Here are some of the most common reasons and arguments people use to try and push back on any posts about climate change on social media –

1. Climate change isn’t real.

Commenter – ‘Those global problems don’t really exist…..global warming is a massive industry supported by very little actual science, just scientists that need continued funding therefore keep driving the frenzy.’

I covered this a lot in my previous blogpost. You can’t argue with someone who gets all their news from the Daily Skeptic or CLINTEL (Climate Intelligence). A recent survey found that around 15% of Americans still don’t believe in climate change and I would suspect the number of people who think it might be real, but that humans have no part to play in the cause of it, must be quite a bit higher.

There’s also no arguing with people who’ve been to ‘You Tube University’ and who know better than the climate scientists. Perversely, many of these people often try to use ‘scientific arguments’ to prove their so-called points.

You just can’t just pick and choose with science. It’s all or nothing. Either you throw away your phone or your computer and all the rest or you start to learn about the rules around science again.

2. Protest doesn’t work!

Commenter – “The only thing people like you achieve is fucking people off. You won’t change anything and you’re sure as shit not going to change the level of emissions or CO2 levels anywhere.

 My response to this argument is always that a combination of protest and lobbying is a tried and true tactic and that protests annoy some people by their very nature – or else they’re not protests.  Without protest women wouldn’t have got the vote when they did, we might still have nuclear armed ships coming here and apartheid in South Africa.  Thanks to Dame Whina Cooper, and her hikoi, there is the Waitangi Tribunal and thanks to people like myself there isn’t a giant moth-balled aluminum smelter sitting out at Aramoana.

3. We need the money! Stop screwing with our jobs!

Commenter – “You tried to stop busses with passengers on board going into town to spend money!! It is not a good look for our community and unfair on cruise passengers, who by the way found all of you a bit of a joke.”

I’m not anti-business. I’m just pro-long-term sustainable business and there is a difference.

 In 2023 Cyclone Gabrielle and the North Island floods cost the country around $15 billion, completely wiping out all of the money from the tourism industry that year. These kind of events are happening every day now around the world.

We don’t want to stop all shipping or aviation! We simply want both  national and local government to include international shipping and aviation in their emissions budgets and emissions reductions plans, that subsidies for the cruise industry are ended and that cruise ships be banned from visiting sensitive natural environments.

 Climate change is a real and imminent threat to everyone’s job and if we don’t start making changes right now we are doomed to runaway climate change and the breakdown of society and people fight it out for the remaining resources.

4. If you don’t like it move somewhere else!

Commenter – If you don’t like it you should move!”

What can you say to this? Really?

We are just trying to protect the air, the water, the land, the plants and the animals and our  children’s future by asking for some quite reasonable regulations and emissions reductions. Our government declared a ‘climate emergency’ in 2022.  All of the climate scientists agree that we have to radically lower emissions. We have listened to them and we are trying our best to get some action and I don’t see why we need to apologise or be insulted or threatened for doing so. We don’t need to be a bunch of warring tribes – we are all humans – no matter where we live – and we all have much in common.

Also, despite any rumor’s to the contrary I was born in Dunedin so where would you like me to go? Is Milton far enough away?

5. We’re hypocrites because we drove a car or wore a plastic helmet

Commenter – “They’re all wearing bi products of oil. Ow and how did they get to Port? Hopefully not by bike or bus!” (sic)

Of course we car pool and all the rest of it, but, would it really make a difference if we all crawled there on our hands and knees dragging our gear? I doubt it! 

People seem to think that because we’re sometimes forced to use some petrol or wear something made of plastic during an action the whole thing becomes null and void and we’re hypocrites.

This is a bit like saying that because you’re a member of society you can’t lobby for any changes in society (because you’re part of it).

We get this specious argument all the time.

We’re not asking everyone to turn over-night into some kind of Carbon-neutral Jesus’s. We don’t want to ‘burn down the system’ as someone accused me of the other day. We just want change to move a lot faster! We’re not a bunch of extremists. We’re just your everyday garden pressure and lobby group.

6.We need to get a job!

Commenter – “I think you should all go get a real job lol”

Whether people have jobs or not doesn’t disqualify them from caring about what happens to our environment. Some of the people at this protest were lawyers, scientists, builders, mothers, care workers, and school students but their employment status is really irrelevant.

If it’s really important for you to know – Yes – I have a job and I pay tax.

7.We just like causing trouble!

Commenter – “They are bludgers and leaches and hypocritical attention seeker!”

Some people seem to think its ‘easy’ being a protestor and we love getting freezing cold, bored, lonely, trolled, abused, beaten up and arrested for trying to save what’s left of our eco-system. People tell me I shouldn’t be surprised or complain when people assault us for merely standing somewhere holding a sign. Obviously the vast majority of us don’t enjoy any of these things but feel duty bound by our consciences to try and do something/anything so we can look our children and our grandchildren in the face and say that we tried to make a difference.

8. We should all go and protest somewhere else such as Russia or China!

 Commenter – “Get a fucking life! Go and protest somewhere you’ll actually make a difference!”

 We should all travel overseas and protest? Really? How feasible is that? The reality is that we live here and this is where we have the best chance of making any change. It may seem like our emissions are small beer but this country is a significant emitter – the 21st highest contributor in the world and around fifth highest within the OECD and they are going up all of the time.

9.We’re a bad influence on the young people protesting with us!

 Commenter- “ Your teaching young people to enlighten people by yelling at them…you don’t see any better methods than this honestly?” (sic)

My response to this comment was that I’m not teaching them anything. They are thinking and acting for themselves. If I was a young person I would be absolutely furious about the Government’s lack of action to mitigate the looming existential threat of runaway climate change. I will help them all I can!

10. Science will save us!

Commenter – “We have come from Steam Engines to Hydrogen powered vehicles. Your protests are futile. The drive for efficiency will prevail over all.”

This is a scary argument on a number of levels and with a lot of magical thinking involved. It’s often used by people who distrust science on the one hand, but like to use their own, or someone elses, interpretations of scientific results to prop up their arguments. I talk to a lot of scientists and right now most of them are pooping their pants. Efficiency!? At destroying our environment? Yes! We are very good at that!

11. We are untidy and disorganized

Commenter – “I have to mention how unprofessional yesterday’s protesters were…

Looked untidy disorganized and lacked real meaning.”

I usually wear a shirt and my best shoes and have a shave before I go to a protest so I can thwart this criticism but I can’t speak for some of the others who may sometime lack my sartorial grace. But many of us wear comfortable clothing because it’s not easy doing a long protest – particularly at a mine site or somewhere like that. But what we wear is not the point. Listen to what we are saying!

If many of our detractors knew the sacrifices some of us are  making to try and reduce our own ecological footprints and the ongoing and selfless work we are doing they  might be less vocal in their attacks. We are not expecting everyone to become bike-riding vegans. We’re just trying to save our ecosystem.

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