[jyl]

We have already influenced things (ref acceleration of warming and CO2) in a very short time (100 yr), so we can influence things the opposite way, but our efforts will depend on how critical the situation is for those with the money and power to influence.

Right now, situation does not seem critical to many in the US. Heat, drought, water, weather are still tolerable even in the S/SW/SE US, in the “boiling frogs” sense of tolerable. It may be critical to some, e.g. in the southern hemisphere, but they don’t have the ability to do much of anything but suffer and die (and try to migrate).

Humans mostly think of things in the timescale of their remaining lifespan, so naturally people with only 10-15 years left are the least inclined to permit inconvenience, expense, or even undesired information. Young people, with 60-70 years left (which feels like longer, when you’re young) are the most inclined.

I expect that attitudes on climate change will take many generations to fully change, much like it is taking (non-Blacks’) attitudes on racism, civil rights, etc generations to change. From Civil War to now is 170 years, and few would claim that legacy has been fully extinguished. Pick any social issue and you see the same long process of change.

It’s not just that one generation has to die off and be replaced by another. Most social issues have underlying economic and political forces. Slavery was long-lasting because it was the economic and political foundation of the South, racism (specifically the white/black aspect) is long-lasting for similar reasons (keep black labor cheap, suppress black political power). Similar for gender discrimination, for wealth inequality, etc. Those forces outlive generations (cheap black or female labor is just as profitable now as it was in 1870).

What are the economic and political forces around climate change? Pretty obvious - CO2 emissions are important for the profitability of many (most?) industries, the political power of many countries (why do you think Saudi, Russia work so hard to influence pertinent Western attitudes) and groups. As the renewables sector grows, its economic interests will too - but it is still rather small and fragile.