Hope I didn't scare you. In truth, I have no idea how common this sort of person is. But let me paint you a picture of him, or indeed her:
And that's it. Someone who genuinely has no compassion for other people cannot be moved by the suffering of communities who are losing their traditions and livelihoods to melting ice [3] and rising sea levels [4], who are affected by extreme heat [5], food shortages [6], and possible conflict over scarcer resources [7]. The same as how someone who genuinely rates the suffering of animals below their own enjoyment can never be moved by vegan horror stories of conditions in factory farms. And if they are rich and savvy enough, nothing is going to bring climate change home to them. House at risk from more extreme weather? They can move house. Food shortages? They're rich enough to buy food from anywhere. Elderly relatives in danger from heat stroke? They can install air conditioning for them, and pay for private healthcare. Investment portfolio exposed to climate risk? They can shift some stocks around. Climate refugees knocking at their country's door? They can lobby for stricter immigration policy to keep them out. No clean air, water, or usable natural resources left on Earth? They've been funding research into living in space all along. Fine, the last one is a bit of a joke. No matter how dire our situation on Earth feels, it is nothing compared to the challenge of terra-forming Mars, for example [8]. And our attempts at decarbonising, however stumbling and inadequate, are making it less likely that we'll seriously need to abandon planet Earth. Notice I didn't say anything about whether or not this sort of person cares about nature. They might love nature very deeply and still not care about climate change. As long as we're talking about nature in the abstract and not any specific species that is endangered. There have been mass extinctions in the past, albeit not as rapid as the one we're in now. Animals and plants are already adapting to climate change by migrating pole-wards and further up mountains. Though it's pretty terminal for the ones currently living at the poles and on mountain-tops, and for the ones who can't move off islands (reminder to self: UK is an island) [9]. It's likely that many species will be unable to adapt quickly enough. Many folks would consider this a great tragedy (myself included), but more than that, there are real, tangible, costly consequences for our food supplies and every process that relies on biological matter for raw materials (think wood, medicines, fabrics, but seriously, they got me at food) [10]. But if this person, this supremely rational climate skeptic - if all he cares about is that something survives - well, life will find a way, so does it matter? The unfortunate thing I've come to conclude is that climate change is necessarily, at its core, an issue of human suffering and social injustice. This is bringing in lots more people to the cause (not to mention the ones who've been talking about it all along), but also can't help turning some people off. I'm actually a little worried someone will get turned off just by reading this. There is no reasoning with people like that, not based on facts, because we already agree, and not based on ethics, because we don't agree. Now, all of this has been something of a feat of imagining. Most climate skeptics out there do not resemble this guy (or girl - sorry, I keep slipping on this). There is a deficit of information, or logic, in most cases (though filling the deficit on its own doesn't do much - see [1], [2]). And a lot of motivated reasoning, quite possibly from a place of mental self-protection. (Caring all the time is really hard, I get it.) But what do you think? Can our supremely rational climate skeptic be reasoned with? Can his human compassion be appealed to? I really hope so. Anyone with the resources to cope with climate change could probably also do a lot to lessen the impacts for the rest of us. Just saying. References
[1] How to Debate a Science Denier Scientific American 25 June 2019 [2] Don't even think about it: Why our brains are wired to ignore climate change George Marshall 2014 [3] Life on thin ice: Mental health at the heart of the climate crisis The Guardian 12 August 2019 [4] Sea level rise, explained National Geographic 19 February 2019 [5] In the future, only the rich will be able to escape the unbearable heat from climate change. In Iraq, it’s already happening The Independent 10 August 2019 [6] UN warns climate change is driving global hunger UNFCCC 12 Sep 2018 [7] How much does climate change affect the risk of armed conflict Science Daily 12 Jun 2019 [8] Martin Rees: 'Climate change is a doddle compared with terraforming Mars' The Guardian 18 Aug 2019 [9] Will animals adapt to climate change? Evolution Question #12 29 Apr 2019 [10] Media Release: Nature's dangerous decline 'unprecedented'; species extinction rates 'accelerating' IPBES 2019
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15/4/2024 04:32:10 pm
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Susan's BlogIn which I scribble words about energy, the environment, climate change, and other science things. Views expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the CDT staff or sponsors. Archives
August 2019
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