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But close the loop - the reason US Americans don't believe in climate change is because energy companies have paid politicians and fringe scientists to deny cli
by mhneu 10y ago
But close the loop - the reason US Americans don't believe in climate change is because energy companies have paid politicians and fringe scientists to deny climate change. Why do energy companies care? Because climate change mitigation would cost them a lot of money.
- mikeash 10y agoIt's not just that. There's a religious component to it (only God can alter the Earth so dramatically, or Jesus is returning soon so it doesn't matter, or similar) as well as an ideological component (mitigating climate change can't be done with laissez-faire approaches). At this point, it's self-reinforcing. One of our two major political parties has climate change denial as a fundamental part of its identity. Lots of people vote for that party because they share that belief. Those who benefit from that party's success are then motivated to spread that belief even further just to recruit more voters to the cause. And as that belief solidifies among their voters, the party becomes unable to change its position no matter how convincing the facts become.
- mirimir 10y agoThat does seem to be the case. So I wonder what will happen when facts render their position entirely untenable. It reminds me of the fight to regulate tobacco companies. That took decades of solid evidence.
- Esau 10y agoThis here is indeed the real problem - corporations who are so unethical that they would damage the entire world in order to make some cash. These are the people who Trump wants to set free of all regulation.