How to Talk to a Global Warming Denier

Having dealt with deniers of global warming, whoClaim: Hackers revealed that two scientists at UN
have in many cases been highly aggressive andwere fudging data.
unprincipled, I have come up with a quick checklistAnswer: That two people were doing their work
of what one needs to say if faced with a denierincompetently says nothing about a fact that was
of global warming. The following are responses toknown long before these two people had anything
some of the claims I have heard.to do with it. and that is affirmed not only by
Claim: What's wrong with Siberia becoming 2scientists who have nothing to do with UN but
degrees hotter?also by industry leaders who have opposed
Answer: Very small proportion of the world'senvironmental agenda for many decades.
population lives in cold climates, whereas billions liveClaim: Scientists at UN have made up global
in hot climates. For vast portion of the world'swarming to pursue global domination by a Satanic
population, global warming means floods,New World Order conspiracy.
hurricanes, destruction of cities and farmland, andAnswer: Scientists knew about global warming
vast loss of life and property.since 1980s. The right-wing government of the
Claim: Some places in the world are having coldtime wanted nothing to do with it, denying
spells.creation of clean-energy solutions that would have
Answer: Erratic weather events are very much acheaply and easily solved the problem. Now,
predicted effect of the destabilization of climatesolutions will be that much more difficult, and
accompanying global warming. Cross-worldmuch irreversible damage has already been done.
averages show a consistent upward trend in theAll thanks to the American Right that denied the
world's temperatures.truth in the first place and many of whose
Claim: Mammoths, termites, etc., have producedadherents are continuing to deny it now.
lots of methaneClaim: God will fix this.
Answer: Nothing coming from mammoths orAnswer: People created this problem, people must
termites begins to compare to the deadlysolve this problem. It is not fair to ask God or
double-punch of uncontrolled carbon emissions andGaia or any other agency to clean up our mess.
deforestation of rainforests that people haveClaim: There is no global warming. These are the
been doing to cause global warming.end times.
Claim: Trees absorb carbon dioxide.Answer: People have choice as to what world to
Answer: Which is why raising carbon dioxidehave, and for how long to have it. It is only the
emissions while cutting down the rainforestend times if you make these the end times by
creates carbon dioxide with no trees to absorb it.destroying life on earth. The stance of destroying
This carbon dioxide then goes into the oceans,the planet will not earn you any favor with God
where it makes them acidic and kills the fish, andor with any power with any concept of
into the atmosphere, where it reflects the sun'srighteousness. And if you continue this stance,
rays bouncing off the earth's surface back to theyou have everything to fear for your soul if the
earth, causing the earth to become hotter.end times ever are to arrive.
Claim: A small change in the gases in theClaim: Global warming is a giant hoax.
atmosphere cannot affect the climate.Answer: In fact, it is denial of global warming that
Answer: There are many factors that, if changedhas been a vast hoax perpetrated by Republican
even a little, would not make possible for life orgovernments, Texas Oil, and conmen who deny
even universe to exist. The world is exquisitelythe validity of science while benefiting from it daily
balanced and can be thrown off balance by veryas does everyone in the West. This problem was
minor changes. And nothing is minor about theknown in 1980s, and it should have been solved,
vast rise in emissions of carbon gases combinedcheaply and easily, in 1980s, through creation of
with vast rainforest deforestation.high-intelligence, high-technology clean energy
Claim: Earth has been hotter and colder before.solutions. Instead it was denied, and now because
Answer: At no time in the past was there asit has been denied the world is facing great loss
much human population as there is now. Theof life, great loss of property, and irreversible
heating of the world - along with disastrous erraticdamage, none of which had to be if this problem
climate events brought on by global warming - willhad not been denied and been acted upon when it
result, and already result, in vast loss of life andwas discovered.
property, which the previous cycles did not. TheClaim: It would be expensive to do anything about
accompanying acidification of the oceans and risingit / people would have to lose what they have.
of ocean waters compounds the problem.Answer: No, people would not have to lose what
Claim: Sun spot cycles are responsible for thethey have. In fact, there are technically and
climate change.economically sound technologies that can provide
Answer: Sun spot cycles do not begin to explainall of people's present and much more energy and
why there is more CO2 in the atmosphere than inwater needs through processes that are not
800,000 years, nor do they begin to explain whydestructive to the environment or are much less
oceans are turning to acid. Double-punch ofdestructive than current technologies. Some of
uncontrolled carbon emissions and rainforestthese technologies carry vast economic benefit,
deforestation does.both short-term and long-term, along with their
Claim: Natural warming and cooling cycles areenvironmental benefit, while delivering greater
responsible for the climate change.convenience and utility than technologies of today.
Answer: As previous.And these technologies can be put into place by
Claim: People cannot affect something as vast asthe private sector as easily as they can be put
planet Earth.into place by the government, resulting both in job
Answer: Yes they can. Amazon rainforest aloneand prosperity growth in the present and
loses the area the size of Greece every sixsignificant gains in efficiency over the long term.
years, and half the world's animal and plantClaim: You can talk the talk, what are you doing
species have been lost in the last two centuries.to walk the walk?
We are in the middle of the fastest extinction inAnswer: Working with an inventor of a technically
the history of the planet, all due to human activity.and environmentally beneficial technology called
The same is true for global warming.the Hydrogen Transmission Network.