We are becoming 'fact- resistant' - New York Times

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umans have long used facts to stay alive, but strangely we are becoming increasingly resistant to this life sustaining force.

The New York Times tells us that we are becoming “fact-resistant”, ignoring those things we do that actually threaten our survival.

In the story -“Scientists: Earth Endangered by New Strain of Fact-Resistant Humans” – Andy Borowitz tells us that “Research, conducted by the University of Minnesota, identifies a virulent strain of humans who are virtually immune to any form of verifiable knowledge, leaving scientists at a loss as to how to combat them.”

Deteriorating lawns trump rising seas, catastrophic weather and never seen before droughts

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dd things can alter an individual’s thinking and in relation to climate change it’s the state of their lawns.

The New Yorker tells us that Americans who were unconcerned about climate change as it wreaked havoc around the world are beginning to worry, now that global warming is affecting the appearance of their lawns.

According to the poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, rising sea levels, the destruction of habitats, and catastrophic weather conditions, such as hurricanes and tsunamis, have not served as the wake-up call to Americans that their lawns’ unsightly barrenness has.

The story - “Poll: Americans Starting to Worry About Climate Change Now That It Affects Their Lawns” – reports: “In interviews across the state of California, residents expressed anger and outrage that climate change had been allowed to worsen to the point that it has now severely limited their choice of ground cover, shrubs, and other decorative plantings.”

The extremes of climate change are being normalized

Little by little, bit by bit climate change and its implications are being normalized.

Daniel Griffin - California's
drought is the 'worst'.

When was it drier, when was it hotter or when was the storm fiercer?

In the mode of populist thinking there was always a moment in history when it was hotter, drier or fiercer, but close examination will reveal the fallacy of such thinking.

And Daniel Griffin was one of those disbelievers, or at least one who questioned claims that California’s drought was the worst ever, until he looked closely at the facts.

Scientific American explains - “California's Drought May Be Worst in a Millennium” - how the assistant professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Society at the University of Minnesota used his skills to prove the claims correct.