A recent UN survey shows 60% of people in rich countries believe climate change will lead to the end of mankind (https://www.undp.org/press-releases/worlds-largest-survey-public-opinion-climate-change-majority-people-call-wide-ranging-action). This has been caused by fear mongering in the media (i.e. braindead journalists that know nothing). Not only is it untrue, it's harmful because it makes people embrace bad policies and ignore more urgent problems facing the world. Like many things, climate change has positive and negative effects, but we rarely hear about the positives because fear is a better motivator, and is more successful for getting votes for politicians, donations for activists, and grants for scientists. Over the last 20 years, temperature rises have caused about 116,000 more people to die from heat, but at the same time about 283,000 fewer people died from cold. Nine times as many people die from cold as from heat. Yet we don't hear about this in the news. Some other wild claims from the media:
"Climate change is fueling extremism" cnn.com/2019/03/06/world/climate-change-terrorism-extremism-africa-middle-east-intl/index.html
"A shifting climate is catalysing infectious disease" bbc.com/future/article/20231201-fevered-planet-how-climate-change-spreads-infectious-disease
"Climate change will harm children's mental health" usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-10-11/dimate-change-will-harm-childrens-mental-health-report
Well I guess it sucks for people in Bangladesh, Florida, and low lying islands in the ocean, those places will be submerged as sea level rises, but then again, it hasn't bothered the Netherlands where a third of the country is below sea level and some places are 22ft below. Maybe it's possible for people to adapt? For people in Siberia and northern Canada, things are looking pretty rosy, especially since most of the warming that occurs will be in the higher latitudes. Higher crop yields and faster plant growth, new areas opening up to farming that were once too cold. No you won't hear about those things in the news. A greener world is the last thing the "greenies" want you to think.
-Dave Badperson
