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VAMatt on 22 June 2020
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GoOnKid said:
VAMatt said:

I don't disagree with your underlying point.  Clearly, the earth can heal itself.   The impact that humans have on the long term health of the earth is less clear, but certainly it is something.  Those facts aren't at issue here.

The issue is that we have been told repeatedly that we'll be fucked by year X if Y doesn't happen.  Y never happens, and year X always comes and goes, and we're never fucked.  So, "climate scientists" (a commonly used term that we could spend a whole thread discussing) as a group lack credibility. 

They're wrong every time.  They cry wolf, but no wolves ever show up.  So, fewer and fewer people pay attention to each successive cry.  Frankly, to the extent that "climate science" is an important field (and I believe it is pretty important), they owe it to humanity to stop constantly making wildly inaccurate claims. Only then will we be able to actually hear them if there truly is something that needs prompt attention.

Based on the replies you and others give in this thread I want to make a quick summary of your thoughts (I don't want to single you out on this entirely but your post is just a great hook, please don't be mad at me).

How it really is:

A) Scientists claim that humanity will suffer severely if we don't change.
B) Governments declare rules and regulations to help face the dangers
C) Industries adapt, new technologies arise, efficiency is increased, less resources are used
D) The end doesn't come, scientists are wrong

How it appears to you:

A) Scientists claim that humanity will suffer severely if we don't change.
B) The end doesn't come, scientists are wrong

You may not always see the consequences but technology is always on the verge of becoming more efficient and less resource consuming, and this process is propelled by the science behind it. Nowadays researchers try to push biodegradable packaging solutions for example to stop wasting our oceans. Power generation from fossil fuels become exchanged against natural resources like wind, water and the sun. Car manufactores work on car engines with electrical or hydrogen cells to stop polluting the air. The change is happening, my friend. We still have a long road ahead of us, however, and the more people are behin this change, the easier it will be for everyone.

Once humanity has solved the climate problem, there will always be people who close their eyes and ears about all the small changes and milestones that were reached on the journey. Those people will still say that scientiests were always wrong. But that is simply because humanity listens to them.

EDIT: Also, science evolves over time. It may appear like scientists contradict each other and change their opinions every now and then but that is because the situations change all the time as well. Scientific researches are constantly challenged and debated against because that is how the process of science just works.

The problem with this line of thinking is that we never do nearly as much as the scientists claim we need to do.  Yet, the doom doesn't come.  That's the fundamental problem with this whole "climate emergency" stuff.  Scientists announce if we don't do X by year Y, we'll see problem Z.  Humans institute 1/4 of X by year Y+5, but problem Z never occurs.  It's classic alarmism, and it is directly harmful to the environment because it kills the credibility of science around the subject.