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Comment by macjohnmcc | Hacker News Reader

I have a friend in his mid 70's who believes that global warming is happening but not due to any human activity that it is all just part of the normal cycles of the earth. He knows nothing of science and is just spewing what he has heard on conservative radio and television.

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> have a friend in his mid 70's who believes that global warming is happening but not due to any human activity that it is all just part of the normal cycles of the earth.

What I dont get about this viewpoint is like so you're just gonna sit around while the climate becomes more hostile because it's natural? I mean humans have done a lot to combat nature and bent the world to their comfort for a lot less.

Yeah there is a fire. Do you try to slow it down or do you just sit back and burn?

I think the argument is that, given that climate cycles are natural and not a result of human carbon (etc) emissions, reducing carbon emissions is not a effective way to combat nature, and there's no political will to undertake strategies that would actually be effective. (To be fair, it is actually true that reducing carbon emissions is not a effective way to combat nature; the position of non-stupid advocates is rather that it's the least ineffective method.)

Well that’s true. Carbon emissions are self-reinforcing. It would take 200%+ emission reduction at this point, as heat itself is increasing co2 release today in various ways.

This means reductions can only bring a short delay, they can’t stop global warming.

At this point it’s getting warmer mostly because it’s getting warmer.

A former colleague of mine expects the Rapture any day now, and that's his justification for his behavior. I guess he's not worried about what'll happen if he's wrong and his daughter has to grow up in the worse world he helped to create.

I have relatives who were convinced that the Rapture was coming in 2012. The looks on their faces when I asked them in 2011, "Why do you keep going to work, then? Why are you still having kids? Why did you just buy a house?" can only be described as quizzical. They simply couldn't see the logical disconnect.

They want to leave the world a burning wreck for the non-believers and live it up until the end. Sadly they are also going to be living on the burning wreck.

Science told us in early 2020 that masks are useless against a coronavirus. Here is German's top virologist declaring in January 2020 that masks will not stop the virus:

https://youtu.be/ZaqaPGw24_c?t=8

And look what mask nazis we all have become.

You're right, science is proven wrong time and time again. We used to think Newtonian physics was the bees' knees. Man, they sure look like fools now that we know Einsteinian physics is more accurate.

Science is a LIAR sometimes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFPtjXFfczM

Yes, science is great, because as Dawkins said, "it works, bitches", but it is not infallible. Even scientist sometimes can make mistakes, put their delusions above scientific principles, or decide to lie and be total cunts. Therefore, science constantly needs to be questioned and tested and there is nothing wrong with doing so.

My view on experts crapping on masks at the beginning is that they believed the virus was only spread with close contact and touching surfaces. And I'm sure a few of them just wanted to avoid the public buying up all the available mask to protect themselves leaving fewer for medical/science workers.

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