How to Talk to Climate Naysayers | Sojourners

How to Talk to Climate Naysayers

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Climate change is real. Nevertheless, we all know someone who thinks it's a hoax. They say it's a natural cycle that can't be stopped. Or they ask, why worry about climate change if God is in control?

To effectively communicate the truth about this contentious issue, we have to start by understanding others' perspectives. There are legitimate concerns and good questions to address. Here are three I hear the most:

"It's a liberal scheme."

Many see climate change as yet another item on the environmental activist's agenda, one that's going to cost the government trillions of dollars and inconvenience everyone else in the process. First, it was saving the whales. Then, it was hugging trees. Now, it's climate change.

The truth is, it's different this time. It’s not an issue of blue, or red, or even green politics. The climate change debate is first and foremost about whether or not the world has been warming. And it has, plain and simple. NASA’s global temperature records present us with a clear choice: Either the Earth's average temperature is increasing, or all of NASA has been duped.

Our own backyards contain "natural thermometers" that document how our world is changing. Trees are flowering earlier in the year. Birds are laying eggs sooner. Invasive pests are advancing as winter temperatures warm. Globally, there are more than 25,000 examples of natural thermometers that bear witness to our rapidly changing climate. Even for the most industrious tree-huggers in the world, that’s just too much evidence to fake.

"It's a scientific fantasy."

"Climate change — what a hoax! Those same scientists who believe in evolution and a billion-year-old earth are just looking for more government hand-outs."

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