One of the most intensely debated issues in the American political sphere today is climate change.
A Reddit thread on this issue that recently caught my attention is was entitled Change My View: There’s no fact or logic based reason to deny climate change. The only reason republicans deny it is because it’s a primary democrat talking point.
The author of the post, Killgoresalmonman, makes the case exactly as the title suggests: that the one and only reason why Republicans (in general) deny climate change is to merely be in opposition to the Democrats as they are with most of the other major political issues.
This is a talking point that we’ve certainly heard many times before, but what intrigued me the most was the thoroughly in-depth debate that ignited in the comments below.
Here are the key takeaways I had from the thread:
1 – Would Republicans Be Singing a Different Tune if a Republican Had Brought Up The Issue?
First, let’s analyze Killgoresalmonman’s main points. He argues “the only reason republicans deny it is because a democrat brought it to the forefront and it’s primarily a democrat talking point. Had a Republican brought it to the public eye, they’d be signing a completely different tune.” What do you think?
2 – Is Climate Change Undeniable?
Killgoresalmonman goes on to argue that decades worth of study has gone into confirming that climate change is occurring and is man-made, and that any information arguing otherwise is easily disproven with a quick Google search. That’s where the debate began…
3 – What Constitutes Denial of Climate Change in the First Place?
Toomuchdong29 made a very important point in the thread: what even constitutes denial of climate change in the first place? It’s ultimately subjective depending on who you ask. For their part, Toomuchdong29 argued that climate change is man-made but that it isn’t going to cause the world “to end in 12 years.” What do you think constitutes denial of climate change?
4 – Are Most Republicans Really Denying Climate Change?
User Foxer604 asked if Republicans are even denying climate change in the first place. “Where are you seeing all these republican voters who are denying climate change? I see many who disagree with one solution or another, and others who think we’d be better off looking into ways to adapt to the changes for various reasons… but that is not the same thing as denying climate change.”
5 – What If You Believe the Climate is Changing, But It’s Not Caused By Humans?
Building off of Foxer604’s question, another user (since deleted) cited a Monmouth poll showing that 64% of Republicans actually believe climate change is happening, but that most of those Republicans don’t believe that it’s 100% caused by human activity. This begs the question…
6 – Does Believing That Climate Change is Happening But Not Man-made Make You a ‘Denier’?
The same user asked more important questions “If they believe the climate is changing and it’s caused by humans, but they disagree with the degree of impact this will have on human life are they a denier? If they believe the climate is changing but they disagree with how much time we have to resolve the issue are they a denier?” This naturally leads one to conclude…
7 – There’s Still a Debate Because There’s Not A Consensus
In short, most people agree that climate change is happening, but there are wide differences in regards to how urgent it is, how serious of a situation is, whether it’s caused by human activity, and so on. This is where it seems most of the real debate lies.
8 – Is Climate Change Really Going to Cause a Future Apocalypse?
One user, Jkovach89, echoed the sentiment that their ‘denial’ of climate change is not denial of climate change itself but rather denial that it will cause an apocalyptic-level event to render the Earth (or major parts of the Earth) unlivable. “I think the expectation that global warming will cause human extinction is more media frenzy than scientific likelihood,” Jkovach89 wrote.
9 – Perhaps the Debate is Not About the Problem, But About the Solutions
A very common theme that I was reading throughout the threads was echoed by user Dragonhawk1029: “Centrist here, with Republican friends: It’s not they they don’t believe in it, they just think the left has taken but too far, and most think they focus on the wrong areas.”
11 – So Is It Possible To Develop Solutions Together?
One Reddit user, since deleted, had this to say in the thread, “Republicans such as myself want a solution that doesn’t destroy the economy and put millions out of work. And I don’t care what the solution is, as long as Republicans and Democrats have an actual debate and determine the best outcome.”
12 – It Seems Most Republicans Want Climate Solutions
So it seems that most Republicans, at least out of those who responded in the thread, actually do want solutions to climate issues. The same aforementioned Reddit user also stated, “I think putting out there that ‘Republicans are denying Climate Change simply to derail Democrats’ is just adding to the divide.”
13 – So Is Compromise Possible?
Through it all, is compromise on the issue possible perhaps if we drop what it means to be a ‘denier’ and jump right into solutions? Based on all the threads I was seeing through the comments, that seemed to be the primary consensus…but then again, it’s just one Reddit thread.
What’s Your Opinion?
What do you think?
Is compromise on the issue of climate change possible? What do you think the biggest issues are in regard to climate change and what should the solutions be to those issues?
Feel free to let us know below!
