Thread/
Why do people not trust “experts”, the govt or the media?

Here’s a little bit on what happened around masks.

While some will say the science changed or the information changed, it did not. The politics changed (as admitted in the
thread)…

First, studies back to 2007 recommended mask wearing as protocol for similar respiratory viruses. This was known by “experts”. https://t.co/ANy5bWyhhI; https://t.co/XqlwDQtRrW; https://t.co/Gu8dyfdtTl
Here’s what we were told.
February 2020, people were buying masks on their own. The US Surgeon general said to STOP

https://t.co/odJWDswpEf
February 2020, Wapo- “How to prepare for coronavirus in the U.S. (Spoiler: Not sick? No need to buy any masks.)” (you may need to scroll the thread to see tweet)
https://t.co/XwghxRIuzs
February 2020, CNN “There's been a run of surgical masks in the US because of the coronavirus scare. You don't need them, physicians say.”
https://t.co/Q5xiN6GqMd
CNN again “Masks can't stop the coronavirus in the US, but hysteria has led to bulk-buying and price-gouging” https://t.co/idJNamh6IB
MSNBC: “Frequent hand-washing, not wearing a face mask, is the most important step the public can take to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the WHO says.” https://t.co/boKlc8039T
March- Masks can be hurtful! CNN: “Masks may actually increase your coronavirus risk if worn improperly, surgeon general warns.” https://t.co/4snZOJ8Kn3
WaPo- Epidemiology experts said the most important aspect of preparedness costs nothing at all — calm. (you may need to scroll the thread to see tweet)
https://t.co/gWVGU0mgmf
WaPo - If you’re not already sick and you’re not a health-care worker, you don’t need to wear a mask. And you certainly don’t need to buy every box your local pharmacy has in stock. (you may need to scroll the thread to see tweet)
https://t.co/tiJyPf3HrC
House Rep Eric Swalwell “stop wearing masks #coronavirus” https://t.co/QTAQBsbtvH
End of March- NBC News criticizes the President for being fixated on masks and arguing with experts who said not to wear them…
https://t.co/KpuXtB4jYV
ABC News tweeted, “There is little benefit to wearing a surgical type mask, and may even put you at greater risk for spreading infection, infectious disease doctors told ABC News.” https://t.co/EeCL1OXa9x
The CDC changed their position early April. Outlets say *that* was political. Daily Beast: https://t.co/Hy6RpzzBzU
June & July 2020, Dr. Fauci himself admitted that the public was intentionally misled for months because of a concern of limited resources supplies for medical professionals. https://t.co/EE15EIf4uf; https://t.co/SToGCTEG7X
Fast forward to December, Fauci moves the goalposts on herd immunity: https://t.co/VVnaUdIoN0
The moral of the story is stop holding these people up as heroes, be skeptical, do your own research, and cut people slack for “not following experts” who consistently and intentionally misled them.

The science didn't change. The politics did.

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@danielashby @AdamWJT @Greens4HS2 @TheGreenParty @GarethDennis @XRebellionUK @Hs2RebelRebel @HS2ltd I'll bite. Let's try to keep it factual. There's a reasonable basis to some aspects of this question, that it might be possible to agree on. Then there are other, more variable, elements which depend on external factors such as transport and energy policy. /1

@AdamWJT @Greens4HS2 @TheGreenParty @GarethDennis @XRebellionUK @Hs2RebelRebel @HS2ltd First up, we know reasonably well how much energy it takes to propel a high-speed train along the HS2 route. We can translate that into effective CO2 generated by making some assumptions about how green the electricity grid is. /2

@AdamWJT @Greens4HS2 @TheGreenParty @GarethDennis @XRebellionUK @Hs2RebelRebel @HS2ltd Secondly, we have a reasonable grasp of how much CO2 is going to be generated by building HS2 - there are standard methods of working this out, based on the amount of steel, concrete, earthmoving, machine-fuelling etc required. /3

@AdamWJT @Greens4HS2 @TheGreenParty @GarethDennis @XRebellionUK @Hs2RebelRebel @HS2ltd Thirdly, we can estimate how much CO2 is generated by cutting down trees, and how much is captured by planting new trees. We can also estimate how much CO2 is needed to keep the railway running and generated by maintaining the track /4

@AdamWJT @Greens4HS2 @TheGreenParty @GarethDennis @XRebellionUK @Hs2RebelRebel @HS2ltd We know how much CO2 is saved by moving goods by freight train on the lines freed up by moving the express trains on to HS2, rather than by truck. /5

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