# Climate change is not the immediate threat facing us today **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 29, 2021, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737 "2021-01-29T03:30:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/41 "2021-01-29T14:40:35Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > This thread is pants-on-head stupid. There’s growing opinion that wearing a pair of pants over your regular cloth mask will help against the new covid variants. So maybe not so stupid. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/42 "2021-01-29T14:47:17Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > > [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > > > This thread is pants-on-head stupid. > > There’s growing opinion that wearing a pair of pants over your regular cloth mask will help against the new covid variants. So maybe not so stupid. - Actually, with pants-on-head, you can’t see anything so you can’t go anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/43 "2021-01-29T14:54:20Z")
That is one of the hypothesized ways it is effective. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/44 "2021-01-29T15:28:41Z")
Check the OPs posting history. Hmmm… all sorts of crazy. I guess somebody didn’t take their meds today. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/45 "2021-01-29T15:30:41Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Misinformation, lies and bullshit coupled with stupid fucking people. Absolutely correct, This is the biggest threat. The OP is my cite. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/46 "2021-01-29T15:54:26Z")
Yes, the climate does naturally change over time, and some 22,000 years ago the world was about 4.5 degrees centgrade cooler to the point that Boston was covered by a mile of ice. since then the earth gradually warmed, and went through a few minor long term warming and cooling trends. However in the past 100 years or so, the temperature has gone up by about 1.5 degrees and is set to go up another 3 degrees in the next 100 years. So basically in 200 years we will have as much climate change as we have seen in the last 22,000 years, and the difference between our temperature around 1900 an that around 2100 will be equal to the difference between having a mile high glacier over Boston and where we are today. To put this in perspective I recommend [this graphic](https://xkcd.com/1732/) (may require some scrolling). ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/47 "2021-01-29T16:10:43Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > > [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > > > This thread is pants-on-head stupid. > > There’s growing opinion that wearing a pair of pants over your regular cloth mask will help against the new covid variants. So maybe not so stupid. good job, Fig, I came to this thread for entertainment, but now I have learned something. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/48 "2021-01-29T17:36:21Z")
Please don’t insult obnoxious drunks. Some of my friends are obnoxious drunks. This guy is something else. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/49 "2021-01-29T17:52:37Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I stopped here and saved myself a from anautomatic 2D6 Sanity loss. I recommend others avert their eyes and maneuver through the room by feel until they find the exit. I’m averting my eyes oh Lord! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/50 "2021-01-29T18:06:45Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’m averting my eyes oh Lord! Well, don’t. It’s just like those miserable psalms, they’re so depressing. Now knock it off! ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guy_incognito/32/3920_2.png) [@Guy\_Incognito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/51 "2021-01-29T18:53:47Z")
rboyce: this millenium’s incarnation of the “Time Cube” guy, Gene Ray. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/52 "2021-01-29T19:03:11Z")
SO many times I wonder, why do people hang out here if they don’t want to learn anything? If your OP has some huge leaps of logic and people go out their way to link to studies and even books (now with 50% more facts!)… why would you keep gurgitating your own specious arguments? The “Flag Flying Above The Fort” here is _Fighting Ignorance_. If you don’t want yours fought, wouldn’t you be more comfortable somewhere else? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/53 "2021-01-29T19:27:07Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > > [@msmith537](#): > > > > So why does the Earth have a circular orbit like the rest of the planets in the solar system instead of a more elongated orbit one would expect from an object that came from outside the solar system? > > Not only does it have a circular orbit, it also orbits on the same _plane_ as all the other planets. Minor nitpick: I get the distinction you’re making between the nearly-circular orbits of most of the objects such as planets left over from the original solar nebula, and the high-ellipticity orbits of other bodies such as periodic comets that entered the solar system from elsewhere, but none of the planetary orbits are really circular, mathematically speaking. If the earth’s orbit were truly, exactly circular, astronomy would have developed very differently from the way it did. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/54 "2021-01-29T20:47:10Z")
Thanks Johannes Kepler. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/55 "2021-01-29T20:57:46Z")
Dafür nicht. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/56 "2021-01-30T02:22:39Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > You really don’t know what the fuck you are talking about. I studied Atmospheric Science at Oregon State (at least our baseball team is good). rboyce understands atmospheric science better than most. He’s right that climate change probably isn’t human’s most existential threat. Wear your mask. Endocrine disruptors (e.g. from health care products, prescription drugs) are in drinking-water sources. They can effect human reproduction in concentrations measured in ppb. That’s billion. The problem I have with global climate change is that it became a political agenda, which never seems to lead to good science. Earth won’t develop human-caused run-away global warming like what happened on the planet Venus, and have molten lead on its surface, mostly because we are much further away from the sun. But there is no question we are changing our planet. We need to be careful, but not just about our carbon footprint. Sea level rise probably isn’t the catastrophe we should be focusing on right now. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/57 "2021-01-30T02:45:29Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > He’s right that climate change probably isn’t human’s most existential threat. That’s contrary to the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/58 "2021-01-30T02:46:49Z")
You’re an idiot, too. The problem is - by the time global warming is obvious enough for the politicians to care, it will be far, far too late to avoid the worst of the damage. Sea level rise alone could bankrupt the country, not to mention displacing tens of millions of people, and causing enormous ecological damage. Left unchecked, COVID might have caused a few million deaths in the US for a year or so, and then it would have run it’s course. Global warming has the potential to cost tens of trillions of dollars for years on end, and increase the death rate by hundreds of thousands for decades. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/59 "2021-01-30T02:52:06Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Global warming has the potential to cost tens of trillions of dollars for years on end, It’s not nice to call someone an idiot, even if they are one. Show me any reputable source that backs up your “tens of trillions of dollars” claim, and I won’t call you an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737/60 "2021-01-30T03:01:02Z")
Umm, people, why do we have to decide which threat is the most immediate/existential/ugly? Why don’t we address _all_ the things that will do us harm? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-is-not-the-immediate-threat-facing-us-today/931737.md?page=4)