• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Should we be more worried about ebola or climate change?

Which of these 2 issues should we be more concerned about?


  • Total voters
    21

Nilly

stb
DP Veteran
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
6,873
Reaction score
3,809
Location
DC
Gender
Undisclosed
Political Leaning
Progressive
Which one of these issues poses the larger threat?

The context of the poll is at an overall, global level. However I welcome peoples thoughts on which poses the biggest threat at national and local levels. Is there a certain hypocrisy (from both sides perhaps) in getting alarmed about one but not the other?

Even if you aren't particularly worried about either, do you think one should warrant more discussion/coverage than the other? If you do truly believe both are inconsequential, explain why.




For the record, I very much feel that climate change is the far larger threat, but I get the feeling many on here will disagree with me...

EDIT: Mods, is there any way that this can be changed to public? Think I missed the checkbox....
 
Last edited:
Which one of these issues poses the larger threat?

The context of the poll is at an overall, global level. However I welcome peoples thoughts on which poses the biggest threat at national and local levels. Is there a certain hypocrisy (from both sides perhaps) in getting alarmed about one but not the other?

Even if you aren't particularly worried about either, do you think one should warrant more discussion/coverage than the other? If you do truly believe both are inconsequential, explain why.




For the record, I very much feel that climate change is the far larger threat, but I get the feeling many on here will disagree with me...

EDIT: Mods, is there any way that this can be changed to public? Think I missed the checkbox....

Honestly, I'm not particularly worried about either. I never worried about Ebola. I don't dwell on climate change as I don't think it's the biggest crisis we have.

I'm fine with more discussion about CC. As far as Ebola, I think that's all but dead at this point in terms of it being a crisis.
 
Climate change... to me... is a lost cause. You can't fix it, it's going to happen... or not, not much we can do unless we are able to regulate and reduce the world population on a massive scale. Many environmentally friendly proposals are actually not environmentally friendly and sometimes provide worse consequences.
Continuing to trying to improve the environment and how we impact it is important, but that's something that should be there with or without global warming...

We have the power to shut Ebola down/ let it run rampant/etc. So I guess technically that is the more pressing issue to me of the two.
 
Which one of these issues poses the larger threat?

The context of the poll is at an overall, global level. However I welcome peoples thoughts on which poses the biggest threat at national and local levels. Is there a certain hypocrisy (from both sides perhaps) in getting alarmed about one but not the other?

Even if you aren't particularly worried about either, do you think one should warrant more discussion/coverage than the other? If you do truly believe both are inconsequential, explain why.

For the record, I very much feel that climate change is the far larger threat, but I get the feeling many on here will disagree with me...

EDIT: Mods, is there any way that this can be changed to public? Think I missed the checkbox....

Do you really think that Ebola poses more than the slightest danger other than as a regional one in its present morph? It could become more dangerous, if it mutates and we should be prepared.
The same in another sense is true of climate warming. It is quite possible that it will become a threat to certain regions and groups. But the issue is still not really convincingly human caused. It also is only one problem in a plethora of similar ones based in an ecological quagmire we have benefited from so nicely. Again we might want to take out insurance. But do we really want to change our lifestyles before we know it is necessary?
 
We have no control over the sun so why worry about climate change ? Greenland use to be green

Back in 900 A.D. Greenland was a Viking's vacation destination.
 
Which one of these issues poses the larger threat?

The context of the poll is at an overall, global level. However I welcome peoples thoughts on which poses the biggest threat at national and local levels. Is there a certain hypocrisy (from both sides perhaps) in getting alarmed about one but not the other?

Even if you aren't particularly worried about either, do you think one should warrant more discussion/coverage than the other? If you do truly believe both are inconsequential, explain why.




For the record, I very much feel that climate change is the far larger threat, but I get the feeling many on here will disagree with me...

EDIT: Mods, is there any way that this can be changed to public? Think I missed the checkbox....

First, I want to say that there is a distinct difference between "being concerned" and "panicking", and when I read many media reports, I get the feeling that it would serve many people very well if they were much more relaxed. Neither problem is likely going to threaten all of us, nor is the threat imminent (doesn't mean it isn't real and serious).

That said, it's IMO apples and oranges ... I think both problems deserve attention, but their scope and threat is very different.

The current ebola outbreak so far is mostly just a local problem. And while it may be the worst pandemia of its kind, we're still just talking about a couple of thousand affected people, which, as bad as it is for them, is still next to nothing in a global context. I won't worry much until I read about hundreds of sudden new ebola cases in a Western country and an apparent failing of Western hygiene and medical measures.

As for global warming, based on all I read I do believe it is a scientific consensus that it does exist and is most likely man-made, but there is still much disagreement how fast it is progressing and how grave the consequences will be. Also, it is impossible to predict which region exactly will be affected in which way -- some regions may suffer floods, some regions may desert, but on the other side, it's also well possible that previously dryer regions get more rain. So it really depends where exactly you live, to determine how much it will affect your life. The Maledives are drowning these days already, and I guess the Netherlands or Bangladesh will get serious problems too. On the other side, more crops can be grown in Greenland.

I am not very optimistic much can still be done to stop climate change, but at best we can hope that we can slow it down (using more regenerative energy sources instead of fossil fuels makes sense on so many levels, it's a no-brainer -- even if you deny climate change, you can still list other reasons in favor of it, ranging from "common" concern about pollution to independence from oil imports). And much will depend how well we, mankind in general, will manage to organize a transition for people in negatively affected regions. Say, for example, the Netherlands can no longer maintain their dams, that will cause millions of displaced people who have to find a new home permanently. That can go smoothly if organized well, or it can result in a total chaos.
 
Last edited:
We have no control over the sun so why worry about climate change ? Greenland use to be green

Back in 900 A.D. Greenland was a Viking's vacation destination.

Not all climate change is disastrous, so that means we shouldn't ever worry about any climate change!

Sometimes tires blow out and nothing bad happens, so let's go lay spike strips on the highway!
 
Not all climate change is disastrous, so that means we shouldn't ever worry about any climate change!

Sometimes tires blow out and nothing bad happens, so let's go lay spike strips on the highway!

The other day I was thinking back before the tubeless tires and steel belted tires how often one had flats. On any typical day you would see cars all along the roadways on the side of the road being jacked up and the driver changing the tire.

Today's drivers have been so dumbed down, most couldn't even change a tire and have to call AAA.
 
The Koch Brothers are clearly sponsoring some people in this thread.
 
We probably shouldn't be too worried about either but since that wasn't an option I went with ebola.
 
Which one of these issues poses the larger threat?

The context of the poll is at an overall, global level. However I welcome peoples thoughts on which poses the biggest threat at national and local levels. Is there a certain hypocrisy (from both sides perhaps) in getting alarmed about one but not the other?

Even if you aren't particularly worried about either, do you think one should warrant more discussion/coverage than the other? If you do truly believe both are inconsequential, explain why.




For the record, I very much feel that climate change is the far larger threat, but I get the feeling many on here will disagree with me...

EDIT: Mods, is there any way that this can be changed to public? Think I missed the checkbox....



Well, let's see, here in Canada where our Universal Health Care system doesn't allow for innovation according to American "experts" we have developed a vaccine for E-bola now being tested in Halifax..

Ebola vaccine clinical trial in Halifax overwhelmed with volunteers - Nova Scotia - CBC News

So, since we will be soon rendering E-bola to the same category as mumps, I suspect the "threat" is pretty low, if not disappearing all together...

so yeah, its a much greater threat than the unproven myth of the destruction of life on the planet myth
 
Who are you kidding here?

EVERYONE who doesn't agree with you is taking their money.

Really?? Damn, I must just have to become a Koch Brothers sellout myself!
 
First of all, we should not be worried. Worry is a waste of mental energy.

Ebola is a very modest (in America) but real threat. More importantly, it is generally clear what action has be taken and how to measure success or failure.

"Climate change" is a "threat" that should not be on the list of priorities of any sane person, let alone policymakers. Taking massive action based on theoretical models attempting to predict distant future in complex systems is much more irresponsible than taking no action at all.

(Fortunately for the righteous bunch who misapply their latent religious zeal to "climate change", there are lots entirely justified actions that coincide in "direction". For example, nuclear power may have to be developed for the sake of energy independence, or the worst practices of coal industry may have to be phased out because of the very real and palpable ecological damage they inflict).
 
We have no control over the sun so why worry about climate change ? Greenland use to be green

Back in 900 A.D. Greenland was a Viking's vacation destination.

So... Greenland's 400,000 year old icecap covering 80% of the island disappeared and then miraculously returned and has been there to this day? It's like you're making **** up.

No. No it wasn't. Erik the Red was a pissant who got kicked out of one country and fled from another before setting out to settle land on his own. He named the land he found Greenland, because frozen-hellhole-in-the-middle-of-nowhere wasn't appealing.

‘Greenland used to be green’–Don’t judge a book by its cover, much less a land by its name | Grist

Instead of hunting whales in kayaks, they farmed cattle, goats, and sheep — despite having to keep them in a barn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a full 5 months out of the year. It was a constant challenge to get enough fodder for the winter. Starvation of the animals was frequent, emaciation routine. Grazing requirements and growing fodder for the winter led to over-production of pastures, erosion, and the need to go further and further afield to sustain the animals. Deforestation for pastures and firewood proceeded at unsustainable rates. After a couple of centuries, it led to such desperate measures as cutting precious sod for housing construction and even burning it for cooking and heating fuel.

http://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/greenland/

Life went sour for the Greenlanders in other ways. The number of Norwegian merchant vessels arriving in their ports, though only one or two a year in the best of times, dropped until none came at all. This meant that the islanders were cut off from the major source of iron and tools needed for the smooth running of their farms and the construction and maintenance of their boats.

Now stop making **** up. It's unbecoming. These were settlements, not summer homes used to hang out and have a good old time with the family.
 
Last edited:
Which one of these issues poses the larger threat?

The context of the poll is at an overall, global level. However I welcome peoples thoughts on which poses the biggest threat at national and local levels. Is there a certain hypocrisy (from both sides perhaps) in getting alarmed about one but not the other?

Even if you aren't particularly worried about either, do you think one should warrant more discussion/coverage than the other? If you do truly believe both are inconsequential, explain why.




For the record, I very much feel that climate change is the far larger threat, but I get the feeling many on here will disagree with me...

EDIT: Mods, is there any way that this can be changed to public? Think I missed the checkbox....

Climate change by far. A significant change in the world's climate will kill millions of people due to droughts, floods, increased natural disasters, etc. This is true regardless of whether that climate change is natural or caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
 
Worrying about climate change involves seeing past the shadow of your own selfish existence. In other words, it's a liberal-only concern.
 
Back
Top Bottom