We've been covering the debate on climate change for a while now, and we've noticed there's about a dozen or so common responses that we get on Facebook and here on the site.
From "it's the sun" to "other planets are warming too" to "volcanoes emit more co2 than humans" to "in the 70's they said there'd be an ice age" to "32,000 scientists signed a petition challenging the consensus view" to "they started calling it climate change to hide the cooling" and many more, we've researched them all and they are all bogus memes that can be easily debunked if you're willing to check sources that address these claims from the other side.
What we find most amazing is that, when presented with the fact that well over $100 million has been poured into phony front organizations to invent and promote these memes, that apparently still isn't enough to make the skeptics skeptical about the credibility of their sources.
Again, the comments end up being one of the talking points listed above. When it's pointed out once more that these talking points originated from think tanks funded by Exxon and the Koch brothers, among others.... that's usually when the conversation ends, or another talking point... funded by special interests... is inserted into the discussion.
All we can say is, congrats to Charles and David Koch. Your money has been well spent. An army of foot soldiers are now battling for your cause without them even realizing where their thoughts on this issue came from.
However, if you haven't made up your mind on the subject and are interested in watching some videos which address these common climate skeptic memes, we've rounded up the most popular 15 we've heard below.
1. Climate Change is Caused by the Sun.
2. 32,000 Leading Scientists Signed a Petition Against the Prevailing Consensus on Climate Change.
3. In the 70s, They said there'd be an Ice Age.
4. The Great Global Warming Swindle Documentary Exposed the Phony Global Warming Scam.
5. Climate-Gate: The Stolen CRU Emails "Prove" (Insert Lie/Fable).
6. “They” Started Calling it “Climate Change” to Hide the Cooling.
7. Other Planets Are Warming and that Proves Climate Change is Caused by the Sun.
8. CO2 is a Natural By-Product of Nature and Shouldn't be Considered Pollution.
9. Al Gore Invented Global Warming in 2006 to get rich, and if you think Global Warming is caused by humans, you're in love with Al Gore.
10. Prominent Climate Scientists Even Admit the Earth is Now Actually Cooling.
11. The Quantity of C02 Being Emitted by Humans Is Too Small To Have an Impact on the Climate.
12. It's Cold Outside. So Global Warming Must Not Be Happening.
13. The Data is Unreliable. The heat from cities is altering measurement data.
14. For the Last 16 Years the Climate Has Actually Been Cooling.
15. The Medieval Warm Period Proves Recent Climate Change is Natural.
And related: Modern Climate Change is Part of a Natural 1500 Year Cycle
Another common meme that we hear, which we left out of the list above, is the theory that global warming was invented by the New World Order. We made this little gem in response:
So the theory goes, the New World Order elite invented the theory of climate change to create demand for a carbon tax, which is really a trojan horse that will be used to implement a one world government. George Bush was their puppet, along with mainstream media outlets like FOX news, and yet...
We have this thing called basic facts of history, which contradict all of the logic of this theory utterly and completely. Truth be told, if the "powers that be" wanted a carbon tax, we'd have one by now. What we've seen instead is a concerted effort by every establishment power, from the old Bush administration to FOX news to establishment Republicans (all supposedly puppets of a higher governing power) either outright denying climate change is real or doing everything they can to prevent such a carbon tax from getting passed. Even the fake solution that would have accomplished nothing and allowed industries to profit off of new carbon trading markets, otherwise known as Cap & Trade, was fought tooth and nail by establishment powers until it was killed.
If you need any more detailed proof, here's just a sample of headlines that contradict the above theory of reality:
March 27, 2001: Bush Administration Announces It Will Not Implement Kyoto Protocol
(April 2001): Press Release on Global Warming Study Blocked by US Officials
(2001): Energy Department Official Says Bush’s Withdrawal from Kyoto Based on Input from Oil Industry Representatives
July 20, 2001: EPA Prevented from Distributing Brochures on Climate Change
2002: Department of the Interior Blocks Release of Press Release on Recent Global Warming Article
2002: Center for Science and Public Policy Started with Funds from ExxonMobil
June 3, 2002: Email Reveals White House Efforts to Punish EPA Officials For Acknowledging Human Role in Rising Temperatures
June 4, 2002: Bush Plays Down EPA Report on Global Warming; Reaffirms Rejection of Kyoto Protocol
September 26, 2002: Email Exchange between NOAA Employees Shows Concern That White House Is Suppressing Global Warming News
Fall 2002: Commerce Department Blocks News Release on Global Warming Study
October 2002: Bush Official Edits Global Warming Report to Make it Less Alarming
All sources for these headlines and more can be found here:
https://www.filmsforaction.org/news/a_timeline_of_climate_change_denial/
15 years of headlines like this makes it clear that it is action on climate change that is precisely what the "powers that be" are so afraid of.
Also, just to clarify, because there is confusion on this point and it probably bares repeating:
Cap and Trade *is* a scam, and we don't support this phony green-washing solution. But a straight carbon tax is not. Especially the "Fee and Dividend" type that is currently being advocated by the authentic activists on this issue.
Here is a F.A.Q. about the Fee & Dividend / Carbon Tax & Dividend proposal:
http://www.citizensclimatelobby.org/node/444
This is the type of solution which could work. It is exactly the kind of solution that governments and corporations don't want to see enacted, and it's for this reason that corporations have invested millions into phony front groups to convince the public that a tax on them would really be a tax on us. This, of course, is another lie, inserted into both conspiracy-oriented alternative media as well as mainstream outlets. And hopefully by now it's clear why.