Here is one view of the path humanity is on, which is implied by a recent conference. Another view is markedly sunnier. Is there room for another perspective, one that does not downplay ecological concerns or put them in irreconcilable conflict with humanity? If so, this would be it.
In the never-ending quest for climate change analogies that might strike a chord with a disinterested public, smoking and slavery have been repeatedly invoked in recent years. I don’t buy the slavery/fossil fuels parallel. I find the comparison with smoking equally problematic, but I also get the argument. In 2010, Andrew Hoffman published a relevant study that…Continue Reading…
If you’re not preparing for the end of the world, don’t worry, some of your neighbors are. And teenagers today, well, they’re all over it. So are millions of Christians, who don’t want to be Left Behind, when armageddon comes. Those who see eco-decay and social mayhem resulting from unchecked capitalism are similarly fatalistic: The race…Continue Reading…
Several weeks ago, in a post at the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media, I said that Chris Mooney’s “new book argues that Republicans are genetically wired to be anti-science.” In an email to me, Chris asserted that this characterization “misrepresented” his book, which is called “The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They…Continue Reading…
At Grist, there is a box with a rotating set of five images that highlights content from the site. When I went over there recently, my eye gravitated to the colorful pictures in the box, including one with this subheadline for a blog post: Germany aims to trade nukes for a fully renewable power system….Continue Reading…
It’s a shame that our public discussions of energy and environmental issues are so narrowly (and ideologically) framed by politicians, industry, and interest groups. For example, to listen to Republicans, you wouldn’t know there’s an energy drilling boom underway in the U.S. This ambitious NYT piece unwinds how that boom happened, and where it is…Continue Reading…
That’s the title of my latest post at the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media. It’s about the pendulum swings of public opinion (in recent years), their connection to weather, and why this is problematic for journalists and climate communicators.
Before I get to that question, ask yourself this: What does the climate debate have to do with WMD’s (weapons of mass destruction) and the Iraq war? Tom Fuller offers an answer on this recent thread: One of the saddest consequences of 9/11 was the wholesale manipulation of both the media and public opinion to generate…Continue Reading…
Several weeks ago, global warming was debated on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher show. Now let’s first be clear on something: When it comes to science, Maher is a riddle of contradictions. He’s a fierce proponent of evolution (he’s been given an award named after Richard Dawkins) but he’s also a serial spouter of…Continue Reading…
Post 9/11, the United States has yet to have a national conversation on whether its political leaders overreacted to the threat of terrorism. You would think that our involvement in two simultaneous wars that lasted longer than any other previous war in the country’s history might have prompted us to reflect on how we got…Continue Reading…