Climate Deniers Would Rather See A Continent Burn Than Be Wrong

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Climate deniers, it seems, would rather see an entire continent burned into ash instead of admitting that they were wrong.

A statement from Sierra, the national magazine of the Sierra Club. “I brought back a couple of face masks from Beijing after being caught in the city’s 2017 ‘airpocalypse;’ I never thought I would be pulling them out to use in my hometown,” writes Hamilton in his letter.

“I used to believe that only catastrophes manifestly caused by climate change would break through the psychological walls of denial. But I was mistaken. It’s now clear that the deniers would sooner see the whole country destroyed than admit they have been wrong. Their houses could burn down, their families could be incinerated, and still, they would find a way of dismissing the scientific evidence.” — Clive Hamilton, A Letter From Canberra.

He isn’t the only one writing. Michale Mann, a top climate scientist, penned an opinion piece with The Guardian that was inspired by his vacation to the Blue Mountains, a landscape that has changed from a lush rainforest to an ominous scene that could be a landscape from any apocalyptic movie. Mann writes that this area has “panoramic vistas that challenge any the world has to offer.”

“It too is now threatened by climate change. I witnessed this firsthand.” — Michael Mann, The Guardian. 

'Climate scientist: I witnessed Australia on fire. Climate change is already here.' https://t.co/HPFIcXo3dT

— Climate Reality (@ClimateReality) January 14, 2020

On this vacation, Mann (who will be on our Cleantech Talk podcast next month) didn’t see the vast expanses of rainforests that he described as framed by distant blue-tinged mountain ranges. Instead, this view was filled with smoke that was so thick he could barely see the distant ridges and mountain peaks in the background. That blue tint was replaced by a brown haze. The blue tint, he points out, was emitted by Eucalyptus trees that are were so plentiful there. The sky was also brown, as the haze reached up as if it were slowly taking over the landscape.

“The brown skies I observed in the Blue Mountains this week are a product of human-caused climate change.” — Michael Mann, The Guardian. 

Mann isn’t the only one who is pointing out the obvious. For example, we have people like Greta Thunberg pushing for charge, one of the most vocal when it comes to climate crisis. However, some politicians and deniers choose to mock and bully rather than do something about it. This is ego, plain and simple. Ego says, “I am never wrong,” and it will go out of its way to try to prove that even if millions and billions are harmed.

“I used to believe that only catastrophes caused by climate change would break through the psychological walls of denial. But I was mistaken. It’s now clear that the deniers would sooner see the whole country destroyed than admit they have been wrong.” https://t.co/G0gSh5Oxan

— Dan Gocher (@justdanfornow) January 13, 2020

The tweet above shares Hamilton’s article in Sierra. The photo speaks loudly, clearly, as the forest filled the skeletons of once-living trees stands in contrast to a grey mist that looks straight out of any horror movie. This photo was taken after a wildfire near Kangaroo Valley in 2020 — just a few days ago. “It feels like the apocalypse has come,” writes Hamilton, and Australia hasn’t even reached the peak of its fire season, which usually doesn’t arrive until late January. Nonetheless, already, 12 million acres have been reduced to ash.

#honesthistory Open letter from hundreds of Australian historians on drought, bushfires and climate change: https://t.co/gZCj1bERjm pic.twitter.com/VRaYoeCVnY

— honesthistory.net.au (@honesthistory1) January 14, 2020

In another open letter, this time from the Australian Historical Association, the writers emphasize that  Australia’s “limited action” on climate change represents a “continuation of poor environmental practice.” A major part of the problem is the climate deniers. Deniers routinely mock, belittle, bully, and pretend that all is well as their world burns down around them — and God forbid you present them with facts.

Look at what climate deniers have said about Time Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year, Great Thunberg, for example — even the President of the United States took to mocking her instead of taking her seriously. The general attitude is that, “you’re a child, your opinion doesn’t count, and you should be in school,” but the reality is that children will inherit our mess when we die off. How is this fair? What good is school when we teach our children that climate change isn’t real? What good will education be when we laugh at facts, mock scientists, or pretend the problems are not real?

Featured photo by José Pontes, CleanTechnica