[benabbott]

Climate change seems to be a topic that's "OK" to be skeptical about because you can't see it right now, today, with your own eyes.

I wonder if folks who aren't so keen on the idea of climate change would be more open to the idea of population-level poisoning?

These two issues seem to get lumped in the same bucket but it does seem that population-level poisoning seems to be more of an acute threat. Lead, asbestos, microplastics, PFAs, pesticides... Who knows what these will do over generations, and there is certainly more chemical poisons we've introduced into our environment that we haven't even discovered.

[fpsvogel]

In my experience, in the US, harmful chemicals in products are a lot more credible than climate change, to people who listen to the Right. An example that has been in the news: pregnant women taking Tylenol.

For whatever reason, a “natural” lifestyle is more compatible with American conservative politics than an environmentally responsible lifestyle. I think the two can easily overlap, but the former would have to emphasized for it to get any traction with that audience.

EDIT: Replace “for whatever reason” with “due to the influence of the fossil fuel industry”