Narcissism Of The Apocalypse

Submitted by aka attrition

by Michael Shellenberger

Why are some people more prone to seeing climate change as apocalyptic than others?

Narcissisus” (1594-1596) by Caravaggio and the 2021 Gulf of Mexico natural gas fire.

Since the end of the Cold War, policymakers, journalists, and activists have pointed to melting glaciers, dying coral, and deadly floods as signs of the apocalypse. “Within 15 years,” said Al Gore in 2006 about Glacier National Park, “this is the park that will be formerly known as Glacier.” In 2017, CNN, PBS, and many others reported, “Climate change is killing the Great Barrier Reef.” And, last May, Newsweek reported that, “Cities Brace for Apocalyptic Flooding As New Age of Super Storms Dawns” while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned of an “above-normal” Atlantic hurricane season.

But people misread the signs. In 2019, Glacier National Park officials began quietly removing visitor signs claiming the glaciers would all be gone by 2020 because they are all still there. Scientists in 2022 measured more coral on the Great Barrier Reef than at any point since they began monitoring them in 1986. And, not only have deaths and damages from flooding declined significantly worldwide, for the first time in 25 years, there were no Atlantic hurricanes in August.

Climate change is real and having real world impacts, to be sure. The surface area of Glacier National Park’s 37 named glaciers decreased by 34% between 1966 and 2015, and the number and area of glacier lakes has increased around the world, threatening flooding. Warmer water temperatures and heat waves from climate change cause coral, an invertebrate animal, to bleach, losing its pigment, and die. And there is evidence that heavier precipitation is occurring at a global level, contributing to flooding, while NOAA predicts hurricanes will intensify by 5% in the future.

But none of those environmental changes are the end of the world. It would be sad to lose the world’s glaciers, but the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change notes that there is limited evidence of any increase in glacier lake outburst flooding, which can be prevented through dams. While warmer temperatures increase bleaching, corals can survive bleaching; scientists find that corals are adapting and evolving to warmer water; and people are breeding coral that can survive hotter temperatures. And the main factor preventing flood damage and death remains water management to channel stormwater through upgraded drain systems, not modestly higher rainfall. As for hurricanes, NOAA estimates that they will become 25% less frequent.

In truth, there is no scientific basis for any claim of climate apocalypse. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and others forecast that farmers in the world’s poorest regions, like sub-Saharan Africa, could see a 40% increase in crop yields if they gain access to fertilizer, irrigation, and mechanization, even at high levels of warming. There is no science supporting the alarmist claims of an imminent collapse of the North Atlantic Ocean currents, which bring warm water north, and cool water south, an oft-repeated “tipping points” scenario. Indeed, it is hard to come up with any scenario where temperature changes of 4°C could be world-ending. And now, most evidence-based scenarios forecast temperatures rising far less than most analysts thought just 10 years ago, thanks in large measure to the transition from coal to abundant natural gas.

All of this and yet 36% of Americans surveyed believe climate change will make Earth uninhabitable, and 31% believe climate change will lead to human extinction. These apocalyptic fears are concentrated among Americans who identify as as politically liberal. Seventy-one percent of Democrats and 30% of Republicans agreed with the false statement, “Climate change is increasing the cost of natural disasters as a percent of GDP.” And 76% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans agreed that “Deaths from natural disasters will rise in the future due to climate change.”

Why is that? Why is it that so many people have come to believe that climate change is an apocalyptic threat, despite all of the science to the contrary? And why do most of them tend to be liberal rather than conservative?

Narcissism, Grandiosity, & Exhibitionism

Italian climate change activists in June glue their hands to Botticelli’s “Primavera” at a Florence art gallery (Getty images).

-----------------------------------------------------
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal

-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
Click to visit the TBP Store for Great TBP Merchandise
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
12 Comments
AKJOHN
AKJOHN
October 10, 2022 4:37 pm

Fools are a dime a dozen, and only about 10% of the population is less susceptible to brainwashing.

Anonymous
Anonymous
October 10, 2022 4:50 pm

Virtue signaling plays a large part.

Glock-N-Load
Glock-N-Load
  Anonymous
October 10, 2022 10:31 pm

Most people look around to see what everyone else is doing. Herd mentality.

Ken31
Ken31
  Glock-N-Load
October 11, 2022 1:04 am

One of the final red pills is understanding all media is shepherding.

bidenTouchesKids
bidenTouchesKids
October 10, 2022 6:32 pm

Why are some people more prone to seeing climate change as apocalyptic than others?

Same reason some can’t count to 10 and others can.

lamont cranston
lamont cranston
October 10, 2022 8:37 pm

Narcissus??? I tutored him back in 1974 in Starksville. Would have been a great NFL RB but demanded a mirror to be on the field so he could pose after every run. The NCAA & SEC said NO.

He quit. Moved to NYC and became a crisis actor. Lately, big gig as a parent at some sandy place in CT. Friends with a pig, er, Hogg.

monger
monger
October 10, 2022 9:14 pm

Should of been around when the ice caps melted and the ice age ended, climates been warming since then. Blame anything blame the sun. I don’t really want to dig out the book, 70 feet of ocean rise in 100 years. And be damn glad we’re not in a ice age. We certainly wouldn’t have the standard of living we have now.
And if it’s even a thing what can we do about it besides spending that 30 trillion dollars in debt inventing and building massive desalination plants to water the deserts and produce a a garden instead ? Plants need CO2 and produce oxygen ? Make the planet “nicer” yeah no money or power in that. Might free people from survival mode, can’t have that.
But with the experts and State behind it, expect a ice age instead.
And wouldn’t be surprised if there were other hidden reasons besides the obvious “more control”. Part of the depop agenda, might be dormant dangerous micro organisms they wish to not unleash, might even be an alien bent to it, might be just about oil. Think about automobiles 1.446 billion cars, and how much wild life they wipe out, Co2 and pollutants they expel, must be a fair percentage.
We don’t know everything about the whys. Might just be shit they can’t reveal without losing power or scaring the sheep.
So hide the real reasons behind a facade. But global warming ? more like climate change, like it’s been doing since before man. Color me skeptical.

Yahsure
Yahsure
October 10, 2022 10:39 pm

The plandemic showed how easy it is to control people with fear. it also showed how weak most people are. I predict a new variant in the coming months, the winter flu season we all grew up with will become the new variant.

Anonymous
Anonymous
  Yahsure
October 11, 2022 8:50 am

9/11, too.

Jocko
Jocko
October 11, 2022 5:44 am

Narcissism Of The Apocalypse
It may not be an either or proposition, Narcissism could cause the Apocalypse!

Ghost
Ghost
October 11, 2022 9:38 am

It is really the ultimate in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, isn’t it? Self-Actualization to the point of extinction?

Scot
Scot
October 11, 2022 11:25 am

Because they believe the evolution they’ve been brainwashed with in the government schools.