14.8% of Americans do not believe in climate change. Recently, a study mapping a 485-million-year history of Earth’s temperature and CO2 levels has been misinterpreted by some who downplay urgent climate concerns. Their argument suggests that, since the Earth has experienced much higher temperatures and CO2 concentrations in the past, the current rise of a few degrees won’t significantly affect us - and that climate concerns are being over exaggerated.
What if climate change was, in fact, a “hoax”? What if all of the climate science developed in recent decades was a fraud? Could we then just generally exhale and continue humanity's current economic trajectory unimpeded? Exploring these questions in today’s Frankly, Nate Hagens emphasizes the limited, ‘narrow boundary’ perspective of downplaying the urgency of climate change.
A more nuanced understanding of ecology reveals that the long-term stability of our planet depends on numerous environmental tipping points, with climate change being just one of them. Even if climate change was a “hoax”, we are still causing accelerating harm to the life support systems of Earth, pushing the biosphere beyond its limits in a way which will profoundly impact our future, even our near term future.
(Recorded September 22, 2024)
Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/72-what-if-climate-change-was-a-hoax
Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/support
Join our Substack newsletter: https://natehagens.substack.com/
00:00 - Introduction
01:39 - E.J. Judd Study
03:35 - Biophysical Footprint
04:27 - Plastics
05:40 - Biodiversity
08:14 - Oceans
09:59 - Planetary Boundaries
10:34 - Closing Thoughts