Enhanced global warming discussion

I think I would like to use a blog for my junior and senior IB physics students to discuss controversial topics such as “Enhanced Global Warming.” They are very vociferous on this topic, and we never have quite enough time in the classroom to discuss it as much as the kids would like to. The blog format would allow the discussion to continue for as long as students wanted it to, and it would perhaps fill out my lesson by making my students think more critically about the link between public policies and science - bringing to light the many sides of the global warming issue. I think the blog format might be excellent for many reasons. The first is that students might be more inclined to think about their responses and comments since they would become part of a “public” document. The second is that students might be inclined to do some research on their own, regarding seemingly obvious, or seemingly outrageous entries by their peers before posting. I might be able to enhance this aspect by assigning half the class to argue one side of the issue, and half the class to argue the other side. Thirdly, students who don’t normally like to participate verbally might open up more at home via the keyboard. And if we opened up the blog to an audience wider than my classes (say the school), we might liven up the discussion even more. The best scenario would incorporate the whole web into the discussion. There is always the potential of a scientist or politician entering the fray.