WSJ: Climate Change Obsession Is a Real Mental Disorder

[surfnole]

Alarmist stories about the weather, not the warm air itself, are behind the left’s anxiety and dread.

....

If heat waves were as deadly as the press proclaims, Homo sapiens couldn’t have survived thousands of years without air conditioning. Yet here we are. Humans have shown remarkable resilience and adaptation—at least until modern times, when half of society lost its cool over climate change.


“Extreme Temperatures Are Hurting Our Mental Health,” a recent Bloomberg headline warns. Apparently every social problem under the sun is now attributable to climate change. But it’s alarmist stories about bad weather that are fueling mental derangements worthy of the DSM-5—not the warm summer air itself.

.......

Well, yes. Before the media began reporting on putative temperature records—the scientific evidence for which is also weak—heat waves were treated as a normal part of summer. Uncomfortable, but figuratively nothing to sweat about.

.....
A study in 2021 of 16- to 25-year-olds in 10 countries including the U.S. reported that 59% were very or extremely worried about climate change, and 84% were at least moderately worried. Forty-five percent claimed they were so worried that they struggled to function on a daily basis, the definition of an anxiety disorder.

......
It isn’t difficult to notice that today’s snowflakes consider hot weather aberrant, similar to how they perceive normal feelings such as anxiety or sadness. But there’s nothing normal about climate anxiety, despite the left’s claims to the contrary.

......
Climate hypochondriacs deserve to be treated with compassion, much like anyone who suffers from mental illness. They shouldn’t, however, expect everyone else to enable their neuroses.

Opinion | Climate Change Obsession Is a Real Mental Disorder

Alarmist stories about the weather, not the warm air itself, are behind the left’s anxiety and dread.

www.wsj.com

 

[surfnole]

From the comment section:

For Americans, Climate is not a matter of temperature, but Math. More than 7 billion people inhabit the earth. We are but 330 million, who have already greatly reduced our carbon footprint. If all Americans agreed to, immediately and permanently, use only horses and candles, the world's Climate would never notice. Just as you cannot lose weight and make your obese neighbor thinner, the US cannot save the planet by impoverishing our middle class with expensive Green policies. Climate Crusaders are needed in Beijing, Rio, Lagos & Mumbai. . .They are are wasting their efforts in the US.

 

[surfnole]

Another WSJ article:

Climate Change Hasn’t Set the World on Fire
It turns out the percentage of the globe that burns each year has been declining since 2001.

.....

One of the most common tropes in our increasingly alarmist climate debate is that global warming has set the world on fire. But it hasn’t. For more than two decades, satellites have recorded fires across the planet’s surface. The data are unequivocal: Since the early 2000s, when 3% of the world’s land caught fire, the area burned annually has trended downward.

In 2022, the last year for which there are complete data, the world hit a new record-low of 2.2% burned area. Yet you’ll struggle to find that reported anywhere.

.....

Instead, the media acts as if the world is ablaze. In late 2021, the New York Times employed more than 40 staff on a project called “Postcards from a World on Fire,” headed by a photorealistic animation of the world in flames. Its explicit goal was to convince readers of the climate crisis’ immediacy

.....

In the case of American fires, most of the problem is bad land management. A century of fire suppression has left more fuel for stronger fires. Even so, last year U.S. fires burned less than one-fifth of the average burn in the 1930s and likely only one-tenth of what caught fire in the early 20th century.

When reading headlines about fires, remember the other climate scare tactics that proved duds. Polar bears were once the poster cubs for climate action, yet are now estimated to be more populous than at any time in the past half-century. We were told climate change would produce more hurricanes, yet satellite data shows that the number of hurricanes globally since 1980 has trended slightly downward.

.....

Mr. Lomborg is president of the Copenhagen Consensus, a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and author of “False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet.”

Opinion | Climate Change Hasn’t Set the World on Fire

It turns out the percentage of the globe that burns each year has been declining since 2001.

www.wsj.com

 

[MagNoleA]

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
Jack Torrence
The Overlook Motel.
P.S. Where is Wendy?

 

[goldmom]

If you grew up in the Florida of pre-AC central air like many or most Boomers you recall a time when fans, bare feet on tile, and iced tea were how we lived. We all rode in cars with the windows down. I can recall 97 degree days when even those measures didn’t help in the 50’s and 60’s. You made sure the ice trays were filled up and in the freezer. And Mom used to roll up our PJ’s and put them in the freezer while we were in the tub so we would go to bed in cooled down Jammie’s. Talk about necessity being the Mother of inventions - that was my Mom.
And I also recall some winters that we thought were awful cold. But when you just lived through a hot summer a 35 degree overnight was cold.
But I also recall less consumption, fewer cars, and fewer people. More woods and less concrete. And dirtier air.
And waaay less influence by the media, creating issues where there are none. Social media was Life Magazine. Walter Cronkite gave us the news without telling us what his opinion was, and then signing off with “And that’s the way it is on such and such date”. If he reported it my parents believed it.
Hurricanes were a thing every year and if they were bad in one area they might be bad in yours the next season. Twisters hit someplace else, and forest fires happened every year which is why Smokey the Bear became famous.
My larger point is we have allowed social media to blow up these things so that we’re now living in a heightened state of fear and doom when we have in fact been hugely successful in addressing many of the environmental issues we created in a different time as the result of circumstances that people deemed critical at that time. War matériels factories in the late 30’s and 40’s were an absolute necessity and post war they were retrofitted to another industry so veterans would have jobs when the war was over. Who had time to think about the planet and oh yeah who had the “green” technology then? No one.

The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland has been referenced here. Yes it caught fire - and the outcome was a larger societal fire of awareness, leading to a big wake-up call. The river today is a different place and so are other rivers.
Our air is far cleaner. Our water (except in a few areas where human mismanagement has occurred) is far more potable.
Try to make that claim in Mumbai or Beijing.
We cannot be the only oar trying to row the boat. We have the biggest oar but it’s not enough to get the entire planet upstream.
Earth’s climate changes every single day. It does go through cycles and it’s not irrational to understand that 3 billion folks and their survival and existence affect the environment.
But over the billions of years the planet has been here it’s evolved and changed and whether we little germs can change it is something none of us will be around to see.
Not John Kerry. Not Greta Thunberg. Not a million hockey sticks.
Want clean air? Stop smoking.

 

[goldmom]

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
Jack Torrence
The Overlook Motel.
P.S. Where is Wendy?

She went out to play with the RedRum twins and hasn’t been seen since.
Fire up the SnoKat.

 

[QuaZ2002]

Time magazine had an article the other day entitled “Climate Change is Changing How We Dream”. I laughed out loud.

 

[CocoaNoles]

If you grew up in the Florida of pre-AC central air like many or most Boomers you recall a time when fans, bare feet on tile, and iced tea were how we lived. We all rode in cars with the windows down. I can recall 97 degree days when even those measures didn’t help in the 50’s and 60’s. You made sure the ice trays were filled up and in the freezer. And Mom used to roll up our PJ’s and put them in the freezer while we were in the tub so we would go to bed in cooled down Jammie’s. Talk about necessity being the Mother of inventions - that was my Mom.
And I also recall some winters that we thought were awful cold. But when you just lived through a hot summer a 35 degree overnight was cold.
But I also recall less consumption, fewer cars, and fewer people. More woods and less concrete. And dirtier air.
And waaay less influence by the media, creating issues where there are none. Social media was Life Magazine. Walter Cronkite gave us the news without telling us what his opinion was, and then signing off with “And that’s the way it is on such and such date”. If he reported it my parents believed it.
Hurricanes were a thing every year and if they were bad in one area they might be bad in yours the next season. Twisters hit someplace else, and forest fires happened every year which is why Smokey the Bear became famous.
My larger point is we have allowed social media to blow up these things so that we’re now living in a heightened state of fear and doom when we have in fact been hugely successful in addressing many of the environmental issues we created in a different time as the result of circumstances that people deemed critical at that time. War matériels factories in the late 30’s and 40’s were an absolute necessity and post war they were retrofitted to another industry so veterans would have jobs when the war was over. Who had time to think about the planet and oh yeah who had the “green” technology then? No one.

The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland has been referenced here. Yes it caught fire - and the outcome was a larger societal fire of awareness, leading to a big wake-up call. The river today is a different place and so are other rivers.
Our air is far cleaner. Our water (except in a few areas where human mismanagement has occurred) is far more potable.
Try to make that claim in Mumbai or Beijing.
We cannot be the only oar trying to row the boat. We have the biggest oar but it’s not enough to get the entire planet upstream.
Earth’s climate changes every single day. It does go through cycles and it’s not irrational to understand that 3 billion folks and their survival and existence affect the environment.
But over the billions of years the planet has been here it’s evolved and changed and whether we little germs can change it is something none of us will be around to see.
Not John Kerry. Not Greta Thunberg. Not a million hockey sticks.
Want clean air? Stop smoking.

Thanks for this post @goldmom it was a nice and refreshing read.

GO NOLES!!!

 

[goldmom]

Thanks for this post @goldmom it was a nice and refreshing read.

GO NOLES!!!

Thank you!

 

[MagNoleA]

She went out to play with the RedRum twins and hasn’t been seen since.
Fire up the SnoKat.

I see what you did there. Very well played. You're so coy and clever. A fair assumption?
"Wendi..., Give me the bat! Wendi..., Give me the bat! I'm not gonna hurt you Wendi......, I'm just gonna bash your $%#@&*% brains in..... " Danny, Oh, Danny Boy.....! Run, Danny, Run..... to the maze of hedges.... Danny?

 

[MagNoleA]

If you grew up in the Florida of pre-AC central air like many or most Boomers you recall a time when fans, bare feet on tile, and iced tea were how we lived. We all rode in cars with the windows down. I can recall 97 degree days when even those measures didn’t help in the 50’s and 60’s. You made sure the ice trays were filled up and in the freezer. And Mom used to roll up our PJ’s and put them in the freezer while we were in the tub so we would go to bed in cooled down Jammie’s. Talk about necessity being the Mother of inventions - that was my Mom.
And I also recall some winters that we thought were awful cold. But when you just lived through a hot summer a 35 degree overnight was cold.
But I also recall less consumption, fewer cars, and fewer people. More woods and less concrete. And dirtier air.
And waaay less influence by the media, creating issues where there are none. Social media was Life Magazine. Walter Cronkite gave us the news without telling us what his opinion was, and then signing off with “And that’s the way it is on such and such date”. If he reported it my parents believed it.
Hurricanes were a thing every year and if they were bad in one area they might be bad in yours the next season. Twisters hit someplace else, and forest fires happened every year which is why Smokey the Bear became famous.
My larger point is we have allowed social media to blow up these things so that we’re now living in a heightened state of fear and doom when we have in fact been hugely successful in addressing many of the environmental issues we created in a different time as the result of circumstances that people deemed critical at that time. War matériels factories in the late 30’s and 40’s were an absolute necessity and post war they were retrofitted to another industry so veterans would have jobs when the war was over. Who had time to think about the planet and oh yeah who had the “green” technology then? No one.

The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland has been referenced here. Yes it caught fire - and the outcome was a larger societal fire of awareness, leading to a big wake-up call. The river today is a different place and so are other rivers.
Our air is far cleaner. Our water (except in a few areas where human mismanagement has occurred) is far more potable.
Try to make that claim in Mumbai or Beijing.
We cannot be the only oar trying to row the boat. We have the biggest oar but it’s not enough to get the entire planet upstream.
Earth’s climate changes every single day. It does go through cycles and it’s not irrational to understand that 3 billion folks and their survival and existence affect the environment.
But over the billions of years the planet has been here it’s evolved and changed and whether we little germs can change it is something none of us will be around to see.
Not John Kerry. Not Greta Thunberg. Not a million hockey sticks.
Want clean air? Stop smoking.

I just loved this historic generational trip down Memory Lane. It truly was a very refreshing read. Did you ever do any hiking with Lewis and Clark, Ponce De Leon or Charles Kuralt? Asking for a friend. This mini novel kind of reminds me of "The Summer of '42." I just loved that beach house on the Jorsey shore.
Hermie

 

[goldmom]

I just loved this historic generational trip down Memory Lane. It truly was a very refreshing read. Did you ever do any hiking with Lewis and Clark, Ponce De Leon or Charles Kuralt? Asking for a friend. This mini novel kind of reminds me of "The Summer of '42." I just loved that beach house on the Jorsey shore.
Hermie

Ageism is a death penalty offense.
And Wendy just handed me that bat.

 

[littleitch1]

If you grew up in the Florida of pre-AC central air like many or most Boomers you recall a time when fans, bare feet on tile, and iced tea were how we lived. We all rode in cars with the windows down. I can recall 97 degree days when even those measures didn’t help in the 50’s and 60’s. You made sure the ice trays were filled up and in the freezer. And Mom used to roll up our PJ’s and put them in the freezer while we were in the tub so we would go to bed in cooled down Jammie’s. Talk about necessity being the Mother of inventions - that was my Mom.
And I also recall some winters that we thought were awful cold. But when you just lived through a hot summer a 35 degree overnight was cold.
But I also recall less consumption, fewer cars, and fewer people. More woods and less concrete. And dirtier air.
And waaay less influence by the media, creating issues where there are none. Social media was Life Magazine. Walter Cronkite gave us the news without telling us what his opinion was, and then signing off with “And that’s the way it is on such and such date”. If he reported it my parents believed it.
Hurricanes were a thing every year and if they were bad in one area they might be bad in yours the next season. Twisters hit someplace else, and forest fires happened every year which is why Smokey the Bear became famous.
My larger point is we have allowed social media to blow up these things so that we’re now living in a heightened state of fear and doom when we have in fact been hugely successful in addressing many of the environmental issues we created in a different time as the result of circumstances that people deemed critical at that time. War matériels factories in the late 30’s and 40’s were an absolute necessity and post war they were retrofitted to another industry so veterans would have jobs when the war was over. Who had time to think about the planet and oh yeah who had the “green” technology then? No one.

The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland has been referenced here. Yes it caught fire - and the outcome was a larger societal fire of awareness, leading to a big wake-up call. The river today is a different place and so are other rivers.
Our air is far cleaner. Our water (except in a few areas where human mismanagement has occurred) is far more potable.
Try to make that claim in Mumbai or Beijing.
We cannot be the only oar trying to row the boat. We have the biggest oar but it’s not enough to get the entire planet upstream.
Earth’s climate changes every single day. It does go through cycles and it’s not irrational to understand that 3 billion folks and their survival and existence affect the environment.
But over the billions of years the planet has been here it’s evolved and changed and whether we little germs can change it is something none of us will be around to see.
Not John Kerry. Not Greta Thunberg. Not a million hockey sticks.
Want clean air? Stop smoking.

I too grew up with no ac in ft Lauderdale

We had jalosee( I know spelled wrong) windows
Metal oscillation fans

It was hot and cold then too

Like you said we acclimated to the situation

Good post Goldmom

 

[DFSNOLE]

I too grew up with no ac in ft Lauderdale

We had jalosee( I know spelled wrong) windows
Metal oscillation fans

It was hot and cold then too

Like you said we acclimated to the situation

Good post Goldmom

When my father put in wall units in our house in the late 60s or early70s (I don't remember exactly when), we were the first to have A/C in our neighborhood. We didn't have A/C in our elementary school either.

 

[seminoleed]

When my father put in wall units in our house in the late 60s or early70s (I don't remember exactly when), we were the first to have A/C in our neighborhood. We didn't have A/C in our elementary school either.

Elementary, Junior High (yeah, that's what it was called back in the day) and high school--never had any A/C. In fact, only the front offices and teachers' lounges had it, as far as I ever could tell. We just kept the windows open and moved on. On the rare day when Tampa actually was cold, there were radiators for that.

 

[EL73]

If you grew up in the Florida of pre-AC central air like many or most Boomers you recall a time when fans, bare feet on tile, and iced tea were how we lived. We all rode in cars with the windows down. I can recall 97 degree days when even those measures didn’t help in the 50’s and 60’s. You made sure the ice trays were filled up and in the freezer. And Mom used to roll up our PJ’s and put them in the freezer while we were in the tub so we would go to bed in cooled down Jammie’s. Talk about necessity being the Mother of inventions - that was my Mom.
And I also recall some winters that we thought were awful cold. But when you just lived through a hot summer a 35 degree overnight was cold.
But I also recall less consumption, fewer cars, and fewer people. More woods and less concrete. And dirtier air.
And waaay less influence by the media, creating issues where there are none. Social media was Life Magazine. Walter Cronkite gave us the news without telling us what his opinion was, and then signing off with “And that’s the way it is on such and such date”. If he reported it my parents believed it.
Hurricanes were a thing every year and if they were bad in one area they might be bad in yours the next season. Twisters hit someplace else, and forest fires happened every year which is why Smokey the Bear became famous.
My larger point is we have allowed social media to blow up these things so that we’re now living in a heightened state of fear and doom when we have in fact been hugely successful in addressing many of the environmental issues we created in a different time as the result of circumstances that people deemed critical at that time. War matériels factories in the late 30’s and 40’s were an absolute necessity and post war they were retrofitted to another industry so veterans would have jobs when the war was over. Who had time to think about the planet and oh yeah who had the “green” technology then? No one.

The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland has been referenced here. Yes it caught fire - and the outcome was a larger societal fire of awareness, leading to a big wake-up call. The river today is a different place and so are other rivers.
Our air is far cleaner. Our water (except in a few areas where human mismanagement has occurred) is far more potable.
Try to make that claim in Mumbai or Beijing.
We cannot be the only oar trying to row the boat. We have the biggest oar but it’s not enough to get the entire planet upstream.
Earth’s climate changes every single day. It does go through cycles and it’s not irrational to understand that 3 billion folks and their survival and existence affect the environment.
But over the billions of years the planet has been here it’s evolved and changed and whether we little germs can change it is something none of us will be around to see.
Not John Kerry. Not Greta Thunberg. Not a million hockey sticks.
Want clean air? Stop smoking.

You perfectly described the Jacksonville weather of my youth. Before AC we would literally sit outside and pray for a breeze— it was cooler than indoors.
None of us had any misgivings that we could influence the weather. I miss those innocent and uninformed days 🙄

 

[goldmom]

I grew up in Jax too.

 

[MagNoleA]

I grew up in Jax too.

Are you on the Southside?

 

[MagNoleA]

Ageism is a death penalty offense.
And Wendy just handed me that bat.

Just don't take me to the kitchen storeroom. I've got friends.

 

[goldmom]

Just don't take me to the kitchen storeroom. I've got friends.

Well that’s welcome news…😎

 

[MagNoleA]

Well that’s welcome news…😎

Well... Well...Well, said the Spider to the fly.

 

[GeddyLee09]

Just to correct the factual error in the headline: climate change obsession is not a "real mental disorder" recognized by any mental health professional organization.

What about Eco-anxiety? Is that BS too? Plus the WSJ story is an opinion piece.

 

[GeddyLee09]

 

[BrianNole777]

This thread didn't age well.

Maui's fire became deadly fast. Climate change, flash drought, invasive grass and more fueled it

A dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging, including flash drought, high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation.

apnews.com

 

[GeddyLee09]

This thread didn't age well.

Maui's fire became deadly fast. Climate change, flash drought, invasive grass and more fueled it

A dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging, including flash drought, high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation.

apnews.com

Strong winds, combined with low humidity and an abundance of dry vegetation that burns easily, can increase the danger of wildfire, even on a tropical island like Maui.

“If you have all of those conditions at the same time, it’s often what the National Weather Service calls ‘red flag conditions,’” said Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University.

All fact and I agree. Dry vegetation which is invasive (and uncontrolled) played a part too. These are all facts. The part about how much climate change has to do with it if any is pure speculation.

 

[F4Gary]

There is a high pressure area north of Hawaii, they rotate clockwise.
There is a low pressure area south of Hawaii, hurricane Dora. They rotate counter clockwise.
This has created high winds across the islands.

 

[CocoaNoles]

Yup, there you have it. While climate change can’t be said to directly cause singular events, experts say, the impact extreme weather is having on communities is undeniable.

Time to lock this and any other thread up. The science is settled.

GO NOLES!!!

 

[Dr. Nole]

"experts"

 

[MagNoleA]

Its Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) regardless of the subject matter. Luvox can be your friend.
Next, we'll have a Warchant Obsessive Compulsive Disorder....and that can relate to many on here.....
If you need help please call 1-800- 6969696966969696969696696969696.
Howard H. aka The Aviator