Man, I've been reading the same arguments against climate change and man's influence on it for over a decade now "How can we ever have that influence"... its documented, supported by countless measurements, and no matter how many of those you throw in, its still not 'real'. Regardless of all the new research and evidence people still spout the same nonsense.
You can save your breath. People that don't
want to know, will never know. They will take any straw as a major argument against reality. Its flat-earther / chem trail territory and there is no way anyone will convince them otherwise - until at some point something serious happens in their lives that forces a radical change in one way or another. Is it really that obvious? YES. You just fail to realize it, which is exactly what all those conspiracy theorists fail at regardless of the subject.
Its a bit like religious fanatics, and those still exist too. Both groups are also the same in how they are being used politically and to expand and preserve vested interests. They will use ANY argument as an absolute to deny the whole ecosystem that opposes that. Facts be damned. Science be damned. There are so many similarities its stunning that people don't see it.
The whole point of your ethical concerns is to ensure wellbeing and survival of humankind.. Yet in the same breath, you mock those very things when "wellbeing" and "survival" are applied to immediate concerns - like food. No, humanity's survival has to to be some abstract ideal to you.. Else it's not grand enough or something.
You'll never win anyone over like this. Enviromental concerns have a better chance of improving things when they focus on immediacy as well. People cringe at how pollution immediately effects them, for example. That will work if you drive the point home enough.
Speaking of pollution, you say you care about it, but just earlier, you were singing Al Gore's praises. The guy with a $30,000 utility bill and has 10x the carbon footprint of the average person. Care to explain this?
Not to mention that you expect everyone to just sacrifice taxes and jobs.. and mock them if they don't.. yet you praise a guy who reaps massive benefits in the HERE and NOW.. tons of partnerships with "green" companies, hundreds of thousands of dollars per speech, etc.. He sacrifices nothing and pollutes more to boot. Yet the average Joe or Jane are the bad guys.. because they simply don't hop along unquestioningly to your views.. and because they don't want to sacrifice things either, like Al Gore. Why is he special? Is this even about environmentalism or is it class warfare?
I applaud your argumentation but I don't think you understand mine.
I'm not here to win anyone over. I'm way past that, the ship has sailed LONG ago. Today, if you still fail to realize what's happening, you're just a stupid fool and you cannot be helped. The fact that Trump has gained all this traction and got elected, and the power block that supports him speaks volumes of that reality. Its a self-imposed, incredibly short sighted stupidity that counters any kind of sensible move forward. Its that power block also that still supports gun ownership regardless of school shootings and overwhelming evidence that ownership is leading to much higher homicide rates. The similarities are too striking to ignore. You speak of blown up in the media but this isn't about blowing anything up, its about FACTS and NUMBERS that simply don't lie, and school shootings simply stand out as an outrageous example. They happened in Europe, too. But not in the same quantity or frequency, not by long shot. Its a difference so blatantly obvious no amount of media can paint a different picture.
If you really think food on the table tomorrow is the
most important and if that is your perspective with regards to climate change then NO, I will never expect you capable enough to understand that its about the day
after tomorrow. Its about the world your kids will grow up in, not your own egotistical self. Thát is a perspective that has meaning to it and a perspective and time frame that forces people into action against climate change. Food on the table tomorrow is the perspective of the hunter-gatherer up until the industrial revolution. And that is exactly what these anti lobbies are aiming at: the old world, the filthy one based on petrol, heavy machinery and no regard whatsoever for ecological footprint. Because that has always proven to be 'easy money'. And that is also what 'food on the table tomorrow' effectively means: easy money. And who cares what tomorrow really looks like, as long as
your belly is full, screw everyone else. All it really means is getting fat at the expense of others, and ultimately, at the expense of everyone including yourself.
You can have a look at China where we've outsourced much of our production capacity, and the air quality you will find in large regions of that country as a result of that. People literally die at younger age than they did during the industrial revolution. But hey, surely man can't do that, right? Nahh. Man is also totally not responsible for a sharp decrease in eco diversity, the extinction of hundreds of species already, and removing forests by huge percentage from the face of the Earth. Nah, doesn't exist, those things just vanished all of a sudden. And its obviously also a complete lie that trees support the reduction of CO2 in the air. Those are also totally not related to greenhouse gases at all. Fuck that! We need food on the table tomorrow!
About Al Gore, that is just another example of using the wrong arguments to make a point, so the guy has a footprint, how does that change anything about the message he brought? Why is it good fashion to go into naming and shaming and not speak of the message itself? And what does that way of acting against a difficult message remind you of? Surely I don't have to spell it out, right?
Here's a nice video. Unrelated to this specific topic, but very related to the train of thought some people have shown:
Note very carefully Michelle's wording about flat earth theories. Also note her tone of voice. Its the tone they use in primary school. Don't worry its just 30 seconds in.
(except in Space )
I won't be able to do that anymore. These scenarios are just one example.