Thursday, February 02, 2023

Climate predictions

"Look, none of those climate change predictions came true so it's a hoax to scare us all!"

Isn't it great scientists made all these predictions about acid rain, the ozon layer, the Great Barrier Reef and so on, so worldwide efforts could work to prevent disasters?

Recently it came to light that the scientists at ExxonMobil knew (click) in the seventies, realised that the oil-, coal- and gas industry was responsible for (the consequenses of) rapid climate change. ExxonMobil directors have not been jailed and the company has yet to be fined for deliberately witholding information that could be crucial to the survival of the human race (and that of trees, whales, birds and those cute little baby otters). Why? I'm guessing because the politicians that should punish ExxonMobil (and most likely others in the same industry) are literally paid (click) by the fossil fuel lobby. 

As a matter of fact: the US Secretary of State under Donald Trump was also the CEO of ExxonMobil. 

For those who still wonder why so many oil pipelines suddenly got permission to be build, even at the cost of sacred Native American lands. It's almost as if older, rich white men (I don't see many others in this group, do you?) don't care about the future, the planet or other people.


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That damage to the ozon layer and The Great Barrier Reef is not as bad as predicted is known as the self-defeating prophecy, also known as 'the prophet's dilemma': If you warn people for a disaster, they can take measures adverting it and you will be known as a false prophet. Very similar to climatologists who predicted many parts of the world would possibly be uninhabetable by 2020. 

Were they wrong? Not really; because scientists predicted floods, cold fronts and heatwaves, governments were prepared to save (some of) their citizens. So they raised dams, invested in wind energy, asked people to grow plants in their gardens instead of tiling them all up, stimulated electric driving, et cetera. 'See, no disaster!' 

Not yet. The danger still lurks and instead of using billions to bail out billionaires who made mistakes with their investments, trading shares in oil companies and supporting war efforts, 


perhaps it's time the people realized we all have one single common enemy: rapid climate change.

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