[bastawhiz]

> the things are happening though.

That's what the headlines said the last 49 times. Why should the average person care now? What are they supposed to do?

Al Gore got on a scissor lift and showed the hockey stick graph. Millions of people saw it. Then the data was bad. Then the average person didn't see anything happen that they could point to and be like "That's what Al Gore warned us about". What you're asking for already happened, over and over. It's useless now.

[pjmlp]

Use paper straws, because that is how we save the world. /s

[Izkata]

It's like the climate people never heard the fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". It's exactly that.

[idiotsecant]

Who are 'The climate people' you seem to think are doing this? Do you think there is a club where the climate people president takes a vote from the climate people council on how many news stories hacknews user Izkata should read?

If you lived under a big precarious rock and people always talked about the big rock falling on you would you ignore the big rock because the big rock people keep crying wolf?

This is honestly the most baffling worldview.

[senordevnyc]

If you lived under a big precarious rock and people always talked about the big rock falling on you would you ignore the big rock because the big rock people keep crying wolf?

Yeah, that’s exactly what we do, all the time. From nuclear weapons to pandemics to climate change, people become accustomed to the background risks they live under, and go about their lives. Especially when there’s almost nothing they can do about it anyway.

And well-meaning people constantly predicting calamities that don’t materialize only hasten that process.

[joquarky]

Yes, this is what most people do. If you don't know people like this, then try visiting a large church.

[postflopclarity]

except that every time the boy cried wolf, there actually was a wolf and it ate some people, but then the people it didn't eat were like "idk what you're talking about, I'm doing just fine" and then plugged their ears.

[cagey]

Well that's not how I heard the fable, and not how the authoritative reference recalls it either[0]. If "every time the boy cried wolf, there actually was a wolf and it ate some people", then it would hardly be a fable about giving a false alarm, would it?

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Who_Cried_Wolf

[postflopclarity]

... yes. that's my point. the fable is not a good analogy in this context.

[joquarky]

Anyone who doesn't get this must have lived under a rock during COVID-19.