Before any human activity or product has been proven to be hazardous, there always have been those who denied the reality of the danger (e.g. from cigarettes, asbestos, lead paint, mercury, etc.). Heck, before it was accepted that “germs” cause disease, many doctors scoffed at the idea of sterilizing their instruments.
The many hazards from the overuse of antibiotics, pesticides and herbicides are now clear, but needed changes have yet to be made. Whether high-fructose corn syrup is worse than sugar or just as bad is not yet clear.
What cannot be denied is that damage is being done to the environment and it only makes sense to minimize that damage. Human activity (e.g. the fossil fuel industry) produces greenhouse gasses, carbon dioxide and methane, etc. And concentrations of those gasses in the atmosphere have been rising dramatically. Acid rain and increased ocean acidity is killing off coral reefs. Air pollution causes respiratory diseases. Oil and chemical spills are so common that they now rarely make the headlines.
Even if those engaged in cracking the bedrock to extract oil and gas, fracking, were willing to admit that the contaminated water they inject deep underground (and/or natural gas) might seep up through those cracks (or leak out) to poison groundwater nearer the surface, they would not admit liability
Before fracking began, earthquakes almost never happened in Oklahoma. Since fracking, Oklahoma has become one of the most active earthquake zones in the world.
Climate change is not just in the arctic. Climate change is perhaps most obvious in the microclimates of tropical mountains.
Yet, some still think it’s the height of conceit to think human activity can change world climate. I would say the opposite. It’s a very common conceit to think our actions have no consequences. People don’t like admitting they were wrong, don’t like being told they are part of the problem (we all use fossil fuels), and don’t like having to change their ways, particularly when so many have a vested interest in resisting change.
When the danger (and the connections) are not immediate and not obvious, most people prefer to think they don’t exist – or can be dealt with later.
The truth is: the greater danger, the greater the precautions taken should be, particularly when that damage is likely to be irreversible.
The recent sharp drop in oil prices is probably largely the result of the bursting of a commodity market bubble which had kept the price of oil artificially high for so long. (The Saudis are probably exacerbating the decline in oil prices as a way to hurt political enemies such as Russia and Iran, as well as higher-cost economic competitors (e.g. shale oil and renewable energy producers).)
Yet, if the fossil fuel industry had had to pay for all the damage it has done, prices would have been much higher and we would be making the switch to renewable energy much faster. The recent sharp drop in oil prices, with its attendant economic and political disruptions, is actually another reason to make the switch to renewables.