Quassim Cassam: "Why Is It So Difficult To Face Grim Realities?"

I could hardly disagree with this more.

   Skepticism about climate apocalypticism is in no way analogous to (Cassam's example) Jews who were taken to Auschwitz and saw trucksfull of dead bodies but refused to believe the truth. And the Allies refusing to bomb the camps and railroads leading there is a different case entirely--they had grounds for suspicion, but--understandably--doubted the incredible, implausible stories...that turned out to be true. And of course they hesitated to bomb concentration camps full of innocents. And bombing railroad tracks is notoriously ineffective--they are too easily repaired. 

   But more to the point: so far as I can tell, the evidence simply doesn't support climate apocalypticism. Skepticism about extinction-level climate change is the rational position--at least for a layperson, given the evidence available to us. It's certainly not something we see with our own eyes and can dismiss only because the obvious truth is too painful to accept.