Woke up this morning to this, which is hardly news, but it gave me the kick I needed to follow through with a piece of my own about Climate change denial.
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/climate-deniers/koch-industries/
Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine
It also coincided with a First dog on The Moon piece published in the Guardian this week regarding a group of Australian youngsters and a Nun in Holy Orders who have decided to sue the Australian Environment Minister Sussan* Ley, for doing just about everything BUT her Job! {Hence a slightly Australian flavour to our Handy Tips, but the same principles apply the world over.} *Very much not a spelling mistake
Understanding Climate Denial Arguments in the Climate Debate.
A 10 point guide
- The Colombian Manoeuvre.
Cocaine from Columbian farmers has been found in significant quantities in every major city in the USA and Europe. When questioned, the Columbian Government denies all responsibility for this “Phenomenon”.
Now imagine that Australia, the world’s largest exporter of coal, used that same argument against taking measures to limit Climate damage. Yes I know, it is preposterous isn’t it?
- The Pot-Hole Avoidance.
When was the last time you wrote to your local council to complain about the pot-holes in your local streets being a danger to road users, only to receive the response “Your local council is unable to fix the pot holes in your area until China and India have fixed their pot-holes too.
That is the climate argument that we hear all too often from the “What about China and India” Lobby.
- The Economic Assessment Test (EAT) for the use of…
This is a particular favourite of Aussie PM Scott Morrison. It can also appear under the guise of a Feasibility Study as well as an Environmental Impact study, so be on your toes for this one. In all events it is necessary to set up a deliberately vague/undefined study to evaluate the optimum time to act (Or not, according to the Feng Shui of the moment). A properly organised EAT ® has been known to take as long as 7 years and generate a report large enough to justify the $20 Million price tag and the use of a fleet of Fed Ex wagons to deliver it to parliament.
In a simplified version think of the most irritating person you know in the “Marketing:” office being sent away time and time again to ‘re-evaluate the costings’ in order to avoid making decisions any time soon.
4.The “…but the Cost” retort.
Related by money to (3) above the “It’ll cost you” ploy is where they try and convince you that the costs of moving to cheaper, cleaner energy far outweigh the cost of rebuilding thousands of homes, communities and wrecked infrastructure destroyed by the extreme weather that isn’t happening through Climate change. Honest!
- The “Get Real, (or Get Practical)” argument
Easy to spot this one, where climate change denialists demand “practical solutions to the climate crisis” whilst ignoring the hundreds of actual solutions which are already in existence (Thus practical surely?) and have been for years.
- The “virtue signaling” response.
Another easy one to spot a mile away, in which climate change denialists signal their virtue (usually relying on points 1-5 above) over and above all the other people that they, in turn, believe to be virtue signaling about climate action.
- The “ This is coal,” argument
Where a future prime minister taunts his opponents with a lump of coal and says “Don’t be afraid, don’t be scared.” The idea borrowed from a right-wing American Senator, James Inhofe , (If Inhofe was any further to the Right he would fall off the edge of this Flat Earth he believes we inhabit). He was waving a snowball around as a counter argument to Global Warming, looks like just about anybody can be a Senator these days…if they have enough $$$$$
It is best not to engage in any way with people using these sorts of gimmicks, they do a grand job of exposing themselves as the f*ckw*ts that they truly are and need no further help from us.
- The “Now is not the time” argument.
It isn’t an argument in any sense if the word. Now is not the time for another year of Bush Fires and Flash floods either. If you are not prepared to act now we must assume you are not prepared to act at all. Literally an “Oxygen Bandit”
- The “we need power when the sun is down” argument.
You can sense the weakness setting in when you get down to this level. Many things can be charged up during the day for use at night, Wind doesn’t stop when the sun goes down, and neither does CSP (Concentrated Solar power) or Tidally generated energy. If you are discussing renewable energy with people that have got this close to the bottom of the barrel there is only one place left to go….
- ….Yep, the bottom of the barrel.
Welcome to the “Extreme weather caused by climate change (which we deny exists) took down the power grid thus causing a blackout and it was all directly caused by renewables” argument.
Life at the bottom of Think Tanks is often akin to amoeba and smelly sludge. I refuse to go there, sorry.
Another great site by the Dangerous Globe
