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by tobr·7y ago·view on hn ↗
> We're trying to colonise Mars, but at the same time believe a somewhat warmer climate is an existential threat to humanity.

That’s an interesting non sequitur. How does the potential for colonization of Mars say anything about how big of a threat climate change is?

1 comments
> That’s an interesting non sequitur.

I'll have to write it in a more straightforward manner, since it's apparently a non sequitur if you don't understand it: if we are optimistic about living on a planet as hostile as Mars, how can we be pessimistic about surviving a temperature increase of a few degrees on Earth?

That is a very superficial comparison between two problems that are fundamentally different, especially with regards to what’s at stake.

Going to Mars has no deadline, and barely any stakes. If it proves practically unachievable, it’s a failed dream, or maybe just an indefinitely delayed dream; no big deal. Earth is already inhabited by millions of species, and if it becomes even one percent less hospitable, that’s an existential crisis.

> Earth is already inhabited by millions of species, and if it becomes even one percent less hospitable, that’s an existential crisis.

No, it's not. This is just the typical scaremongering and dramatisation I'm getting so tired of. Every populated region on Earth becomes much more than one percent less hospitable every winter and there is no crisis, especially not an existential one. We can cope very well with minor changes in weather and climate and we will. Stop obsessing about climate doom scenarios, it's silly.

> Every populated region on Earth becomes much more than one percent less hospitable every winter

No, winter is part of the baseline. Life has evolved to to survive during winter, and societies have been built to handle it. We do not have ecosystem collapses or widespread climate refugees every winter. Permanent and unprecedented changes cause completely different problems than a few months of winter.