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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for a head count as to how many mumsnetters don’t believe that climate change is caused by human activity?

236 replies

workingtowards · 21/09/2023 13:13

There was a thread on MN many years ago, when a good proportion thought climate change was just weather/natural, so it would be interesting to know if views have changed.

YANBU: Yes human activity is causing climate change
YABU: No climate change is natural and there’s nothing we can do about it

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
BCBird · 21/09/2023 13:13

We certainly are not helping matters

Autumnleaves257 · 21/09/2023 13:17

Here is a benchmark, I think from 2020
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/assets/peritia-climate-change%E2%80%8B.pdf
74% of people in the UK believe climate change is caused by human activities

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/assets/peritia-climate-change%E2%80%8B.pdf

sarahh96 · 21/09/2023 13:19

Climate change is a natural evolution of the planet. Nothing to do with us. The planet will continue to evolve long after we've gone.

30not13 · 21/09/2023 13:20

Mix of both

catlovingdoctor · 21/09/2023 13:21

I think mankind has an absolutely minimal effect on climate.

Laiste · 21/09/2023 13:23

I believe both these things are true:

  • Our behaviour has an affect on the planets climate.
  • The climate has changed in the past long before humans were around.

I don't think either negates the other.

Thelnebriati · 21/09/2023 13:24

Rainwater almost everywhere on earth is now polluted by man made chemicals (thats not counting man made radiation) - and still people think we aren't capable of changing the climate?

GasPanic · 21/09/2023 13:24

Humans have an effect on climate.

The climate also changes naturally. It has been much warmer and colder in the past than it is now. Volcanoes, solar cycles and variations in the earths orbit/orientation (eccentricity, tilt etc) all affect the climate.

Afternoonteaandicecream · 21/09/2023 13:24

Climate change is a natural process but human activities are causing it to accelerate faster so it’s both but a accelerated climate is not good for anything on the planet

Laiste · 21/09/2023 13:27

accelerated climate is not good for anything on the planet

Or maybe in a weird way it's karma/evolution/natures way to despatch of humans quicker?

Treebark · 21/09/2023 13:27

It's the rate of climate change that is the issue. I don't know why people can't see this - changes which took thousands of years when driven by natural processes are now happening much quicker because of human activity.

That's the bit no one ever seems to grasp. Yes change is natural. Very fast change is not natural and is driven by human activity.

HTH

BillStickersWillBeProsocuted · 21/09/2023 13:29

I think this illustrates really well the difference between natural fluctuations in the earths temperature and what's happened in the last 100 years or so

https://xkcd.com/1732/

Earth Temperature Timeline

https://xkcd.com/1732

Afternoonteaandicecream · 21/09/2023 13:29

Or maybe in a weird way it's karma/evolution/natures way to despatch of humans quicker?

But it’s not just affecting us it affects lots of other species detrimentally too

CurlewKate · 21/09/2023 13:30

I'm not an expert. So I will go with 97% of the scientific community and say yes, climate change is man made.

Laiste · 21/09/2023 13:31

We came, we fucked it up for ourselves, we died off pretty quick, planet returns to it's normal ebb and flow being hit by meteors every few million years ect.

We're a short episode in Earths story. We've only been here a blink of an eye. It will outlive us.

GasPanic · 21/09/2023 13:31

Treebark · 21/09/2023 13:27

It's the rate of climate change that is the issue. I don't know why people can't see this - changes which took thousands of years when driven by natural processes are now happening much quicker because of human activity.

That's the bit no one ever seems to grasp. Yes change is natural. Very fast change is not natural and is driven by human activity.

HTH

Look up the "year without a summer".

Climate change can happen "naturally" very quickly as well.

Cathyt90 · 21/09/2023 13:31

Historical climate change took millions of years. Since the industrial revolution we have compressed climate change into decades. There is more energy in the climate system than it can naturally balance, and ecosystems cannot adapt this quickly. There is consensus amongst world scientists on this. But still the narrative that 'it's natural' is trotted out by sceptics and those who have bought the wilful misdirection of the fossil fuel industry.

Conferenceblues · 21/09/2023 13:31

Wtf? 23% of people don’t agree with that humans are driving climate change. This makes me despair.

There are 7 billion humans consuming and pumping out fossil fuels. I don’t understand how anyone could think that’s not influencing the climate. Of course climate changes naturally but very slowly - what’s happening now is is on a completely different scale.

Laiste · 21/09/2023 13:32

But it’s not just affecting us it affects lots of other species detrimentally too

Yes, i don't disagree.

londonrach · 21/09/2023 13:33

Abit of both!

Conferenceblues · 21/09/2023 13:33

Laiste · 21/09/2023 13:27

accelerated climate is not good for anything on the planet

Or maybe in a weird way it's karma/evolution/natures way to despatch of humans quicker?

I mean … I guess. It kind of sucks for all the other species though. How is it karma for them? It’s not some sort of divine retribution, it’s just fucking things up.

Ohyournotwearingadress · 21/09/2023 13:33

Not voting as I think it’s a mix of both. Huge environmental disasters like volcanic eruptions in my opinion spew much much more but I do think it’s time for us to help BUT by us I mean the whole world.

I get really frustrated at the things we in uk are expected to be doing when the US and China pollute soooooo much.

TooOldForThisNonsense · 21/09/2023 13:35

I think it is both. Climate change does occur but human activity has accelerated it. Ultimately does it matter? What happens is trying to mitigate it as best we can which is clearly down to humans.

LemonQuiche · 21/09/2023 13:35

Its both.

The climate changes naturally and would do if humans didn’t exist. However, human activity is definitely contributing to climate change.

Conferenceblues · 21/09/2023 13:36

GasPanic · 21/09/2023 13:31

Look up the "year without a summer".

Climate change can happen "naturally" very quickly as well.

Show quote history

But the year without a summer wasn’t climate change in an ongoing sense - it was intense and brief climate change caused by volcanic activity. Then the disruption from the eruption cleared and things went back to normal. That’s not what’s happening now.