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Comment by GiorgioG | Hacker News Reader

This will likely be an unpopular opinion here, but the earth has been experiencing “climate change” since its inception and all the folks panicking over it is an overreaction. Humans will adapt to the earth’s conditions. Yes we’ve impacted the climate. I’m not saying we shouldn’t continue migrating to EVs, etc. But by and large, the earth’s climate is such a complex and massive beast that it’s naïve to think that we can really make a meaningful affect what’s coming. If places become uninhabitable, then humans will migrate elsewhere as we always have. The earth will be here long after humans go extinct (probably) and it will be fine with or without us. The sky is not falling :)

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I can't think of both "then humans will migrate elsewhere as we always have" and "The sky is not falling :)" as not a cruel joke. Yes, as a species we'll migrate, while a significant part of families die from hunger, riot violence, live in slum conditions, etc. I mean, we're taking millions of people living in extreme conditions or dying within a few generations. That's very much "the sky is falling".

Many, many large civilizations have collapsed. Nothing about our current setup makes it any more robust than any before it.

What is different is that, for the first time, collapse will be global, not limited to one region.

> a significant part of families die from hunger, riot violence, live in slum conditions

You seem to be under the impression that we’re going over a cliff, rather an be a slow decline/collapse. What evidence do you have to support that? I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but we’ve had a long history of predicting eco-doomsday, but we’re still here. https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-of-failed-eco-poca...

Migrating a few hundred million people over a span of a couple of decades from areas where agriculture becomes impossible is "going over a cliff". Look what a few hundred thousand refugees did to European politics. We have nuclear weapons now. People will not quietly starve.

This is wishful thinking.

Climate change is well researched. A lot of predictions made about it in the 80s and 90s were only off because the reality is much worse.

> Humans will adapt to the earth’s conditions

It's tough to adapt to drastically lower crop yield and a huge reduction in fertile soil. Water will be a big problem too.

> If places become uninhabitable, then humans will migrate elsewhere as we always have.

In Europe we've struggled with that when it's on the scale of millions. With climate change we're potentially looking at billions of refuges.

Ignoring the problem and saying "eh we'll manage" is just about the worst thing we could do.

Let me ask you this, what changes if human activities no longer contribute to climate change (in a perfect world) and the planet continues to warm?

Yes the Earth has been experiencing climate change forever. But it's extremely obvious that humans are changing the climate in such a way they we will create an unliveable environment across many places on earth. That will most likely lead to billions dying, world wars and maybe collapse of civilization. Of course earth itself will be fine. But that is hardly a benchmark. Even if we nuke every square kilometer of earth it's still fine. it's just a large piece of rock.

This kind if talk is "managing your mental state" by taking absurdly long viewpoint and ignoring human suffering.

"World will be fine eventually if we wait long enough. There is no reason to react to Pearl Harbor attack." – Franklin D. Roosevelt

So you say yes humans can affect the climate but we can't affect what's coming? That seems ascientific. If the models are right then we did cause the climate to change and we can bend its path into the future.

We've spent what the last 50-100 years affecting the climate significantly...and we think we can stop/reverse it in how long? Just because we wish it, does not mean we can materially affect it in a relatively short horizon.

Beyond the idea that we can somehow reduce our current impact, the human population will continue to increase to what, up to 11-13 billion by 2100. Those people will need food, water, goods and services. I won't be around to see year 2100, but I venture to say it's going to be warmer than it is today and there's not a damn thing we can realistically do about it.

i suggest you go explain your opinion to poor countries experiencing climate related crop failure and famine this year. i'd also suggest you inform yourself with the relevant literature, IPCC's AR6 is a good start.

Good climate like wealth is not evenly distributed nor constant /guaranteed on this earth. We’ve had droughts throughout the US’s history.

As a physicist i would be glad you explain me your reasoning a bit further, for instance how the droughts is independent from climate. You look very knowledgeable.

Calm, reasonable opinions are downvoted and flagged to oblivion

In a nutshell the state of debate on the internet

This is borderline climate denial, not "calm and reasonable". If you want to tell yourself that things are somehow gonna be fine, then feel free to go ahead. It just doesn't line up with an absolutely overwhelming scientific consensus.

It is not borderline. It is out-and-out denial. People like that will, ultimately, be personally responsible for collapse when it comes, but they will be better insulated from consequences than their victims.

I denied nothing. I simply stated that climate change is business as usual. Have we as humans impacted it, yes. But we’ll either adapt or die. How is that a denial?

It is downvoted because it is dangerously incorrect. It is not a reasonable opinion, though it is calmly delivered.

Yes, climate has always changed. The current rate of change, caused by mankind, is extreme: https://xkcd.com/1732/

I love the certainty you have. I only wish I could be as certain as you with planet-scale systems.

Which bits are you unsure of? Are you concerned the data regarding historical temperatures is incorrect?

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