[hackuser]

> the common sentiment is 'the best time to take action was 40 years ago. The absolute limit was 20 years ago. There's no stopping it now

My impression is that this is the latest fallback position intended to stop/delay us from acting (I don't know that the parent commenter intends it that way; this isn't a criticism of them). In rough order:

1) There is no global warming

2) There is global warming, but it's not caused by humans

3) It's caused by humans but there is nothing we can do about it.

4) We can do something about it, but it's too expensive to be worthwhile.

5) It's cost-effective (because the cost of doing nothing is so high), but it's too late to act.

6) ? Any predictions for the next fallback argument?

[anigbrowl]

6) It's all part of God's plan

That sounds like a cheap shot but the sad reality is that there are quite a few people who seriously believe that this is part of the rapture/apocalypse/tribulation revealed in Bible prophecy and that attempts to prevent or even mitigate against it are satanic.

Of course that's completely bonkers but we have to remember that there's a significant contingent invested in the idea that the bible is literally true and the realities of modern life are essentially illusions designed to test people's faith. I don't know exactly how many people believe this, but I'd bet on about 5-15 million people in the USA.

[AnOscelot]

If anyone has people like this in your life, the Bible gives you a little ammo for changing their mind. First of all, mankind was given stewardship over the Earth. God expects people to not trash the place.

Secondly, Jesus was quite emphatic that no one would know the day & time of his return. He did say there would be warning signs, but also said it would still be a surprise. If someone wants to destroy the world in order to push for the Second Coming, then they're on the verge of being a false prophet as described by Christ. Not to mention: why take the risk when this might not be the time of his return?

I'm personally not a believer now, but I was raised in a very conservative Christian family. These arguments sometimes have an effect on my friends and family still in the church.

[int_19h]

> If anyone has people like this in your life, the Bible gives you a little ammo for changing their mind. First of all, mankind was given stewardship over the Earth. God expects people to not trash the place.

People who believe such things generally justify them by that very stewardship clause. According to that take, God gave the planet to humans, so however they use it is fine and accounted for. So either AGW simply isn't real, or if it is, God will take care of it.

[Spooky23]

7) Fake news. NOAA was faking the data, and things are fixed now. New data is great, but we don't release it.

[greggman]

I'm curious what you expect people to do and what you're doing yourself.

I worry about climate change and so do most of my friends but I see ZERO action on any of our parts. Example: Nearly all my friends FLEW to GDC this week, many of them that's a HUGE amount of CO2 added to the atmosphere just so we can have fun, network and party. Then we go to BBQ and hamburger restaurants and eat lots of beef which we're told we shouldn't because it's the biggest resource user for the smallest amount of food. Many of them upgrade their $!000 phone every year as well as several other electronic gadgets creating lots of electronic waste.

My point is, even the majority of "believers" won't change their behavior. At most if you're lucky they might start carrying their own bag to the grocery store yet still probably have 15+ pairs of shoes for "fashion" (yet another industry people claim is bad for the environment"

If the believers won't change their behavior what chance is there the non-believers will do anything?

If the only solution is "vote for a world government to geo-engineer the planet" well that's never going to happen.

Is the only rational thing to do, figure out where the new beachfronts will be and start buying property while it's cheap (like Lex Luthor from the first Superman movie)

[pg314]

I've become vegetarian, and have never owned a car. I've still got my 8 year old Nokia instead of buying the latest iPhone. My shoes are 10 years old (but well maintained and high quality, so you wouldn't be able to tell, except that they are not the latest fashion).

It's your decision to keep ignoring the problem. Nobody else taking action does not absolve you from your responsibility.

As a bonus, scaling down your consumption means your money goes much further. Early retirement (think thirties), is not impossible. If you're interested in these ideas, I've enjoyed reading [1].

[1] http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/

[coldpie]

After the fact that I don't like children, reducing my contribution to climate change is the #2 reason I chose not to have children.

[hackuser]

Call your elected representative; do it now. The answer is through government.

If we paid the true cost of carbon, probably we'd fly less, fuel would be re-engineered, and other forms of transport would be developed and expanded.

[Pxtl]

I bike to work and I'm a vegetarian. Many of my friends are similarly inclined.

[astrange]

You could probably get them to buy carbon credits. It'll be slightly less bad.

I did stop eating beef but my tech company cafeteria seems to be huge fans of it and will not stop giving it to us.

[DonHopkins]

It just like "A Narcicist's Prayer":

That didn't happen.

And if it did, it wasn't that bad.

And if it was, that's not a big deal.

And if it is, that's not my fault.

And if it was, I didn't mean it.

And if I did...

You deserved it.

[tasty_freeze]

You forgot the people who are global warming enthusiasts. They say things like, "CO2 is plant food, and we'll have a boom of farming productivity."

[tonyedgecombe]

I'm sure I read that plant coverage of the earth has increased by 14% since we started pumping CO2 into the atmosphere. Unfortunately the consensus seemed to be we are at or near the peak of this effect.

[Jare]

6) We can still act but you don't want to give the power to do it.

7) You gave the power, but to the wrong people.

8) The people in power are going to survive but we aren't.

[ceejayoz]

My prediction is "we're encouraging the development of new waterfront properties".

[flukus]

6 is GOTO 1.

The mouse wheel of denial.