History books for face value, but we've learned that they might not always be accurate. I wonder how what I have learned will play out in the future.
Later on my parents talked about my future in the environmental field. They wondered what the difference between environmental studies and science, I informed that if I become an environmental lawyer with a focus on an international level, I can help process and interpret current environmental law and push for more useful ones if need be.
I think, as I have learned from my parents in the past few years, if the word environment is used, it is automatically marginalized. If you use the idea of social justice or feeding the hungry or managing resources, these are listened to. It's because the environment isn't a separate issue, it's a concept that embraces all issues in itself; social, mental, physical, material, and immaterial.
In speaking to my parents, normally when I speak to my parents about the environment, it usually ends with my dad stating that science will solve everything and there is nothing I can do to convince him otherwise. However, I think two things have helped me in having better talks with him about the environment.
1. Framing environmental questions in terms of necessity rather than an "environment" theme. This means it'd be more effective to talk about flooding issues or food contamination rather than Global Warming or deforestation.
2. Studying more about the environment so that my dad assumes I am knowledgeable about the topic. My dad now talks to me about environmental issues because he knows I have been studying about environmental issues and gives me a set amount of respect.