The left continues to fear-monger about climate change. The most radical leftists claim the Earth will face serious devastation in approximately twelve years. This devastation includes increased natural disasters, mass human migration, and famine. Our climate crisis can only be solved, they say, by increasing the size of government and banning fossil fuels. They also label people who question their climate narrative ‘deniers’. The belief that climate change will soon devastate the Earth has become a pseudo-religion. To give examples of this, NBC asked people to confess their shortcomings in regard to the climate. Also, young people pledged to not have children unless the government deals with the climate threat.
A recent survey by BBC Newsround found children from ages eight to sixteen are anxious about the climate. The study found 19% of respondents had nightmares about climate change and 17% had a change in their sleep and eating. Also, 40% of the children said they did not trust adults to do enough on the climate issue. With all the hysteria surrounding climate change, it is not surprising that children would feel worried. However, their worry is caused by highly exaggerated and sometimes outright false claims.
Even if we acknowledge that the Earth is getting warmer, the claims of worldwide devastation are highly exaggerated. Michael Shellenberger wrote a great article about how doomsday climate predictions are inaccurate. While many scientists believe that climate change is real, there is not a consensus who claim it will devastate humanity in twelve years.
Stanford’s Ken Caldeira said: “Climate change does not threaten human extinction… I would not like to see us motivating people to do the right thing by making them believe something that is false.”
Australian climate scientist Tom Wigley also disputed this claim, saying: “It really does bother me because it’s wrong. All these young people have been misinformed. And partly it’s Greta Thunberg’s fault. Not deliberately. But she’s wrong.”
The claim that we will face severe famine and crop shortages in unfounded, as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization predicts an increase in crop yields by 2050. It also said future crop yields depend much more on poor countries’ access to resources than the climate. Shellenberger also says in his article that drastic rhetoric about climate change polarizes people, and prevents everyone from coming to the table and talking about realistic climate change solutions. Climate activists also place much of the blame for carbon emissions on the United States. In reality, though, no matter how far the United States goes in reducing carbon emissions, China remains the largest carbon emitter. Climate activists tend to ignore China and other high emitters such as India.
There is no problem with teaching kids to care about the environment. However, adults should not scare them into thinking the world will soon end when there is no solid evidence to substantiate this claim.
