Chicken Little-ism splashed across the front pages of Leftmedia outlets following the latest climate report dispensed by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Agence France-Presse’s alarmist title read, “Climate Report Must Be ‘Death Knell’ For Fossil Fuels: UN Chief.” The Washington Post ran the doom-and-gloom opinion headline, “The U.N.‘s dire climate report confirms: We’re out of time.” And the Associated Press’s headline was “'Code red’: UN scientists warn of worsening of global warming.”

The end is nigh, but maybe not as nigh as one would think after digging into the actual IPCC report. In fact, what the report essentially boils down to is the assertion that, according to those oh-so-accurate computer models (wink, wink), global temperatures, by “best estimate,” can be expected to rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040 and by 2.1 to 3.5 degrees by the year 2100. In other words, 19 years from now the globe may be a little warmer and 79 years from now a tad bit warmer still.

Computer models are only as good as the information fed to them. Neither computers nor the leftist climate scientists inputting information are trustworthy prophets.

That the globe has been warming is not seriously disputed by anyone. The sticking point remains the blame — that the primary cause of this warming can be primarily attributed to human activity. That’s especially true in light of the ecofascists’ demands for drastic measures to avoid catastrophe. Scientists readily admit that even if these radical free-market-economy-destroying measures were implemented immediately, there is no certainty that they would have any significant impact on the climate’s current trajectory.

Meanwhile, what the Leftmedia is pushing with its climate alarmism is not really concern for the climate. Rather, it’s an excuse to demand an end to governmental systems that prize Liberty and individual freedom. It’s a call for massive top-down governmental control over the lives of individuals. In short, a demand for a global authoritarian state to govern every aspect of people’s lives, all in the name of saving the planet.

In the end, the IPCC’s report is more of the same climate projections that climate alarmists take as “science” gospel, but in reality never pan out even remotely as dire as predicted. It’s good to learn from the physical world and to engage in it responsibly. “Conserve” is the root word of conservative, and we ought to have that plan for the environment. However, it’s also important to engage in this study with a spirit of humbleness, knowing that there is far more humanity doesn’t know than that which is known. It is pure hubris to claim the science on climate change is “settled.” And it is downright malevolent to assert that those objecting to drastic actions that would destroy the free market and individual liberty in the name of saving the planet are opposed to science and human flourishing.

For eons, adaptation has worked for plants, animals, and humans. We would be wise to follow suit.