Climate Change: Why Facts Don't Matter 

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Slightly untelated vent: I already live in a very polluted and crowded city so I don't get to see the stars often. I was watching the moon on my window about three days ago because it was really bright and beautiful and enter this friggin Subways flying ad with drones. The thing lasted about five minutes and it wasn't even visually appealing. It was five minutes of green yellow and white flashing drones spelling "FREE FOOTLONG...AUGUST 31ST...SUBWAYS...". It made me boil with rage to know that it probably won't be the last. You can't even look at the friggin sky anymore.

Thank you for including the 'blame the people' conspiracies by corporations. Well done video.

The fact that humans are choosing money over the planet they live on just shows that we're too stupid to survive. We can't even stop arguing over skin color.

Let's look at the conservative playbook: 1. That didn't happen. 2. And if it did, it wasn't that bad. 3. And if it was, that's not a big deal. 4. And if it is, that's not my fault. 5. And if it was, I didn't mean it. 6. And if I did, you deserved it.

Never forget that the richest truly believe they'll be able to guard themselves against global warming. That we'll be the ones to suffer and die. And the worst part is they're right.

Fun fact: the greenhouse effect was actually modeled earlier in 1859 by a woman named Eunice Newton Foote.

Human stupidity has no apparent limits. Our entire species is on the brink of winning a literal Darwin Award.

It's difficult to overstate what a disaster Ronald Reagan has been for the world..

It's not about why facts don't matter but also why good arguments don't matter

It blows my mind that the best our congress can do is to essentially let the market decide if the earth should hurdle faster down the chute.

It seems like governments can just....manufacture consent on any issue they choose, by encouraging the least educated in our society simply by filling them with misinformation.

HBomberguy did a terrific video essay on the climate change denial

I’m sure when the economy starts taking hits due to the more hellish destructive climate. And people start dying due to not having basic necessities like clean water or food, because of drought and crop damage. That’s when everyone starts to enacting changes. That’s how we usually handle crises is when it’s to late and we just pick up what’s left of a disaster and the damage is done.

I live in Canada. Everything at the supermarket is wrapped in plastic packaging. But plastic shopping bags are now banned. So, all the corporate producers of waste materials can just continue as always. But if I carry two bags of groceries home in plastic bags, that will destroy the planet. I have to drink from a cardboard straw, but oil companies still receive billions in subsidies. People have to sort their waste into bins for pickup, but there is no requirement for the companies that produced the waste to buy back the materials that pile up at municipal recycling depots.

Also, city design, systematic destruction of public transit, planned obsolescence, advertising.

Money. That's how we got to this point.

Everytime I hear about something horrifically bad or f’ed in the world or country, it’s ALWAYS REAGAN. 😂 He decided he couldn’t make it better, but he could most definitely make everything worse.

A single cruise ship will put out more greenhouse gasses than a human can in multiple lifetimes. There's just no way that we can "personal responsibility" our way out of this problem, and solutions MUST be aimed at big businesses. Fossil fuel companies for sure, but even also things like the fact a single tee shirt will be shipped all over the globe before ending up on the rack at a store only to fall apart after a few wearings and end up in a landfill. Onshoring more manufacturing, and producing goods at a higher quality are also a major factor in combating global warming.

And you wonder why super villains try to wipe out humanity 🤔

It's pretty hard to individually cut back when your financial situation already blocks you out of most of these activities. Corporations need to be taken to task for the massive harms they are doing.

I grew up in California and literally had no idea what humidity was until I arrived to Ft Sill Oklahoma for training as a 19 year old Marine. Then I soon after got stationed on the island of Okinawa in Japan and realized how special my homeland was for it’s distinct lack of moisture in the air Now my hometown regularly gets humid enough on some days for me to experience extreme distress if I don’t make sure to monitor and address any moisture around my environment, and it gets even worse if make the mistake of letting my hair grow out too much Do these guys never go outside? How much money is it worth to make California feel like the South?

The old axiom of "money is the root of all evil" has never been more true.

That was her saddest sign off ever. Someone please give Helen a hug. 😢

I recall some guest on PBS saying that we need to treat climate change like we did WWII, and that means warping the economy with all the necessary sacrifices. That means rationing food, fuel, reducing usage, and cutting luxuries, and drafting able men and women off to war only this time with not arming with guns, but with pulaskis, shovels, biodiesel, fire retardant, etc. to cope with the disasters, refugees, and all the other hardships to come. No, it would not popular but I can’t honestly see how we’re going to wiggle our way out of this.

I see something similar every single day in the hospital. You tell people that if they don't stop drinking, smoking, or eating junk food they will die, and you quickly find out that people would rather die in some sad painful way instead of changing their life stile.

This video kind of hurt to watch, given how just blatantly terrible it shows how human beings can be. Really well made though and thank you guys for making it.

The good news is that the deniers will suffer an die too, so there's a silver lining behind every cloud.

I love it when Wisecrack hosts go hard! I just wish it wasn’t due to a much needed response to the unchecked decay of humanity... Fantastic job though, Helen!

It's hard not to show a bit of vulnerability when faced with this much corruption and injustice. And you're right. What else can we do if not f*** shit up to try and bring attention to this crisis? The past generations aren't listening, and we are powerless to change the status quo otherwise. Thanks for the video Helen.

I think George Carlin said it best. To paraphrase, the planet will be fine, this is us killing ourselves. With that in mind, climate denial is even more depressing.

If these people love CO2 so much then how come they don't lock themselves in a room where the only gas in there is carbon dioxide?

Me: OMFG. This is the hottest year of my life. Scientists: Actually, this is the hottest year of your life, so far.

Okay, hey now, let's be fair. The oil industry technically *did* leap into action when the warnings came, I mean they realized that helping would reduce profits so they kept screwing humanity, somehow even more than they already were. Talk about getting productive!

Great video. I'm always surprised how little money these people will accept to sell their souls. Politicians getting bought for like $20-30,000.

It’s really starting to feel like there’s nothing we can do and we’re just screwed

It’s always fully appreciated how high quality, passionate and well researched your videos are! Your content is always an instant watch! Thanks Helen!

People can't even be bothered with stopping poisoning themselves, let alone be asked to give up a shred of comfort for others.

I can feel the rage through the screen. Brilliant video!

Thankfully the planet isn't in danger. It's the human population that is on the brink. After the last human dies the planet will rejoice.

There is sort of a hidden underclass in society. Even among those in higher socioeconomic brackets: Those without cars. By not having a car, even if you are rich, you have so many additional hurdles to leap to get anything done. It impacts the poorest the most, however, since it greatly limits career options. I'm posting this here because this is the number one social problem that needs to be addressed IMO to get people behind needed action. I have no idea how we fix what I might as well call the mobility gap.

And there is also shifting the blame to the consumer, no big corporation, me using less plastic bags might be better but it won't compensate for the millions of cubic tones of emissions you produce every year.

Something else I'd like to add is how tech companies say AI will (somehow) solve global warming so we don't need to worry about it. But when we point out the fact that energy consumption by AI companies is contributing to global warming, big time, the tech bros call you an AI doomer. Google is leaving people in South America without water, just to cool down their servers, in the middle of the worst drought in a century, but apparently developing AI is more important than people having water to drink.

Well done, excellent job explaining this insanity. Pretty much all the major issues can be viewed by this statement. Psychopaths and their unending supply of minions, just hold up the money.....

Its true people aint gonna do shit until we are literally floating in shit. All i do is hope that will not be too late. 😅

The absolute defeat in her voice at the end made me choke up. That’s exactly how I feel. Helpless.

Unfortunately, there are always going to be that demographic who will fight this tooth-and-nail in spite of overwhelming evidence that something is clearly wrong.

When they stop reading books like "Chicken Little" you get videos like this.

Climate change sucks In Texas where I live the summers are getting hotter & the winters colder & our stupid power grid can't handle either 🤦‍♂️

"Texas chickans are fleeing their farms." "where do they think they're going?" Across the road, obviously.

I would tell them to close their garage door with car running so they can have a convo with jesus about it.

You'd think all the droughts and rising food prices would be a wakeup call.

"Telling us we need to consume less is just big oil's way of shifting the blame onto us. Also, we need to consume less."

In my experience, the warm seasons are getting much hotter and the cold seasons are getting way colder. I think this means that the weather of the planet is becoming more and more like a desert. More and more extreme. This cannot possibly be a good thing. But how do we stop it? it makes me feel very powerless to think about it.

Follow the money. The corporations and institutions who control the resources are responsible for climate change, NOT the hapless consumers who barely have an alternative choice. Yet companies persuade us what to buy and where to buy it to reduce our "carbon footprint" even if it's not an effective or practical solution. More consumption will not solve overconsumption. The world requires subtractive solutions which are inconvenient but effective, not additive ones which are convenient but wasteful.

I can see the same techniques in use to deny global warming 40 years ago right here in this thread.

21:08 These stunts are pointless. Attack private elite boarding schools. Aggravating the average person does nothing. Making the powerful fear for their children's lives will get results

When I was a kid in the 70s, I remember my mom and dad throwing McDonald's trash out the windows while driving down the interstate. It was normal back then. The roadside was covered in garbage. So if the "Italian Indian" guy helped to get people to stop, I don't mind.

Bravo to Wisecrack. You guys have been stepping up the content for the last year and it really shows. Keep it up.

The fix is quite simple and it's been described in the scientific literature for a long time now: We have to create an energy system without fossil fuels. This is the main solution (other minor things are necessary as well). And obviously you have to know this and preferably read or at least know the scientific literature that describes how this can and can not be done, because it can't just be done any way you want. E-Fuels for example can't be a big part of the solution. They are so energy intensive, that you can only use them, where there's no alternative. Knowing about this also tells you if we can actually solve this problem by just focusing on ourselves. When everyone has to stop burning fossil fuels, then clearly it's not enough to focus on our own lives. As long as people burn fossil fuels global warming will continue. Also an energy system without fossil fuels can't be built if people just look at their own lives. This requires a community effort i.e. political action that ensure that this energy system will be built. The scientific literature tells us that large wind turbines will be essential for such an energy system. It's obvious though that you can't just put them in your backyard, so again political actions are needed to ensure that enough will be built. If you live in an appartement and your appartement is heated with an oil heater and you can't install solar panels, then you have no power to even get rid of fossil fuels in your own life. So again it's clear that we need political action to make sure that oil heaters disappear and heat pumps are installed. No matter how you look at it, nobody who wants to solve this problem can just look at his own life and not demand political action. To stay out of politics means that you're not doing what is necessary to solve the problem.

Nothing will change before things are much, much worse. A lot of heads need to roll.

Hindsight 20/20? No we knew the whole time

I think the personal onus pushed by large corporations should be used to convince the masses that converting to "green technology" now will benefit their wallets down the line by lowering their monthly bills, something 99% of the country would support. Doing the right thing for the planet just isn't impetus enough for people to truly care about it, and with no quick fix to the climate problem it's just too easy for opponents to argue against and rile up their supporters. I converted everything in my home to be as efficient as possible and saved a ton on my electric bills, then added solar panels to not only eliminate the bill, but to turn it into a small income stream. If stories like mine were front and center to the national messaging I think more people would convert, which would make them believers and end up supporting changes to national standards.

I'm a chick forest technician from Quebec and left my career over the gouvs lack of proper forest management, our hope lies with future generations, those who can survive!

It seems we’re as chained to capitalism as we are to climate itself. Growth always has an expense. Hopefully a socioeconomic impact will be established.

thanks for the amazing, thorough and super angry video. some of us who work on environmental protection sometimes feel that we are taking crazy pills

Great video! Been binging this channel and this video got me to watch Dont Look Up and when i tell you my heart sank and i went through so many emotions (i paused this video to go watch it after this video showed clips) only to come back to this vido and go through all the emotions again. Like damn. Shit just feels hopeless because some people have decided that the bottom line matters more than an inhabitable planet.

I can’t believe how many people in the comments are talking about how more CO2 is good because trees use it 🤦‍♂️ Trees also breath oxygen at night when there is no sun for photosynthesis, and you need CO2 to release oxygen fork the hemoglobin in your blood. Life is about balance, too much of anything is a bad thing.

I can feel your anger. It flows through me too.

Dont worry guys, the magic fairy in the sky would never let the earth burn! Santa claus and the tooth fairy will do their part too!

Everything. I mean everything leads back to Regan

The individual responsibility issue is more complex and also more important than suggested here. Governments pursue poor policies because voters allow them to. Individual responsibility is most important in the ballot box, but also features in almost every decision we make .

Could y’all do an analysis of the Foucault v Chomsky debate. Break down their arguments and give your thoughts on their conclusions?

Reagan really did ruin everything huh

Another excellent primer on a deep and disturbing topic. Truly, bravo! Also, I think if you guys weren't already on some FBI watch list for being radical pamphleteers you definitely are now. Keep up the good work!

We’re in a post fact world. Some people value their own opinion over expert advice. Even when it’s literally killing them.

When I say climate change science is near 130 years old people are like “liar”

Seeing you get sponsored by curiosity stream makes me hope you'll get into Nebula soon 🤞

I've always thought of the option of having children as my gauge for my thoughts on if we're going to be okay in the future. I've teetered on the line for long enough though and this video has allowed me to decide to join my brother in having a vasectomy. TMI sure, but seriously. How can we have children if we're giving them a life where they won't even be able to be guaranteed that the world will be able to allow them to live until retirement? It used to be circumstantial, but I don't think it will be anymore. I would always say that I didn't really believe that I was the last generation that will have this luxury of a full life in a sustainable world and just part of my depression, but now I'm not so sure. The circumstantial element might now be where we happen to live in our last full generation. Better put "move up North near the Great lakes" in my to do list. That's a lot of fresh water and soon to be better weather. Who knows though

Reagan. All roads leading to hell go through Reagan blvd.

Thank you for shouting out Just Stop Oil! It makes my day seeing big channels like yours getting behind our protest form. I'm from the german offshoot btw. Liebe und Mut! 🧡

This was an amazing episode. Thank you, as always. I hope revolution is still possible because it's obviously very necesary at this point.

Well crafted video. Thoughly researched. 👍 Unfortunately, I wish you offered better suggestions at the end as to how we could impact change in the government besides throwing soup cans and messing stuff up. Can you provide more ways to make the companies and politicians listen? That would be helpful to subscribers that might want to make a change. 😉 Feel free to comment on this thread!

Money and profit over the planet

I am sorry lady ( I have to say that because you never introduced yourself); but you are wrong. There is no scientific consensus on the issue of that we are approaching a climate catastrophe. By the way there is also no consensus that it is human activity alone that has caused the about 1.2 C raise of the earth´s medium temperature since about 1850 when the little ice age ended. If you want; I can show you dozens and dozens of well renowned scientist who (unfortunately after reaching the age of pension, and not being threatened of getting fired for speaking up) who will say that what you are claiming is just nonsense. The basic problem is that the issue of climate is too complicated to make any conclusions whatsoever concerning what human activity may or may not cause in the form of warming the planet. You should have in mind that the CO2 that seems to be the culprit in this story only is 0.04 percent of the atmosphere. How on Earth (sic!) could anything of that magnitude cause anything catastrophic? You have to explain that to me. I can give you names like Steve Koonin, John Stossel, David Wright, Lennart Bengtsson, Patrick Moore, just to name a few. On the other hand; I bet you cannot produce one single scientist who is subscribing to your climate issue.

Well for Environmental scientists we have the money bags telling us we're crazy for stopping them. While the working class is calling us lunatics for taking thier jobs away. I'm an Environmental Scientist that would love to see the world burn just so people can ask for help and I can say nope. If you don't care, why would I. Sincerely, Environmental Scientist. P.S Globe Cooling.🥶☠️😵

Climate change is real but you have choose only two sides Right or Left . Extreme Right become Dictator and Extreme Left become chaotic. Both have bad sides and good side but smart people choose middle path but there is no middle path.😂😂😂

Really informative video! Thanks for creating and sharing.

Climat denialism didn't win. Reality denialism in all forms won, and it just brought climate denialism along for the ride.

Was ridiculed and verbally abused by my own family back in the 80s/90s for ‘crying wolf’ about climate change as they described it. Fast forward to nowadays and apparently I imagined it all and I never said a word about it at all back then. Funny how hindsight works innit? 😂

I slightly disagree on personal resposibility here. Aren't our choices as consumers making corporations thrive or fall? anyone remembers nokia? Did we punish VW for their emissions fraud? Nope, still bestsellers in germany. Car still status symbol no1 over here, and its getting worse with more and more SUVs and even Pickups. In 2022, 2,5 million germans decided to go on a ocean cruise for vacation, this was a new record and represents a pinnacle in selfishness. I could go on. We are acting like sheep, fear and greed are our shepherds.

Burning fossil fuels is just one part of the problem. Trees for example, are natural carbon sinks, as they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, which converts CO2 into oxygen and stores carbon in their biomass. This process helps to regulate temperature and support life on Earth, such as it always has. We have already cut down over half of the Earth's trees. For every tree we cut down, not only do we lose a natural carbon sink, the co2 trapped in the biomass of that tree is released back into the atmosphere. Trees also keep the earth cool through shade and evapotranspiration, which also plays a role in the production of rain. Given that less than 2% of the Earth's water is fresh water, we're in serious trouble for a variety of reasons. In the year 1800, it was estimated that the world wide population was around 1 billion. Fast forward 223 years, and we have successfully added another 7 billion people that are using up natural resources all at once. This is unprecedented and to put it into greater perspective, it took 300,000 years for modern humans to reach 1 billion people, while it took only 2 centuries to reach 8 billion people post industrialization era. People have this idea that resources are infinite and our planet is endlessly massive, yet you could drive the circumference of the Earth in just under 14 days at a steady 70 mph. Soil loses its fertility overtime and naturally degrades as well. If we combined all the land being used for agriculture around the world into one space, it would be the size of the entire continent of Africa and South America-- hence the need for fertilizer. And....you guessed it-- natural fertilizers are being depleted at an alarming rate. Desalinstion is an unrealistic solution to the water crisis as well, as nearly every organism on the planet needs access to fresh water. How do we propose to transport fresh water to every creek, lake, river and water hole-- on top of all the world's people? Yes, carbon emissions are an issue but it's time to get real and look at the bigger picture of what's happening to our planet. It is just one major concern among many. Entire ecosystems are being destroyed. We have painted the earth in black asphalt in place of trees ( which absorbs heat), and built cities of glass, which reflects heat. We have done so much damage that it's hard to see a clear solution. Natural resources are required to make solar panels and wind mills. Nearly every solution we have still requires destruction and depletion of scarce resources. Overpopulation is a serious issue. Consumerism is a serious issue. Our entire way of life is a serious issue... Everything you used to make this video cost precious resources. The phone I'm typing on right now cost precious resources. It's not enough to demand that we stop burning fossil fuels. We have to radically change the way that we live if we want to save our planet. The first step is to admit your part in the destruction while you're putting down others for doing the same. Nearly everything you own, use and consume is killing our planet in one way or another. Do you flush the toilet everytime you use the restroom? Do you shower everyday? Do you own and use electronics? What materials built your home? Your car? Your clothes? Your decor? Your furniture? What resources were used in the production process of everything you have and everything you eat??? The harsh reality is that we have to regress back to the stone ages if we're going to treat our planet right, and still, that would not be enough at this point. It's one thing if there were only a billion people living on this planet- but that's not the case, is it? Every single person in the comments, myself included, is playing a part in the destruction of this planet. Pointing fingers at those producing and selling the products we buy, use and consume does nothing when you're sitting behind a screen talking into the latest tech gadgets. They just laugh at you. Fess up to your part, and that would be a great start.

*This is the best / most important video I have watched on RU-vid for... months !* Thank you @WisecrackEDU team. I had been -looking for- hoping to come across a discussion with a timeline of corporate malfeasance+deception and clear arguments with easily referable points for the next time I choose to _f-ing waste my f-ing time_ by trying to argue with (lying or dumb, or both) global warming denialists, and here it is. Served dripping with sarcasm, just the way I like it. Of course it's not going to make any difference, we're *F#@%ED* anyway and (non-radicalized) voters are not going to really turn up the heat on parties across the larger economies until the Thwaites Glacier goes for a swim and the water level in the Miami, New York, New Orleans, Dhaka, Kolkata waterfronts starts inching up, by which time it will be too late and mass migrations (with the consequent upheaval and conflict resulting in large scale casualties) will be unescapable but... at least I can put away that uneasy feeling that maybe I was going crazy ⌛. 🙏

There’s this Carl Sagan video from 1985 where he spoke to congress about climate change. What I find truly baffling is how someone as charming, trustworthy, and cool as Sagan can be ignored by so many people. I think that goes to the heart of the issue: people are intentionally ignorant.

Simple: 1: The average person sees the biggest polluters doing next to nothing, and thus feel that their relatively miniscule emissions do not matter. 2: The average rich individual or company cares not for the future in any way aside from lined pocketbooks. Denial is in their favour, so they feed into it. 3: The primary fact cited to convince deniers is the "scientific consensus", which is not a metric of actual fact, and is ignored as a propaganda effort. 4: Many proponents of Climate Change in the political sphere attack industries that are already carbon neutral or even carbon negative, lumping them in with their less beneficial cousin industries. Other such political figures will propose bills and titles named after climate change issues, but riddled with unrelated legislation, breeding distrust and emnity.

Well done. I presume you're familiar with Naomi Oreskes' work on this subject. Keep spreading the word.

People who complain about protesters really have no idea what's coming.

People often won't recognize, refuse to recognize, or are kept from regonizing danger till it is staring them in the face.

17:46 Fun fact. Incandescent light bulbs use A LOT more electricity than LED bulbs. 75 watt against 7 watt. What’s not to like?

it is truly horrifying when even a public face like this puts together a succinct video that explains clearly that there is basically no hope, and that collapse is basically imminent. As a collapse aware person, most of this is retreading things we already knew (and not even touching on tipping points that have already started), but having it expressed in one place really drives the point home.