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The ozone hole and nuclear warfare/proliferation were fixed by new regulations based on the fear though. Perhaps if we'd never worried so much about the ozone

The ozone hole and nuclear warfare/proliferation were fixed by new regulations based on the fear though. Perhaps if we'd never worried so much about the ozone hole, it'd be a lot bigger now. (it's still there by the way, just smaller)

eesmith 7y ago
Based on your response, I wonder if the downvotes I got are because I was trying to give examples of being "told by mass media that we're all about to die at any moment" - which I thought was the question. Some of these were/are real concerns. Certainly the threat of nuclear war was a real concern, as were CFCs leading to the ozone hole, and the threat of mass starvation. These changes were based on the realistic fear that millions or more might die. (Continued illegal use of CFCs is not helping, btw.) Some were/are not. Biblical predictions of the end of the world come up every few decades, and have for over 1000 years. But aren't they all examples of being told by mass media that we're going "to die at any moment"? I can empathize that hearing about these for many decades can cause people to become inured.
kaybe 7y ago
>Perhaps if we'd never worried so much about the ozone hole, it'd be a lot bigger now. Unless there was something else to stop the emission of CFCs, it would be huge by now, no question! If anyone wants to know about the current state of the ozone hole, here's the newest report: https://ozone.unep.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/SAP-2018-Assessment-report.pdf https://ozone.unep.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/SAP-2018-... I like the plots on ES.24 that show the effect the regulations have on global warming (the older replacement coolants were powerful greenhouse gases). See that curve? It's going down. If the regulations are followed (and we have good precedent that they will be) we've been spared several centi-degree in warming by 2100. This is the only really positive news I've heard so far in the context.
marcus_holmes 7y ago
The point is not that these problems have been fixed. The point is that there seems to be some affinity or tendency in us to want to believe that we're all going to die at any time (or that we're in the "end times" for the religious folks). Climate Change being real or not is not the point here. The point is that we have yet another generation of people believing that we're all screwed before we get old. Maybe that's it: it's actually easier for young people to believe that they don't have to make long-term decisions because they won't live that long.

eesmith 7y ago

Based on your response, I wonder if the downvotes I got are because I was trying to give examples of being "told by mass media that we're all about to die at any moment" - which I thought was the question. Some of these were/are real concerns. Certainly the threat of nuclear war was a real concern, as were CFCs leading to the ozone hole, and the threat of mass starvation. These changes were based on the realistic fear that millions or more might die. (Continued illegal use of CFCs is not helping, btw.) Some were/are not. Biblical predictions of the end of the world come up every few decades, and have for over 1000 years. But aren't they all examples of being told by mass media that we're going "to die at any moment"? I can empathize that hearing about these for many decades can cause people to become inured.

kaybe 7y ago

>Perhaps if we'd never worried so much about the ozone hole, it'd be a lot bigger now. Unless there was something else to stop the emission of CFCs, it would be huge by now, no question! If anyone wants to know about the current state of the ozone hole, here's the newest report: https://ozone.unep.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/SAP-2018-Assessment-report.pdf https://ozone.unep.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/SAP-2018-... I like the plots on ES.24 that show the effect the regulations have on global warming (the older replacement coolants were powerful greenhouse gases). See that curve? It's going down. If the regulations are followed (and we have good precedent that they will be) we've been spared several centi-degree in warming by 2100. This is the only really positive news I've heard so far in the context.

marcus_holmes 7y ago

The point is not that these problems have been fixed. The point is that there seems to be some affinity or tendency in us to want to believe that we're all going to die at any time (or that we're in the "end times" for the religious folks). Climate Change being real or not is not the point here. The point is that we have yet another generation of people believing that we're all screwed before we get old. Maybe that's it: it's actually easier for young people to believe that they don't have to make long-term decisions because they won't live that long.