Monday, October 18, 2010

Contempt wins no hearts and no minds.

Last week, a generic right-wing propagandist named S.E. Cupp appeared on Bill Maher's show, spewing what to a certain breed of climate denialist has become a favorite misdirection. They don't flat out deny the science, although they certainly don't acknowledge the gravity of what the science tells us; but they attempt to pretend that the real question isn't whether or not anthropogenic climate change is occurring, rather it's whether or not we can afford to deal with it. But any excuse for not dealing with it is but a different flavor of the same. It all boils down to ignoring the depth of the crisis so the fossil fuels industries can churn right along, reaping massive profits from the destruction of the biosphere.
Climate change is an economic crisis


The author, Laurence Lewis, is also in denial I'm afraid. We need to recognize that human beings, like any other animal, attend to immediate needs first.  When environmentalists show contempt for basic human nature, they don't help the cause.


Remember that video that went over like a lead balloon, where doubtful kids got blown up? That's an attitude I am seeing more and more of. Let's not take that road. All that will result from it is to entrench the doubtful.

Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than the arguments of its opposers.
-William Penn

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