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While I can appreciate your argument, particularly how some climate change activism can appear to be bullying, you lost me at your last paragraph: >You want me

While I can appreciate your argument, particularly how some climate change activism can appear to be bullying, you lost me at your last paragraph: >You want me to support your political campaign to regulate the gas that I exhale, because otherwise there will be a doomsday, and if I don't agree I'm either stupid or evil? Ehhhhh, no thanks. The fact that you exhale co2 is just not relevant. It's not your exhalation that is menacing the future of humans and other animals. It's the "exhalations" of industrial-scale energy generation (and also industrial-scale agriculture, etc) that are the problem. Surely you see that, yes? > stupid or evil I'm not accusing you, but there absolutely are some evil people at work here. These are people who know (and in many cases have known for decades) that what they're doing - large scale atmospheric dumping of co2 - is going to cause real harm and suffering to fellow humans, but choose to do it anyway because they personally profit from it and their wealth insulates them from the consequences within their lifetime.

guscost 8y ago
> It's not your exhalation that is menacing the future of humans and other animals I don't trust you, or anyone else, with the power to make this determination. > These are people who know (and in many cases have known for decades) that what they're doing - large scale atmospheric dumping of co2 - is going to cause real harm and suffering to fellow humans It is absurd to suggest that anyone "knows" what a system as complex as the Earth will be like in the future. Many people believe that this is the most likely future, and I'm sure some of them don't care.
- erubin 8y ago
  > It is absurd to suggest that anyone "knows" what a system as complex as the Earth will be like in the future. Many people believe that this is the most likely future, and I'm sure some of them don't care. it's absurd to suggest radiative transfer and heat retention aren't well understood scientific phenomena.
- EForEndeavour 8y ago
  Is your argument "the earth is complicated enough that nobody can ever understand it completely, so don't even bother"? Because that's a laughable attitude. Regarding your exhalation comment, the specific problem is not CO2 itself. The problem is liberating CO2 from fossil-fuel sinks where it has been sequestered away from the atmosphere for millions of years.
- Latteland 8y ago
  And I think your comments come to the real problem for people with controlling greenhouse gases. My dad is in this boat. He might say "I deny that my actions hurt the earth. I don't want to look at the evidence, and I don't trust anyone who says I might be doing damage by driving a gas guzzler. I deny I could be hurting things. I refuse to believe anything that leads to that conclusion".

guscost 8y ago

> It's not your exhalation that is menacing the future of humans and other animals I don't trust you, or anyone else, with the power to make this determination. > These are people who know (and in many cases have known for decades) that what they're doing - large scale atmospheric dumping of co2 - is going to cause real harm and suffering to fellow humans It is absurd to suggest that anyone "knows" what a system as complex as the Earth will be like in the future. Many people believe that this is the most likely future, and I'm sure some of them don't care.

erubin 8y ago
> It is absurd to suggest that anyone "knows" what a system as complex as the Earth will be like in the future. Many people believe that this is the most likely future, and I'm sure some of them don't care. it's absurd to suggest radiative transfer and heat retention aren't well understood scientific phenomena.
EForEndeavour 8y ago
Is your argument "the earth is complicated enough that nobody can ever understand it completely, so don't even bother"? Because that's a laughable attitude. Regarding your exhalation comment, the specific problem is not CO2 itself. The problem is liberating CO2 from fossil-fuel sinks where it has been sequestered away from the atmosphere for millions of years.
Latteland 8y ago
And I think your comments come to the real problem for people with controlling greenhouse gases. My dad is in this boat. He might say "I deny that my actions hurt the earth. I don't want to look at the evidence, and I don't trust anyone who says I might be doing damage by driving a gas guzzler. I deny I could be hurting things. I refuse to believe anything that leads to that conclusion".