Environment & Energy
In reply to the discussion: Poll: Should Deniers Be Allowed To Post In E&E? [View all]Mike 03
(17,361 posts)Ten years ago I might have voted "yes" thinking we could either learn from their posts about how they think or educate them, but sitting here in 2019, I don't believe most "climate deniers" don't believe in climate change--I think most DO know full well this is real but have an agenda to slow down and prevent implementation of anything to fight climate change. Some of them are in the energy industry, or are heavily invested in it, and want to squeeze every last dollar they can for themselves before this whole thing collapses. There are some people who actually have a fantasy of "surviving" what is happening and the collapse that will soon happen. Some perhaps honestly can't accommodate something as frightening as dramatic climate change into their thinking (I feel some sympathy for this type of denier who is motivated by genuine fear) but that is a psychological issue that scientific information is unlikely to satisfy.
The hardest thing to grasp is how quickly it is happening; much sooner than we were warned as children. Every minute, every day matters. The only thing we really have is time, and I'd rather not waste mine.
If there are genuinely confused people at this very late date, there are only about 10,000 books, documentaries, scholarly papers and websites devoted to this topic, and another million or so news articles. The jury of worldwide science returned its verdict decades ago. It's happening sooner than most predicted. It's happening NOW. We shouldn't waste a breath, a heartbeat or a valuable second playing games with deniers.