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Comment by Phylter | Hacker News Reader

Honestly, sensational headlines like this are why so many people have a difficult time buying into climate change. If the media would present it as it actually is then I think more people would get on board.

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Put another way, headlines that get clicks are prioritized over headlines that do not. Facts aren't important. Eyeballs are.

That is the problem. Without actual proof of something, sensational headlines are mandatory.

Oh my god dude go home

https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/

Baseless, uninformed skepticism is bad.

No the problem is that the evidence is boring and people have a hard time understanding how abstract numbers will affect their daily lives.

I agree, this is true. In this particular case though, there has been sensationalism for decades now - it tends to have the opposite of the intended effect.

No, it’s because those people have a deep mistrust of science and expertise, and using as much oil as possible is tied into some weird, macho, and at times oddly Christian identity, and suggesting that that’s harmful is threatening to them.

Anti-scientific thinking transcends political and gender identities in the USA. It can be traced at least as far back as Esalen institute stuff, and likely much farther.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/how-ame...

It's partially our governments fault for doing things like when the Atomic Energy Commission got caught being fraudulent about what killed 5000 sheep after the 1953 Upshot-Knothole nuclear weapons test series. When the top scientific institutions lose credibility, where we are today seems at least a little inevitable.

https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/09/magazine/downwind-from-th...

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