It's an interesting experience trying to reason with a climate change denier. Sort of like trying to explain the water cycle to a caveman. No matter how much you point to the mountains, clouds, and rivers, they're still going to club you to death and steal your sandwiches. Saying that, it's also easy to understand why people wouldn't want to believe in something like climate change. It's so big and difficult. It requires thinking about how you lead your life and how the world economy should be run, how politics would have to change etc. etc. For many people it's simply easier to stick their fingers in their ears and pretend its not happening. I get that.
There is a certain type of denier that I cannot stand, however, and that is the politically motivated denier. The sort of hack that will distort and obstruct information because the consequences of real debate might entail them having to revise certain presumptions underlying their political or economic thinking. Specifically, I'm thinking of those people who peddle myths about climate change, who cherry-pick data, who smear reputations, and who lie in order to push the idea that scientific consensus does not exist. The most pernicious, disgusting, and offensive of these are the conspiracy theorists. Those who have abandoned all attachment to reason because it comes into conflict with their narrow and stunted view of the world, and who would rather see innocent lives ruined rather than face up to the shortcomings in their own political views.
When you hear the word conspiracy theorist, I'm sure your first thoughts are of someone on the periphery of society; someone a little bit out there and more likely to harm themselves than others. What you probably wouldn't expect is to find their views plastered all over some of the most popular and reputable newspapers in the country and echoed by politicians around the world. My favourite conspiracy theory I will title the 'Socialist tree-hugger conspiracy,' and its principal advocate in the UK is James Delingpole. Truly, Delingpole is the Glenn Beck of British conspiracy theory. Somebody needs to get this man a chalkboard. In James Delingpole's head, the 'Socialist tree-hugger conspiracy' must have formed something like this: man-made global warming = regulations. Regulations? Bleurgh, me no like regulations. Me like libertarianism. Who like regulations? Socialists, bleurgh. And who else don't me like? Hippies. Man-made global warming = Socialist tree-hugger conspiracy. This is essentially the argument behind his book, Watermelons, and is actually quite funny, if you can manage to laugh through the tears.
The cheek of this man, so afraid to question his unswerving faith in libertarianism, to then accuse the rest of the world of bad faith for approaching the scientific evidence behind climate change in a rational and open-minded manner. If he paused for two minutes to actually examine the claims he is making about the validity of climate science, he'd be forced to admit that he is wrong. It is testament to his pig-headedness that he will not do this. Contrary to what he might say, there is a ton of evidence to support the theory of anthropogenic global warming, just as there are rather striking reasons why we should try to diversify our energy production. It's not hard to find. Every single warming myth, and every single distortion of the facts, has been quickly and easily debunked. Instead, however, Delingpole conceives of a world in which the Met Office, the WWF, Friends of the Earth, Nasa, the BBC, the governments of Australia and New Zealand, China, South Korea, CNBC, David Cameron, and the vast majority of British people, sat down one evening and decided to hatch an elaborate plot to secure the destruction of Western civilisation. That's not free thinking, that's delusional.
And that is perhaps what troubles me most about climate change denial. The sheer irrationality of it. If you or I were to run around shouting about government conspiracies on the street, we'd likely be politely taken away and provided with medical attention. If you spout conspiracy about climate change, however, you can be rewarded with a regular spot in the Telegraph.
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