13 votes

US EPA chief defends big energy projects, says climate not top priority

4 comments

  1. [4]
    dubteedub
    Link
    God, it is so infuriating seeing how Republicans treat the climate change discussion. It feels like even those that acknowledge it is an issue, just think that they will be long gone before it...

    Wheeler said he believes climate change is a problem, but that it had been overblown by former President Barack Obama’s administration - at the expense of other bigger issues like water quality.

    Wheeler dismissed the findings of a report released earlier this week by EPA scientists in the journal Nature Climate Change that detailed the scale and urgency of climate change.

    He said while he encouraged EPA scientists to carry out and publish research, he stressed the recent paper “did not reflect EPA policy.”

    God, it is so infuriating seeing how Republicans treat the climate change discussion. It feels like even those that acknowledge it is an issue, just think that they will be long gone before it will ramp up to the point that it would personally affect them, so they just say fuck it, let's pollute as much as we want and get rich in the meantime.

    4 votes
    1. [3]
      nothis
      Link Parent
      I don't think they go this far. I don't think anyone literally thinks "I don't care about what world my children grow up in because I'm selfish, haha". I think there's genuine denial going on and...

      I don't think they go this far. I don't think anyone literally thinks "I don't care about what world my children grow up in because I'm selfish, haha". I think there's genuine denial going on and it's real because they make it real through their actions (or rather the lack of it). In their world, climate change isn't an issue, because it can't be, because it would be too tedious if it was real. Rather than getting angry at them ignoring facts, it's probably wiser to look at the psychology of the denial because that's the only point where you can actually reach people. Or you ignore them and hope you can vote them out in the next election. But good luck hoping for the latter.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        Neverland
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        This is nearly exactly what I heard from an older Trumpian family member. It was phrased more like “who cares, I won’t be around, haha.” I said, hey what about your grandkids? Well... crickets, AM...

        I don't think anyone literally thinks “I don't care about what world my children grow up in because I'm selfish, haha"

        This is nearly exactly what I heard from an older Trumpian family member. It was phrased more like “who cares, I won’t be around, haha.” I said, hey what about your grandkids? Well... crickets, AM talk radio earphones went back in his ears and he walked away.

        Edit: we just talked about it again, and the only real argument he used was “Well 30-40 years ago, everyone was sure that we would have a population explosion, and run out of food.. and nothing bad happened there. Same thing with climate.”

        3 votes
        1. nonesuchluck
          Link Parent
          But we did have a population explosion. The only reason billions more people aren't starving today is because we revolutionized the way we grow food, growing high-yield varieties with...

          But we did have a population explosion. The only reason billions more people aren't starving today is because we revolutionized the way we grow food, growing high-yield varieties with chemical-intensive, mechanized farming. Has your family member never heard of the green revolution? Norman Borlaug?

          1 vote