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People refuse to believe it, The essence of the scientific method is testable predictions. When it keeps not happening, the perfectly rational - in fact scient

People refuse to believe it, The essence of the scientific method is testable predictions. When it keeps not happening, the perfectly rational - in fact scientific - response is to discount it. If you want to blame anyone blame the scientists who overegged the pudding once too often. The ice age, acid rain, holes in the ozone layer etc etc were all presented by scientists as imminent existential threats, yet none of them materialised as such. Obviously “doom fatigue” has set in amongst the general population.

kls 7y ago
You are correct the essence of science is repeatable predictions. Sadly I don't think the majority demographic of HN was around to see all the other fear mongering that happened in decades past, so they just down-vote and move on, not thinking about what science actually entails. All of those real environmental issues where dealt with, in measured response and we survived. If we had listened to the extremists agendas we would have all started living in mud huts instead of taking lead out of gas and banning CFC's. There are real environmental disasters happening like the reef's dyeing near agricultural runoff and deforestation due to industrialization. These real issues get drowned out by this incessant fear mongering that cannot make an accurate prediction, because they try to conscript every disaster as being related to AGW, then the predictions go south when they try to support their claims. Fixing CO2 is not going to save the reefs, getting rid of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from agricultural farming will. We know this for a fact, we have repeatable test that prove it conclusively. Fixing CO2 will not stop deforestation, the increase in CO2 has actually lead to a greener earth, controls on logging, returning to sane preventative burning policies and limiting growth into forest areas will.
- goatinaboat 7y ago
  I don't think the majority demographic of HN was around to see all the other fear mongering that happened in decades past I suspect you’re correct. I remember when I was a child the children in my village were not allowed to play outside for a while because our parents had seen or read scare stories about acid rain and thought we would be burned by it! But I don’t believe there was a single case in Wales of a child being dissolved... and it rains here every day!
  - kls 7y ago
    This piece is far short of a scientific paper, it has all the tells from proclaiming a vegan diet as healthy to advocating for population controls. This is not science it is an agenda paper. I mean what in the world does full gender equality have to do with the climate. I have no idea but it's in the papers conclusion as a must do to contain climate change. And why is a scientific climate piece advocating for social and economic justice.
    - rayiner 7y ago
      Because environmentalism is either in the process of, or has already been hijacked by leftist radicals. Why does the Green New Deal Bill spend so much ink talking about universal healthcare, housing security, and labor unions? Environmentalism is not an inherently leftist concept. Basic economics recognizes that externalized costs like pollution can lead to market failure. But instead of trying to build a coalition to push things like carbon taxes, leftists have co-opted the movement to peddle socialism.
      - bryanlarsen 7y ago
        It's only been hijacked because the centrists and right-wing people have let it be hijacked. Up until a few years ago, the standard way to get bills passed was for Democrats and Republicans to jointly write bills. Failing that, they'd each write their own bill and then hammer together a compromise. If the only politicians with a climate change proposal are those on the far left, they're the ones that are going to get heard and set the agenda. I'd love to see a nice Republican environmental proposal, something based on market economics, like a carbon tax & tariff (https://issues.org/climate-clubs-to-overcome-free-riding https://issues.org/climate-clubs-to-overcome-free-riding) But until such exists, you can't complain about the far left setting the agenda.
      - goatinaboat 7y ago
        has already been hijacked by leftist radicals Greta is on stage calling for not net zero emissions but actual zero. It’s a religion at this point complete with prophets (whose prophecies are always wrong) and demagogues.

kls 7y ago

You are correct the essence of science is repeatable predictions. Sadly I don't think the majority demographic of HN was around to see all the other fear mongering that happened in decades past, so they just down-vote and move on, not thinking about what science actually entails. All of those real environmental issues where dealt with, in measured response and we survived. If we had listened to the extremists agendas we would have all started living in mud huts instead of taking lead out of gas and banning CFC's. There are real environmental disasters happening like the reef's dyeing near agricultural runoff and deforestation due to industrialization. These real issues get drowned out by this incessant fear mongering that cannot make an accurate prediction, because they try to conscript every disaster as being related to AGW, then the predictions go south when they try to support their claims. Fixing CO2 is not going to save the reefs, getting rid of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from agricultural farming will. We know this for a fact, we have repeatable test that prove it conclusively. Fixing CO2 will not stop deforestation, the increase in CO2 has actually lead to a greener earth, controls on logging, returning to sane preventative burning policies and limiting growth into forest areas will.

goatinaboat 7y ago
I don't think the majority demographic of HN was around to see all the other fear mongering that happened in decades past I suspect you’re correct. I remember when I was a child the children in my village were not allowed to play outside for a while because our parents had seen or read scare stories about acid rain and thought we would be burned by it! But I don’t believe there was a single case in Wales of a child being dissolved... and it rains here every day!
- kls 7y ago
  This piece is far short of a scientific paper, it has all the tells from proclaiming a vegan diet as healthy to advocating for population controls. This is not science it is an agenda paper. I mean what in the world does full gender equality have to do with the climate. I have no idea but it's in the papers conclusion as a must do to contain climate change. And why is a scientific climate piece advocating for social and economic justice.
  - rayiner 7y ago
    Because environmentalism is either in the process of, or has already been hijacked by leftist radicals. Why does the Green New Deal Bill spend so much ink talking about universal healthcare, housing security, and labor unions? Environmentalism is not an inherently leftist concept. Basic economics recognizes that externalized costs like pollution can lead to market failure. But instead of trying to build a coalition to push things like carbon taxes, leftists have co-opted the movement to peddle socialism.
    - bryanlarsen 7y ago
      It's only been hijacked because the centrists and right-wing people have let it be hijacked. Up until a few years ago, the standard way to get bills passed was for Democrats and Republicans to jointly write bills. Failing that, they'd each write their own bill and then hammer together a compromise. If the only politicians with a climate change proposal are those on the far left, they're the ones that are going to get heard and set the agenda. I'd love to see a nice Republican environmental proposal, something based on market economics, like a carbon tax & tariff (https://issues.org/climate-clubs-to-overcome-free-riding https://issues.org/climate-clubs-to-overcome-free-riding) But until such exists, you can't complain about the far left setting the agenda.
    - goatinaboat 7y ago
      has already been hijacked by leftist radicals Greta is on stage calling for not net zero emissions but actual zero. It’s a religion at this point complete with prophets (whose prophecies are always wrong) and demagogues.