Denying The Demonstrable

MY FRIEND AT THE SENIOR CENTER, the one who supports Trump and intends, if given the chance, to vote for him again despite the insurrection, doesn't believe in cimate change either. A full blown climate change denier. That is hardly surprising; support for Donald Trump and climate change denial go hand in hand,as do lack of education and, in some instances, lack of intelligence. My friend happens to be a perfectly intelligent man, but lack of intelligence does not prevent people from accepting reality as much as lack of education and embrace of political conservatism. He said to me; referring to climate change; you don't believe in that stuff, do ya? Then he went on to utilize the climate change denial strategy of the day; that the climate changes constantly, of its own accord, naturally, and that therefore human activity has nothing to do with it. Give him credit; at least he doesn't use the liberal hoax Chinese hoax approach, an approach which seems to be losing favor among conservatives, for some reason, probably because it sounds idiotic and is idiotic. The problem is that, yes indeed, the climate does indeed change naturally over time, and often it changes quite suddenly and drastically. But that in no way prevents human activity from having an impact on the climate, indeed a profound impact as well, which indeed it does, as scientists have known for many decades. It is becoming increasingly obvious to the rest of us too; October is becoming a summer month, February is becoming a spring month. I pointed out to my friend that all that is needed to understand and thus accept the reality of human made climate change is a high school chemistry class; one needn't bother attending college. Understanding the reality of climate change, and the reasons for it, what is causing it specifically, requires only a cursory knowledge of basic science. I mentioned to him that people conversant with basic science understand and accept climate change, and challenged him to ask any high school chemistry or biology teacher whether it is real, or a liberal hoax intended to give more power over the people to the government. I hardly expect him to do this; why should he engage in any activity which might challenge or even disprove his cherished beliefs? Conservative denial of cliamte change is purely emotional. Accepting it would mean the need to accept the need for drastic,sudden economic, political, and cultural change. Change, in all its many forms,is the fundamental force to which conservativism, wedded to tradition, is opposed. Educated scientsts and liberals are seen by most conservatives as elitist snobs, rather than well educated experts worthy of respect and worthy of being listened to. Climate change denial is in decline, as the old, intellectually entrenchd generation passes away and new generations enter the world, and receive better educations. But it is dying a slow painful death, like religion. Also, the increasingly violent, unpredictable weather paterns, which are precisely as science has predicted for decades, are forcng many people to come around to acceptance of climate reality. All older people have noticed the change in climate; but they can still claim that it is happening naturally, without human intervention, which is exactlly what they do. When the glaciers are all gone, and the average daily temperatures in most places begin to exceed one hundred degrees in the summer, the deniers will doubtless still deny. By then, it would be to late. But by then, the world will hve been handed over to new, better educated generations, and the actual process of reversing this greatest threat to human survival will be their responsibility, albeit unfairly. The people who caused the problem will not be the people who solve it, but, the one consolation is that they will be long gone, and no longer capable of hindering the work needed to ensure the survival of humanity. and all life on Earth.