CLIMATE CHANGE DENIALISM
Image courtesy of Birdfact
WE ALL HAVE ONE HOME AND IT’S CALLED EARTH
In todays political climate, a persons’ opinion on climate change is a good predictor of their political affiliation. Throughout Earths’ history most climate change has inherently occurred as natural cycles. There has been periods of decreased / increased atmospheric temperatures due to volcanic winters, cosmic impacts, sun cycles and the Earths’ periodic Milankovitch Cycles (Obliquity, Procession & Eccentricity). However, the impacts of Human caused climate change, due to the combustion of fossil fuels generation of green house gases (GHGs) emissions, are more impactful not only because it is preventable but because of its’ rate of acceleration and endurance. The speed and volume of Human caused GHGs far exceeds any natural emissions that contributed to elevated CO₂ levels from the volcanic eruptions that almost wiped out all complex organic life a quarter-billion years ago. Yet, the ideology of some critics attempts to minimize the insurmountable scientific evidence of Human caused climate change in order to equate the intrinsic emissions of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum with current Human caused GHG emissions.
The increase in atmospheric GHGs has accelerated in the past century due to the combustion of fossil fuels in the forms of: coal, oil & natural gas; compounded by deforestation. GHG emissions have been rising since the Industrial Revolution, the rate has tripled since the 1960s, accelerating from an average of 0.8 parts per million (PPM) per year to 2.4 ppm per year in the 2011 - 2020 decade.
There is an urgency to transition energy generation from the movement of atoms to the movement of electrons—Solar. Scientist believe a temperature rise above 3 degrees °C can be catastrophic to Human existence. The Earth will survive; however, Humans may not, Humans will be replaced as the dominant species. Even if Humanity was to completely end the combustion of oil, coal & natural gas within a short period of time, the inertial impacts of fossil fuels combustion on our health & the environment will linger for several more decades before diminishing completely.
Even when some critics acknowledge the facts of Human caused climate change they may try to rationalize that the remedies are more harmful to our quality of life and economic prosperity—albeit for the affluent global north. Instead, speculative options, most if not all, with a monetary benefit are suggested which relies on technology ironically powered by fossil fuels or the monetization of carbon credits. Carbon capture & sequestration technology uses an immense amount of energy to operate has been promoted by the fossil fuel industry and technocrats. While drought resistant plants are in development by the seed industry to monopolize certain strains of crops that are drought and / or pest resistant. Corporations have even managed to monetize climate change resilience while not modifying their environmentally harmful ways of doing business.
Population control is seen by Eugenist as a viable option to mitigate Human impact on the environment and its resources; along with world hunger. However, GHG emissions correlate with gross domestic product (GDP) rather than population size. Countries like Saudi Arabia have a higher GHG per capita emissions rate compared to a country like Haiti. However, Saudi Arabia only has 1/5 the population density of Haiti. As of 2025, Saudi Arabia is only 0.42% of the total world population; however, in 2024 it had a GHG per capita emissions rate of 22.79, while in 2024 the United States contributed 17.34, United Kingdom 5.63 and Haiti 1.16 GHG per capita emissions.
According to new research by S. Schöngart published in May 2025 by “Nature Climate Change” quantifies how “the world’s wealthiest 10% are responsible for two-thirds of observed global warming since 1990” mostly from the global north. A very small percentage of the Earths population, with concentrated wealth, emits disproportionately large amounts of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change related extreme weather events which have a greater impact on populations in the global south whom contributed the least to global warming and have less resources to mitigate environmental disasters.
The fossil fuel corporation British Petroleum (BP) tried to obfuscate their responsibility of climate change and environmental pollution by shifting the blame towards the consumers. B.P. hired Ogilvy & Mather, a New York City based British public relations and advertising agency to come up with a public relations campaign to accomplish this objective. The strategy was to trick consumers in to believing their individual actions and lifestyles called the “Carbon Footprint” are the main culprits of environmental pollution and subsequently, they must carry the main burden of correcting the problem. From 2004 to 2006 B.P. initiated a $100 million per year greenwashing campaign to rebrand the corporation name to Beyond Petroleum.
As planned, the fossil fuel corporations remain unscathed to continue harming the Earth by tricking consumers in to believing it is their individual responsibility to solve climate change through their personal lifestyle practices. Regardless, it is a moral imperative that we live our values through our sustainable lifestyle choices.
If Humans are bestowed with manifest destiny to be stewards of the Earth, then we have a moral obligation to use every knowledge and skill available to us to immediately stop the harmful impacts caused by the combustion of fossil fuels for energy generation along with deforestation. Sustainable lifestyle practices are not just progressive actions an individual can do, but more importantly it’s a practice of morality and the embodiment of personal values & honor. The real potential of this behavioral shift is when it encourages people to become engaged as a collective movement to create greater progressive changes.
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