While Germany is becoming a world leader in solar energy deployment, in spite of receiving only as much sunlight as Alaska, and while Britain is mapping its shift to a post-oil based economy with its “transition towns,” many Americans continue wasting their time arguing over the make-believe issue of climate change denial.
I didn't know that about Germany. Hopefully America can work through this.
Less than half of Americans are aware that scientists are basically unanimous on this issue, and thinking that scientists are unsure affects their own opinions about climate change and the the government policies they are willing to support to mitigate it.
There needs to be stronger leadership from scientists. People are more willing to support action when they trust the messenger and understand the reasoning behind the message.
Simply stopping the use of oil will not solve the whole climate change problem, although it is a key element of the change society needs to make to stabilize the global climate.
This is an interesting point. To make progress on climate change, we have to start somewhere. That means offering a better alternative to what people are already doing, not just asking them to change out of principle. We definitely need a starting point though- some first step that shows people a clearer, more sustainable path forward. Problem is getting everyone to work together.
The Irish population is about 4.8 million today, a little more than half its peak 175 years ago.
That is a crazy statistic. I didn't realize how bad the Irish famine was.