Why Do Climate Deniers Persist in the Face of Overwhelming Evidence to the Contrary?
Why do Climate Global Warming Deniers Persist in the Face of Overwhelming Evidence to the Contrary? Indeed.
This is a question that many people have asked, which is yet to produce a conclusive answer.
Could it be self-interest, greed, or the financial interests of multinational corporations which are driving the behaviour of climate change deniers? As our planet shows increasing evidence of the impact of humans on the climate, every concerned citizen on Earth has the right to ask these questions which continue to cause such huge division and angst.
During the Industrial Revolution, the dire consequences of global pollution were not foreseen or fully comprehended.
The Industrial Revolution, starting in the United Kingdom, spread to the United States and Western Europe within a few decades.
This period between 1760 to 1840 heralded the transition to new manufacturing processes.
Hand production methods were replaced by machinery, new chemical manufacturing and an improved efficiency of water and steam power reliant on fossil fuels such as coal and later oil.
The unprecedented scale of emission of greenhouse gases and the use of fossil fuels has led to a long term increase in global average temperatures.
The previous two decades have been the hottest in history, and according to climate models, temperatures are expected to increase further.
A major cause for concern is the warming of the Polar Regions and the consequent loss of ice sheets.
This scenario has devastating consequences, not only for all life forms dependent on polar environments, but it also includes the Inuit tribes as their hunting seasons are being reduced, which will ultimately affect their livelihood, and survival.
This scenario could be a precursor to the extinction of the Inuit's as a separate group of humans if global warming is not addressed soon.
One of the most worrying affects of global warming is the ongoing melting of the polar ice caps, with less radiation from the sun being reflected by the ice caps.
The exposed land and water fuels further warming as more sunlight is absorbed.
As massive volumes of fresh water inundate ocean currents, such as the Gulf Stream, the consequences for the global climate are profound.
If the Gulf Stream slows shifts or stops altogether, Europe's climate will be changed dramatically.
Not only are we condemning future generations but also the entire planet's flora and fauna to the perils of a rapidly changing climate.
If climate change is swift enough, the majority of species will not be able to evolve quickly enough to meet the challenges of the new environments thrust upon them, and mass extinctions will follow.
In an epoch where the rate of species' extinction is already extraordinary, this will be a compounding tragedy; we must take action to avoid such consequences at all costs.
As each year rolls into another, the window of opportunity for reducing our emission of greenhouse gases and thus reduce our carbon footprint is further diminished.
This issue has been on the United Nation's agenda for twenty or so years, and yet we are still to take meaningful action to address it effectively.
Climate scientists state that one fifth of our current carbon pollution levels need to be reduced, in order to halt and reverse climate warming.
To date the major emphasis has been to encourage developing countries to reduce fossil emissions and look to greener, viable alternatives.
However, industrialised, first world countries have been slow in following suit themselves.
The deniers are finding it increasingly more difficult to challenge the telltale signs that our climate is warming.
The so called 'conspiracy' theories are becoming redundant and more futile.
Evidence cannot be sugar-coated when the signs are there that global warming is not abating.
For some unfathomable reason climate deniers appear to set aside the very real possibility that in a world where climate change brought about by global warming will significantly change environments, humans will not be at risk as a species.
Homo sapiens like any other life form is dependent upon its environment for survival, if changes in these environments are rapid and catastrophic, there is no guarantee our brain power will protect humans and insulate them from the impact of these changes.
Whether we like it or not, humans are still dependent on other species for their survival, the knock on effect of their extinction cannot be avoided.
We must consider the possibility that any scientists who do not accept the warming of the planet may be influenced in some way by those sectors of society in whose interest it is, not to admit or accept the fait accompli of global warming.
Most people are interested in preserving the status quo, change is to be avoided, and consequently they focus on their vested interests.
For example real estate agents with prime waterfront properties to sell.
It is not in their interests to agree to or accept that global warming is occurring and will inevitably cause sea levels to rise, devaluing their wares.
Automobile manufacturers who have massive amounts of money invested in capital equipment building internal combustion engines that contribute to air pollution, will not want to shoulder the expense of retooling to make non polluting engines that are radically different.
In fact, they have a track record of buying up and burying patents of engine designs that might threaten their capital investments.
The phenomena of receding glaciers, rising sea levels, dying coral reefs, the movement of plants and animals into non-traditional habitats, and the more regular occurrence of extreme weather events have been proven by scientists to be the consequences of global warming.
Global warming has increased the energy and moisture in our atmosphere, and this combination makes conditions perfect for floods and catastrophic storms.
Consequently, hurricanes occur and continue to intensify over low-pressure areas which are fed by moisture from warmer oceans.
Global warming is causing extreme weather events, and the business community, particularly insurers, are beginning to take notice.
Every individual needs to examine their moral compass and the relationship we have to society as well as our global responsibilities.
We should think more intensely about the meaning of life, not just for ourselves but for all the life forms we share this planet with, as did the early philosophers, Socrates, Aristotle and Plato.
Our individual responsibility should not be shirked in this regard.
It is morally criminal to refute the well substantiated claims by the majority of scientists, who have no hidden agendas or vested interests to muddy the waters and hide the scientific truth, in favour of falsehoods and deliberate misrepresentations to the public.
The days of misinformation and environmental vandalism ought to be behind us, when the survival of our planet and all who inhabit it, rests in the tenuous balance of survival or extinction.
This is a question that many people have asked, which is yet to produce a conclusive answer.
Could it be self-interest, greed, or the financial interests of multinational corporations which are driving the behaviour of climate change deniers? As our planet shows increasing evidence of the impact of humans on the climate, every concerned citizen on Earth has the right to ask these questions which continue to cause such huge division and angst.
During the Industrial Revolution, the dire consequences of global pollution were not foreseen or fully comprehended.
The Industrial Revolution, starting in the United Kingdom, spread to the United States and Western Europe within a few decades.
This period between 1760 to 1840 heralded the transition to new manufacturing processes.
Hand production methods were replaced by machinery, new chemical manufacturing and an improved efficiency of water and steam power reliant on fossil fuels such as coal and later oil.
The unprecedented scale of emission of greenhouse gases and the use of fossil fuels has led to a long term increase in global average temperatures.
The previous two decades have been the hottest in history, and according to climate models, temperatures are expected to increase further.
A major cause for concern is the warming of the Polar Regions and the consequent loss of ice sheets.
This scenario has devastating consequences, not only for all life forms dependent on polar environments, but it also includes the Inuit tribes as their hunting seasons are being reduced, which will ultimately affect their livelihood, and survival.
This scenario could be a precursor to the extinction of the Inuit's as a separate group of humans if global warming is not addressed soon.
One of the most worrying affects of global warming is the ongoing melting of the polar ice caps, with less radiation from the sun being reflected by the ice caps.
The exposed land and water fuels further warming as more sunlight is absorbed.
As massive volumes of fresh water inundate ocean currents, such as the Gulf Stream, the consequences for the global climate are profound.
If the Gulf Stream slows shifts or stops altogether, Europe's climate will be changed dramatically.
Not only are we condemning future generations but also the entire planet's flora and fauna to the perils of a rapidly changing climate.
If climate change is swift enough, the majority of species will not be able to evolve quickly enough to meet the challenges of the new environments thrust upon them, and mass extinctions will follow.
In an epoch where the rate of species' extinction is already extraordinary, this will be a compounding tragedy; we must take action to avoid such consequences at all costs.
As each year rolls into another, the window of opportunity for reducing our emission of greenhouse gases and thus reduce our carbon footprint is further diminished.
This issue has been on the United Nation's agenda for twenty or so years, and yet we are still to take meaningful action to address it effectively.
Climate scientists state that one fifth of our current carbon pollution levels need to be reduced, in order to halt and reverse climate warming.
To date the major emphasis has been to encourage developing countries to reduce fossil emissions and look to greener, viable alternatives.
However, industrialised, first world countries have been slow in following suit themselves.
The deniers are finding it increasingly more difficult to challenge the telltale signs that our climate is warming.
The so called 'conspiracy' theories are becoming redundant and more futile.
Evidence cannot be sugar-coated when the signs are there that global warming is not abating.
For some unfathomable reason climate deniers appear to set aside the very real possibility that in a world where climate change brought about by global warming will significantly change environments, humans will not be at risk as a species.
Homo sapiens like any other life form is dependent upon its environment for survival, if changes in these environments are rapid and catastrophic, there is no guarantee our brain power will protect humans and insulate them from the impact of these changes.
Whether we like it or not, humans are still dependent on other species for their survival, the knock on effect of their extinction cannot be avoided.
We must consider the possibility that any scientists who do not accept the warming of the planet may be influenced in some way by those sectors of society in whose interest it is, not to admit or accept the fait accompli of global warming.
Most people are interested in preserving the status quo, change is to be avoided, and consequently they focus on their vested interests.
For example real estate agents with prime waterfront properties to sell.
It is not in their interests to agree to or accept that global warming is occurring and will inevitably cause sea levels to rise, devaluing their wares.
Automobile manufacturers who have massive amounts of money invested in capital equipment building internal combustion engines that contribute to air pollution, will not want to shoulder the expense of retooling to make non polluting engines that are radically different.
In fact, they have a track record of buying up and burying patents of engine designs that might threaten their capital investments.
The phenomena of receding glaciers, rising sea levels, dying coral reefs, the movement of plants and animals into non-traditional habitats, and the more regular occurrence of extreme weather events have been proven by scientists to be the consequences of global warming.
Global warming has increased the energy and moisture in our atmosphere, and this combination makes conditions perfect for floods and catastrophic storms.
Consequently, hurricanes occur and continue to intensify over low-pressure areas which are fed by moisture from warmer oceans.
Global warming is causing extreme weather events, and the business community, particularly insurers, are beginning to take notice.
Every individual needs to examine their moral compass and the relationship we have to society as well as our global responsibilities.
We should think more intensely about the meaning of life, not just for ourselves but for all the life forms we share this planet with, as did the early philosophers, Socrates, Aristotle and Plato.
Our individual responsibility should not be shirked in this regard.
It is morally criminal to refute the well substantiated claims by the majority of scientists, who have no hidden agendas or vested interests to muddy the waters and hide the scientific truth, in favour of falsehoods and deliberate misrepresentations to the public.
The days of misinformation and environmental vandalism ought to be behind us, when the survival of our planet and all who inhabit it, rests in the tenuous balance of survival or extinction.
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