I think it is you who didn't understand. There are people who deny anthropogenic climate change, and there are people who deny climate change is happening at all. The latter typically spit out such gems as 'that's just weather' when record temps fall. Both groups are morons lacking the ability to assimilate scientific evidence.
It literally is just weather. Humans simply do not have enough data to extrapolate climate patterns for the planet. We have a data set limited to about 150 years and a planet with a climate that is... Well, if I said "4.6 billion years old", you'd whine semantics, so we'll just call it "a lot older than 150 years". Humanity has no written record of what life was like for most of the current interglacial period, nor the last glacial period, never mind anything before those times. We have fucking ice core samples, not climate data.
I fully believe humans have a role on earth to play as stewards of nature. That is obvious to me. The fact that it's obvious to me is
why these rote talking points grate my nerves. I never consume the FUD. FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, and there is always more FUD to consume if one is in the mood to consume it. And interestingly, after one consumes FUD, one feels compelled to spread it around everywhere one goes, this thread serving as an example.
The radical, false dichotomy-breaking notion I exhibit is: I am fully capable of holding the viewpoint that the climate changes on its own and is self-regulating through feedback systems
AND that pollution is obviously wrong. It is unnecessary for me to fantasize about the death of an entire planet to understand I shouldn't litter, that sustainable practices are ideal, that we have to live in harmony with nature. Like, I'm the dude who has been cutting plastic six pack yokes, even when it's not my trash, for the last twenty years so a critter doesn't get their head caught in them. There's this weird false dichotomy in people's heads where they think the only options are either A) You think humans can do whatever they want with no consequences, OR B) You heard Agent Smith compare humanity to a virus and found yourself agreeing with the villain in The Matrix. Hard for the mundane to imagine that someone can minimize their impact without thinking it's a fight against an existential threat.
Further, and this is what separates the .1% from the 1% from the 99%: It's not just about "anthropogenic climate change" vs "natural climate change". It's about "the degree and manner in which feedback systems in the climate are effected by human actions". The real climate debate is being had by about 1 in 10,000 people, and the rest of the world simply isn't intelligent enough to participate in the discussion. Magic can entirely help with intelligence (see also, Exodus 4:10-12), but most people aren't wizards. All I know is I'm going to live a long, healthy life, and one day, the FUD will run out.
