I remember having quite a few arguments with climate change denialists claiming it was natural causes for the climate change we're seeing. It's a pretty good argument until you actually look at the numbers like this.
What bothers me with climate change 'apologists' is that they act all religious when it comes to the science of climate, but don't do a single thing in their life to reduce their footprint (and even if they do it's so insignificant it doesn't matter). It's like they think it's enough to convince people that climate change is real and man made to save the planet (it's not).
Myself I'm a climate change 'whateverist' ;-) I don't have the intellectual means to understand the science for myself and won't trust the scientists on their words (especially when it's the media that is talking for them).
The way I see it : if climate change is really going to happen like they say we're doomed. Even if it's man made, humans won't change until it's too late, so why bother having arguments with people, do you really think they're gonna abandon their way of life just because you're right ?
Changing my lifestyle on my own won't accomplish anything. We need governments to stop subsidizing fossil fuels and start pushing renewables.
Since most governments are at least somewhat responsive to the thoughts and desires of their people, convincing people that climate change is real and man made is actually a pretty good way to do something about the problem.
Right now, the single largest obstacle to combating climate change is the US government's refusal to join with the rest of the world in doing so. That in turn is a direct consequence of the fact that a big chunk of the American electorate either thinks climate change is a hoax or is a natural phenomenon.
> Even if it's man made, humans won't change until it's too late, so why bother having arguments with people, do you really think they're gonna abandon their way of life just because you're right ?
Within living memory globe-spanning Fascism seemed inevitable. A bit later, Nuclear annihilation seemed practically guaranteed. Why resist when you can just go with the flow eh?
>so why bother having arguments with people, do you really think they're gonna abandon their way of life just because you're right ?
You may not be serious. I'm pretty sure next generations will condemn our time as time of total ignorance, selfishness and unprecedented killing of planet and species. What kind of planet do you want to leave to your grandchildren? Hot and uninhabitable? And what would you tell them? "Sorry kiddos, we destroyed the planet, because of our YOLO lifestyle". I don't want to participate on this. And already have reduced my carbon footprint significantly. For example I'm using my car in average twice a month. And still looking how to reduce it even more.
They've been able to start making some money from YouTube ads in-video, and it seems like they scaled back their whole HTML5 effort for YouTube after that... Then they decided to integrate Flash into Chrome, which I'm sure played a part in the decision.