Posted on 10/04/2014 9:14:32 AM PDT by Signalman
Polls of voters consistently show that Americans place global warming (sometimes framed more generally as environmental concerns) at or near the bottom of their list of priorities. Most of the top concerns are almost always directly related to the economy.
Yet, there were approximately 125,000 people who turned out for the People’s Climate March in New York City. Why aren’t there even more people marching against the poor economy and unemployment, since those are the biggest concerns?
In a way, that really is what they were marching against. Mostly. Let me explain.
First, people really can’t get worked up over weather changes that they haven’t experienced themselves. With most Americans routinely dealing with temperature changes of 50 deg. F or more, they really don’t care much if the average changes by 1 deg. F. With the 18-year hiatus, most teenagers today haven’t even experienced global warming. We should also remember that people prefer warmth over cold. For example, over their lifetimes Americans preferentially move to where it’s warmer.
Second, when it comes to the environment, people have been warned by “scientists” of catastrophe for decades. Many of us were supposed to die long ago from heat, floods, storms, crop failure, etc. It didn’t happen. Global warming fatigue has been brewing for years, and is now firmly entrenched. Google Trends reveals that over the last 10 years, Google searches on “climate” have steadily decreased to about 50% of what they were, whereas interest in “weather” has increased by about 50%.
Next, those of us old enough to remember driving through Gary, Indiana in the 1960s and early 70s know how much cleaner our air and water are today. Smaller gains in “cleanliness” come at greater and greater cost now (although the EPA, which wants everything to be infinitely clean, does not seem to care about that). Unlike government bureaucrats, who get routine pay raises and job security no matter how much they hurt the business (our country), the people who actually pay the bills (taxpayers) still live in a cost-vs-benefits world.
Furthermore, most people understand that fossil fuels have been necessary for the prosperity that we all enjoy (at least those under political systems allowing people to benefit from their labors). Energy which currently is dominated by fossil fuels, and will be for decades to come.
Speaking of which, how’s this for a hockey stick?:
I think getting an extra 40 years of life in exchange for 1 to 2 deg. of warming is a pretty good deal. Might even be a win-win. So, do we really think that the People’s Climate March (which led up to the U.N. Climate Summit 2014) really was about climate?
There is considerable evidence that the People’s Climate March wasn’t as much about climate as it was an excuse for those who want a different political system. If you really believe that capitalism is destroying the Earth and hurting people — or even if you don’t really believe it — then environmentalism becomes a really good excuse to dump capitalism.
Especially if you can convince people you have some new and unusual statistical knowledge
Why don’t more people worry about eternal damnation?
Get back to me next August.
The high here today is only expected to get into the 40s.
Because by the time people reach adulthood, most have stopped believing in fairy tales.
Perhaps because vague, evolving, predictions smell like $;:4!
Yes.
It is the watermelon movement. Green on the outside, red on the inside.
I struggled to get past this line. Just because I am against the global warming and gorebull warming crowd does not exclude me form environmental concerns. When a person is wrong on their initial contention I find it hard to further see what they want to say.
It may be because we aren’t stupid.
bump
Just because there isn’t a huge organized march about something doesn’t mean don’t care about it
>>Why don’t more people worry about eternal damnation?
Because most people don’t believe in it. Even most churches teach that God is nice and people are generally good, and the nice God wouldn’t really condemn a generally good person to an eternity of torment.
Getting people to believe in the sovereignty of God is a challenge in a secular state like the USA. The individual is our God, even here on FR.
It's a really good deal since it ain't happening.
Why in the world does every piece criticizing the warming nuts always include some little BS like "there was but there isn't now" or "we admit it's happening, but aren't convinced we are the cause"?
We shouldn't offer some mealy mouthed backdoor apology for not accepting their fake science, outright lies and violent, fascist intimidation.
These people have declared war on us. Time to take the gloves off.
The author is not talking about own thoughts there, he is talking about polls and stuff. The pollsters will often generalize that way in their questions.
It’s called the vocal minority
Why Don’t More People Care About Global Warming?
Because its a joke.
The planet warms and cools as it sees fit. Nothing we can do about it.
Yet liberals would have us spend hundreds of billions of dollars and drastically alter or lifestyle for it. And see no result.
I guess I am not in the target group he wanted to read his stuff.
>>Next, those of us old enough to remember driving through Gary, Indiana in the 1960s and early 70s know how much cleaner our air and water are today.
Exactly! Young people who tell us that we are killing the planet don’t know just how disgusting we made it right here in America in the first 70 years of the 20th century. I remember when you could smell the St Johns River from 30 miles away (and it didn’t smell good). Today, I live a mile away and all I smell is pleasant smells from a healthy river. The EPA did its job and did it well. But, now its a bureaucracy that has not purpose, so it seeks to invent new crises—not to solve, but just to spend money on.
1) Most people see AGW/ACC for the scam it is.
2) Most people know that “marching for” something like that is a waste of time.
I don’t believe in the myth of man-made global climate change and therefore there is little we can or should do to CORRECT the “climate”.
I am considered a heretic in the eyes of Robert F. Kennedy Junior and a sinner in the eyes of Albert Gore Junior.
Yet I am REQUIRED by the State to tithe to their bullsh!t religion.
Just asking for some equal concern for my beliefs is all.
> “There is considerable evidence that the People’s Climate March wasn’t as much about climate as it was an excuse for those who want a different political system. If you really believe that capitalism is destroying the Earth and hurting people — or even if you don’t really believe it — then environmentalism becomes a really good excuse to dump capitalism.”
Money Quote.
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