Climate change deniers further the cause of those who know what's going on

Nature has a way of maintaining the ecological balance and biodiversity of the earth through the mechanism of reproductive multiplication of living species and the mechanism of consumption (so-called food chain) for curbing excessive proliferation of each of the species.

Mankind is included in the natural mechanism of population limitation through famine, epidemics and wars. In previous centuries, human populations were relatively small in proportion to other species and humans played a part in the natural mechanism as instruments of genocide. But in recent decades, our use of science and technology has allowed us to alter natural mechanisms of population control. We now have more influence and control over the forces of nature than the other way around, at this stage.

Mankind’s use of powerful technology has also facilitated short-sighted, irresponsible, unrestrained exploitation, destruction and pollution of the earth’s biosphere and started a process of interfering in the mechanisms for maintaining biodiversity and ecological balance. As history shows, we are responsible for mass extinction of vulnerable indefensible species. We are polluting the biosphere and upsetting the balance, but long term detrimental effects of such interference are only acknowledged by a minority of the world’s scientific community. Although intelligent and literate adults have heard the dire warnings, most of the world’s population pay little attention or do little to address the problem.

The use and power of science and technology promotes a sense of self-confidence and pride in our ability to control nature and much comfort and satisfaction in the novelty of gadgets, machines and multiplicity of items and choices. The psychological effect of such exciting use and power of science and technology has prevented people from seeing the long-term costs and detrimental effects. This collective psychological blindness is difficult to measure and demonstrate through scientific investigation but even if we could conclusively prove the point, collective psychological blindness prevents people even trying to understand the nature and scale of the approaching problem.

At this stage, the long-term costs and detrimental effects are not being felt because they are still not yet significant enough to be felt. Furthermore, the cause and effect relationships are indirect and so it’s not obvious to any but a minority of wide awake scientists who know what to look for and how to analyze relevant data. Short-sighted, unrestrained exploitation, destruction and pollution of the earth’s biosphere is detrimental to health, life and well-being in the long run and denial allows us to avoid the burden and responsibility of confronting the evidence. Denial provides short term satisfaction, but allows the scale of problems to grow without strategies or attempts to solve them. This is the condition of the world today: Denial of threats to life and well-being is optimistic and common place. In many situations, irrational optimism is one of the human survival mechanisms and so it’s socially encouraged.

Each person is encouraged to feel confident in himself or herself or in his or her group to survive and conquer any threats to their health, life and well-being. He or she feels self-assured as a survivor; as a smart, fit and capable person or group. However, the principle of “survival of the fittest” widely acknowledged as a general mechanism of selection and population control should be extended to include the realization that herds, flocks, or schools of fish might die as a collective, not only the unfit members. This happens if all the individuals follow the leader into a disastrous situation. The logic of the principle “survival of the fittest” in this widely applied sense leads to the following: If people generally continue to follower the self-confident, short-sighted leaders of our nations who deny the threats of unrestrained exploitation, destruction and pollution of the earth’s biosphere, the process of interfering in the mechanisms for maintaining biodiversity and ecological balance once started will eventually be impossible to stop. Interference will continue until destruction has reached such proportions that no one can continue to deny the problem.

The conclusion of all this is that the natural mechanisms of population control will not be forever avoided by mankind’s use of science and technology. The truth can only be denied and avoided for some time. Therefore, through neglect, the natural force and potential energy for maintaining ecological balance (wars, famine, and epidemics) will become extreme and eventually enough to destroy a large proportion of the world’s human population so that biodiversity can eventually be restored. Denial is not a solution but denial will unwittingly soon help boost the natural mechanisms of population control to reduce the number of people on earth to a sustainable level again. Archaeological evidence indicates it’s happened to ancient civilizations before and so it can and will happen again on a global scale. Those who understand the nature and scale of the problem are much more likely than the deniers to prepare for and survive the coming disasters. Then the surviving members of the human race will be more careful to protect the environment than the previous generation of deniers; perhaps not forever, but for 1000 years at least.

It’s not possible to eliminate irrational optimism among deniers of anthropogenic climate change, pollution and extinction of species. That would be changing human nature and scientists haven’t yet found a way to do that. Deniers seem to be part of the problem we have to struggle against but the bright side of this situation is that we don’t have to fight or argue with deniers. The irony is that in the long term, deniers will further the cause of non-deniers – the minority who know what’s going on. By denying and ignoring the harm they are doing to the environment, deniers are allowing the natural mechanism and force for maintaining ecological balance (wars, famine, and epidemics) to increase sufficiently and eventually eliminate most of them. That will prepare the way for the rest of mankind (survival of the fittest and wisest) to cherish and help restore what was damaged through uncurbed polluting and neglect. We don’t have to fight or argue with deniers. But we do need personal knowledge of the true situation, preparation for what is to come and patience. Find the evidence and get the facts. Speak the truth, accurately, responsibly and confidently, even if we are ignored. Then prepare for escaping the coming wars, famine, and epidemics.

This article is written with great appreciation of the truth tellers, that minority of the world’s scientific community, who have been bold enough to withstand attacks of mainstream media and corrupt academia to inform those who want to know the facts.