I really wish people, especially advocates, wouldn't make predictions. People should take threats seriously in their own right, based on scientific evidence, both empirical and rational.

Let's say that some people predict the worst-case scenario. Other people wake up to the threat and change behavior. Crisis averted. Nay sayers ignore the obvious cause and effect and revert to denialism: "See, it didn't happen because it was never true in the first place."

Rinse and repeat.