The 97% number is valid. 97% of relevant (i.e. pertaining to global warming, and taking a position one way or the other) peer-reviewed scientific articles support anthropogenic global warming. Similarly, upon survey, 97% of the authors of those articles who responded to request for survey, also support anthropogenic global warming.
The James Taylor article from Forbes, and the WSJ article, are both written by mouthpieces for big oil. Effectively, shills.
For background - I am a chemical engineer, who was a complete global warming skeptic based on courses I took and work I did in this specific field. I was not as convinced by the initial data (a decade or so ago) as others. Specifically, I was concerned (as were other skeptics) by “urban bias” - urban areas reflect more heat back into the air than rural areas. So air based thermometers in a city will potentially be biased data sources. I was also doubtful of the accuracy of temperature stations, and their consistency over 200+ years. However, other scientists with more experience and a better background had these same concerns, and undertook a study to determine how much bias there really was. They were complete skeptics, and yet, came away believers, because they actually let the data matter more than their own personal bias. You can read their study here:
http://static.berkeleyearth.org/pdf/skeptics-guide-to-climate-change.pdf
Here is the source of the 97% number:
Source: http://skepticalscience.com/97-percent-consensus-cook-et-al-2013.html
Net net - the debate gets very polarized and politicized. Don’t let that fool you into believing either that a) the sky is falling or that b) Al Gore is making all of this up.
Climate change is happening, and we are causing it. That is a certainty. The impact is somewhat less clear, but at the very least there is a proven link between climate changing and coastal floods as well as heat waves. There may also be a link with hurricanes (studies are ongoing). And at the very least, it would be better to find alternatives. If we are lucky, they will come sooner rather than later:
http://www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml
BTTT!