We read a lot about how to deal with climate sceptics lately, mostly suggesting we should politely present our views in response to that of the denier or sceptic. This is a lofty ambition, but frankly, there is no time for that. It is not smart to waste your time as a climate activist or climate action driver or simply a sensibel private person to tolerate climate sceptics and deniers. Here I will try to outline your reasoning to have no patience with these kind of people.
Climate deniers and sceptics always want you to prove your claims, or they present evidence they believe is relevant. It is like talking to an economist, all you say is only helping them to hone their arguments, because their position has two origins, either it is ignorance or political. You can’t argue with either of them.
Say a person is ignorant and only wants to provoke a response and vent their point of view. Don’t argue with them because clearly this individual is not using logic to come to their point of view, only anticipating the effect it will have on others. If suchs a person is in a panel discussion leave the discussion or try to shut him/her up. This is not polite. Don’t be polite. Tell them they never doubted whether the Earth was round, why should they doubt the climate science ? The fact with these people is that even if you motivate them to take another point of view (which you don’t do with arguements) they are useless to your cause.
You can tell these people they are dumb because a basic education should be enough to understand the science, specifically that CO2 block heat radiation. This can even be demonstrated if needs be. It is no crime to think climate change is a hoax, but if you profess it openly as if you can teach others about the world you are dumb.
If a person is not ignorant but chooses to be a sceptic to create an illusion of uncertainty this is more repulsive than if a person is dumb. These kind of deniers are slick as grease, they will have excellent debating skills. If not its a bit sad. Don’t argue with them. The are even less likely to be of any use if you (in some imaginary world) convince them. Usually these people don’t respond to any type of reasoning, because they are the original deniers, working by the same playbook als the nuclear promotors that also worked for the tobacco industry. This has been described in the Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes
If you are in some panel with a political denier don’t argue with them, but tell them they are displaying signs of madness by rejecting the help of so many scientists, who they will readily trust if they get a medical test. So many times in life they trust others who are experts, when they get their car fixed or heating installed or someone cooks for them in a restaurant, they don’t doubt its ok. But with climate for some reason, in spite of armies of normal respectable people telling them they have doubt. That is crazy. They are deranged and you wish them a quick recovery.
Those sceptics and deniers who are telling others how the world works, like Lord Monckton who in the above video claims to have references on something that is simply not true. He talks jibberish but mentions a lot of details which convinces people that he must be sane. Such liars, need to be kept from speaking except to small groups of the ignorant. Never on a public platform, it is a climate activist duty to prevent it.
Some famous climate sceptics who probably hope you forget about them
To his point in the above video : our oceans have now absorbed so much extra heat that if the same heat was added to the lower 10 km of our atmosphere (which is about 16 km high) it would warm an additional 36 degrees Celsius. So it would not be 12 degrees which is already rediculously warm in Januari, but 48 Celsius. This also means that the oceans will get very warm and as they cover 90% of our planet we are in very very deep shit, and amongst others, because of dickheads like Monckton. So shut these types up!