Monday, July 14, 2014

Climate Change Naysayers - Why no amount of convincing matters

People hate change.

Worse, sometimes people hate change so much that they refuse to recognize when change is happening all around them and they are in a state of self denial. They refuse to recognize the changes they see, because they know if they accept the changes then they will need to make changes in their own lives.

When it comes to the people who refuse to accept change then you can show them hard evidence and they will still refuse to accept the evidence - indeed, they will come up with their own conspiracy theories claiming that the evidence has been falsified.

Take for example the issues of climate change and global warming.

You can write essays and dissertations explaining climate change, global warming, and what must be done to protect humanity's future.

You can show them documentaries that visually show them how climate change is effecting people around the world.

You can show them scientific evidence, research papers and explain how greenhouse gases work to change the temperatures around the globe.

But if they refuse to read, see or believe in the evidence laid before them then no amount of convincing will help these people to understand.

And what doesn't help is when oil companies and the coal industry try to convince people that global warming / climate change is a hoax.

I have come to the conclusion that climate change is happening and due to humanity's refusal to do anything that we now have to reap the consequences.

The most obvious of which will be Rising Sea Levels.

By 2030 (possibly sooner) many coastal cities are going to be flooded. Including New York City, Boston, San Francisco and many others.

In Canada the cities most effected will be Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax. Cities like St John Newfoundland will be less effected because of its high cliffs along the coast.

Vancouver and Montreal will see significant problems as they are two of Canada's most populated cities and the people living there will need to go somewhere. There will be massive shifts in Canada's real estate industry and unemployment rates.

In the USA there will be civil unrest. Possibly even civil war as many people from coastal states move inland - to regions which will be suffering a different problem: Droughts.

Not enough rainfall in some regions of the USA will make farming almost impossible. Droughts means that food prices will skyrocket, and in a country where many people are also abandoning their homes and moving further inland they will find themselves between a dry rock and a very wet place.

Some cities are already making plans for what happens when rising sea levels threaten their city. New York City for example could build a series of barriers around the city to protect it from rising water levels.

But the financial costs will be severe and it will take decades to build.

Which means that if NYC doesn't start building sea barriers now it is going to be too late by the time the city starts flooding.

Plus even if they do build it, in typical American fashion they will likely argue about the best way to save money building it and then mess up the designs during the process - and the city gets flooded anyway.

But whatever. All of this is science fiction writing according to any naysayer who simply chooses not to believe in the facts laid before them. They won't believe it is possible for NYC to flood until it actually happens.



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