Schwab: Ignorance or greed must be blinding some on climate
Evening skies, the color of smokers teeth. The shrouded sun, smearing cirrhotic orange across our region. As asthmatics crowd hospitals and schools keep children inside, it feels right to try, again, to convince Republicans of the catastrophe that is man-made climate change. How did addressing it become a party thing? Oil money? Surely, theyre not that deplorable.
Ryan Zinke, ravager of public lands, assures us that wildfires torching North America are unrelated to climate change. Because common sense tells us trees desiccated by heat and drought are no more flammable than ones growing in Okefenokee. In another swamp, the one Trumpists say he drained (come for the emoluments, stay for the felonies), truth has died of suffocation.
With evidence all but choking them, deniers must be deaf, blind and dumb. This applies especially to the squatter behind the Resolute Desk. At best, its deliberate ignorance, motivated by undisguised corporate greed. At worst, like Trump, its a pathological need to hurt people; specifically, President Barack Obama and progressives, regardless of the planetary damage it causes. Theres no word for it but sick. Evil. Deranged. Criminal. Sociopathic. Contemptible.
To Trump, climate change is a hoax birthed in China. To others, its a conspiracy of the Trilateral Commission (or some other code words for Jews) intended to destroy America. Still others claim that suggesting humans can affect climate is an affront to whomever they pray to. (Yes, climate has been changing since the beginning. But, no, never close to the speed were witnessing, and never paralleling such rapidly rising greenhouse gas levels.)
Its the confluence of conspiracy, scientific illiteracy and illogic, confirming recently published research into the relationship between science denial (specifically creationism, but it applies equally to climate change), conspiracy theories, and a shared particular cognitive flaw. (Current Biology: tinyurl.com/conspiracy-denial)
The investigators assessed the commonality of teleological thinking amongst conspiracists and science-deniers. Defined in the study as the attribution of purpose and a final cause to natural events and entities, teleology is considered scientifically invalid. Common in children, maybe its a necessary first step toward making sense of the world. If it enhances the expansion of young minds, thats good; in adults, though, its detrimental, a poor substitute for rationality.
A positive correlation was found. Their conclusion: the everything happens for a reason or it was meant to be intuition at the heart of teleological thinking
could also be a more general gateway to the acceptance of anti-scientific views and conspiracy theories. Rationality vs. irrationality. Progressivism vs. Trumpism. This, or something like it, must explain Trumps and his psychological ilks information-averse rejection of the obvious.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/schwab-ignorance-or-greed-must-be-blinding-some-on-climate/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=ccc5fd0558-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-ccc5fd0558-228635337
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(49,036 posts)Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)in a very simple form. Number one,if you are a Utility Customer,your Bills will reflect changes in amount of Usage for Electricity, and Water for that month,and in most States,there will be a reference via some type of Graph showing consumption from the same time frame from the previous year. And you can go on line and get this info for up to five years.
And,as far as Rain fall,that can take a bit of research to find the hard data. I found local Political attitude can throw up road blocks by not reporting some data.
Fortunately our Credit Union allows us a five year look back as to real dollar pay outs for our Utilities
as well as other payouts all on line.