Arguments
2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #45
Posted on 11 November 2017 by John Hartz
Editor's Pick
Conservatives probably can’t be persuaded on climate change. So now what?
One more round of “messaging” won’t do it.
When it comes to climate change, US conservatives inhabit a unique position, as part of the only major political party in the democratic world to reject the legitimacy of climate science and any domestic policy or international agreement meant to address it. Instead, the GOP is working actively to increase production and consumption of fossil fuels and to slow the transition to renewable energy.
How can conservatives be moved on climate change?
I recently heard a podcast that helped me order my thoughts on this perennial debate. It was Political Research Digest, a weekly 15-minute research round-up hosted by Michigan State University political scientist Matt Grossman for the Niskanen Center. (Grossman is the author of Asymmetric Politics, a crucial text for understanding American political parties. The podcast is nerdy and good.)
In the third episode, Grossman takes a look at some recent literature on climate change opinion and how, if at all, it can be shifted among conservatives.
It begins well, with an excellent lay of the land. But the discussion of how to move forward goes off course, in a very familiar way. It stops short of contemplating the uncomfortable but increasingly likely possibility that persuading conservatives on this subject has become impossible, and what that might mean for those concerned about the looming dangers of climate change.
Let’s start with a look a few basic facts about public opinion on climate.
Conservatives probably can’t be persuaded on climate change. So now what? by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 10, 2017
Links posted on Facebook
Sun Nov 5, 2017
- Rapid CO2 cuts could allow some cool-water corals to adapt to global warming by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Nov 1, 2017
- The Two Faces of U.S. Negotiations at Cop23 by Lucia Graves, Pacific Standard, Nov 2, 2017
- U.S. Report Says Humans Cause Climate Change, Contradicting Top Trump Officials by Lisa Friedman & Glenn Trush, Climate, New York Times, Nov 3, 2017
- The COP23 climate change summit in Bonn and why it matters by Damian Carrington, Guardian, Nov 5, 2017
- Floods swamp Vietnam as typhoon death toll reaches 27 by Mai Nguyen and Matthew Tostevin, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Nov 5, 2017
- The world shrugs at Trump as global climate meeting begins in Bonn by Brady Dennis & Chris Mooney, Health & Science, Washington Post, Nov 5, 2017
- Donald Trump accused of obstructing satellite research into climate change by Robin McKie, Observer/Guardian, Nov 5, 2017
- Humanity has entered a global warming minefield, climate scientists say by Adam Wernick, Public Radio International (PRI), Nov 4, 2017
Mon Nov 6, 2017
- British Antarctic research station to shut for second winter as cracks in ice grow by Nicola Davis, The Guardian, Oct 31, 2017
- At Vatican, ‘Tenets of Faith’ Seen as Crucial in Climate Change Effort by Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, Nov 4, 2017
- Scott Pruitt’s Plot to Sabotage Science at the EPA by Emily Atkin, New Republic, Nov 2, 2017
- COP23: Thousands protest German coal use ahead of UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn by Katharina Wecker, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 4, 2017
- How the Trump White House Wound Up Releasing Dire Climate Report by Eric Roston & Christopher Flavelle, Bloomberg News, Nov 6, 2017
- We have every reason to fear Trump’s pick to head NASA by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Nov 6, 2017
- Five things that will be top of the agenda at the COP23 climate summit by Emily Farnworth, World Economic Forum, Nov 6, 2017
- As Climate Talks Open, Federal Report Exposes U.S. Credibility Gap by John H Cushman Jr, Nov 6, 2017
Tue Nov 7, 2017
- This year to be among three hottest on record: "extraordinary weather" - UN by Alister Doyle, Reuters, Nov 6, 2017
- Mapped: Where multilateral climate funds spend their money by Jocelyn Timperley & Rosamund Pearce, Carbon Brief, Nov 11, 2017
- The Zombie Diseases of Climate Change by Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, Nov 6, 2017
- How India’s battle with climate change could determine all of our fates by Damian Carrington & Michael Safi, Guardian, Nov 6, 2017
- Here’s How Far the World Is From Meeting Its Climate Goals by Brad Plumer & Nadja Popovich, New York Times, Nov 6, 2017
- As Syria embraces Paris climate deal, it’s the United States against the world by Brady Dennis, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Nov 7, 2017
- Trump Is Quietly Surrendering to China on Climate Change by Geoff Dembicki, Vice, Nov 7, 2017
- Wind and Solar Power Advance, but Carbon Refuses to Retreat by Eduardo Porter, New York Times, Nov 7, 2017
Wed Nov 8, 2017
- Records from Ancient China Reveal Link Between Epidemics and Climate Change by Chelsea Harvery, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Nov 7, 2017
- Scientists may have solved mystery of rapidly rising Indian Ocean sea level by Olivia Trani, GeoSpace, AGU Blogosphere, Nov 7, 2017
- How telling the right stories can make people act on climate change by Tom van Laer & Ross Gordon, The Conversation UK, Nov 6, 2017
- The seven megatrends that could beat global warming: 'There is reason for hope' by Damian Carrington, Guardian, Nov 8, 2017
- The climate science report Trump hoped to ignore will resonate outside of Washington, DC by Gary W. Yohe, The Conservation US, Nov 8, 2017
- This hypnotizing animation shows the incredible trend of global warming by Umair Urfan, Vox, Nov 7, 2017
- COP23: Trump, U.S. govt. seen as irrelevant to global climate action by Justin Catanoso, Mongabay, Nov 7, 2017
- EU proposes 30 percent CO2 reduction for cars by 2030, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 8, 2017
Thu Nov 9, 2017
- This company wants to build a giant indoor farm next to every major city in the world by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 8, 2017
- Changing Where Crops Are Grown Could Feed an Additional 825 Million People, Study Finds, Yale Environment 360, Nov 6, 2017
- Emerging nations urge rich to kick-start climate pact before 2020 by Alister Doyle, Reuters, Nov 8, 2017
- Election Winners Promise Climate Action in Coast-to-Coast Pushback on Trump by Phil McKenna, InsideClimate News, Nov 8, 2017
- Mapping how to feed 9 billion humans, while avoiding environmental calamity by Rhett A Butler, Mongabay, Nov 8, 2017
- La Niña Declared; Cooldown Nipping the Warmest Autumn on Record in Northeast U.S. by Bob Henson, Weather Underground, Nov 8, 2017
- Climate summit deadlocked over immediate action by Joydeep Gupta,India Climate Dialogue, Nov 9, 2017
- California Gov. Jerry Brown delivers a blunt climate change message in Germany by Erik Kirschbaum, Los Angeles Times, Nov 8, 2017
Fri Nov 10, 2017
- Will Policymakers Listen to Climate Change Science This Time Around? by Busani Bafana, Inter Press Service (IPS), Nov 8, 2017
- Angry seas and pouring rain: people in search of safe ground by Max Martin, India Climate Dialogue, Nov 8, 2017
- The climate has changed before. But this is different – look at the archeological record by Peter B Campbell, Guardian, Nov 9, 2017
- “Toasted, roasted and grilled” or already over the hump? by Dana Nuccitelli, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Nov 8, 2017
- Climate change” and “global warming” are disappearing from government websites by Umar Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 9, 2017
- How China has reduced the carbon footprint of developed countries, Guest Post by Glen Peters, Robbie Andrew &Jan Ivar Korsbakken, Carbon Brief, Nov 8, 2017
- We can brighten clouds to reflect heat and reduce global warming. But should we? by Stuart Leavenworth, McClatchy News, Nov 8, 2017
- Zillow: Climate change could make nearly 2 million more U.S. homes susceptible to future flooding by Michele Lerner, Washington Post, Nov 9, 2017
Sat Nov 11, 2017
- COP23: Writing the Paris accord rule book by Bob Berwyn, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 7, 2017
- COP23: Corporations and lobbyists welcome in Bonn by Dave Keating, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 10, 2017
- Al Gore: 'I tried my best' but Trump can't be educated on climate change by Oliver Milman, Guardian, Nov 10, 2017
- Conservatives probably can’t be persuaded on climate change. So now what? by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 10, 2017
- EU strikes deal on carbon market reform by Alissa de Carbonnel & Oleg Vukmanovic, Reuters, Nov 9, 2017
- Anti-Trump US coalition tells UN climate talks: "We're still in" by Alister Doyle, Reuters, Nov 9, 2017
- Why Is It So Hard to Fix the National Flood Insurance Program? by Bob Henson, Category 6, Weather Underground, Nov 9, 2017
- A behind-the-scenes look at Scott Pruitt's dysfunctional EPA by Rachel Leven, The Center for Public Integrity, Nov 9, 2017
Debate and discussion should mostly be polite and reasoned, but there are a few times when a strong, aggressive response is required. Otherwise you get walked all over.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. Attributed to Einstein.
Using the term Conservative is a part of the problem.
The people who are not Open Minded cannot learn new understanding. No matter what amount of Good Reason is developed a close-minded person will not learn.
It is possible that there is a higher percentage of close-minded people in the Right-Conservative catorgory, but Conservative is not the proper label for the trouble-makers.
To pin down the trouble-makers, I have had some success by declaring that the Desired Objective of human activity is developing lasting improvements for all of humanity - eternally into the future. We are fortunate to have the potential to have humanity fit in as a part of the perpetual motion machine for life that this amazing planet can be.
Anyone close-minded who is locked into beliefs that are contrary to developing lasting improvements for all of humanity can only be perceived as a threat to the pursuit of those Good Reasonable Objectives And the best developed presentation of those Good Reasonable Objectives are the Sustainable Development Goals. And anyone who sees merit in achieving any of the identified SDGs should be Open to understanding the importance of achieving all of them. And that can develop a common sense understanding of the Good Reasons to identify specific individuals as threats who should be treated as threats unless they can prove they have changed their minds.
I know a chap that was at a climate change conference in which a prominent politician dissed the whole notion. By a strange co-incidence, they sat beside each other on the plane back home. This chap brought the conversation around to climate change and the politician agreed with him that it is a serious problem. We are pushing the wrong buttons. The core problem; the one ring that controls them all is money in politics. If we sorted this problem out, all the others would be possible. If we don't we are like the Greek that had to push the rock up hill only to see it roll back to the bottom every time.
william@3: Years ago I wrote a letter to the editor of my local paper, in which I lamented the 'sisyphean task of the climate denier', whose carefully constructed evidence against global warming is doomed repeatedly to collapse against the weight of the physical evidence. I must admit, in recent years I've begun to feel like the sisyphus I was picturing in others. Money can hide us from our interests, our families, even ourselves. But, ultimately it can't hide us from Physics.
william@3,
The problem is 'the pursuit of personal interests that are contrary to the public interest'.
The public interest is the development of lasting improvement for all of humanity (everyone today and 'all' the future generations).
Money in politics can be in the Public Interest. So the problem isn't money in politics.
The problem is that people can get away with actions that can be objectively understood to be detrimental to the Public Interest.
Misleading marketing is a major part of the problem. However, misleading marketing that achieves the Public Interest would be Good. But I personally prefer actions to properly educate the masses, especially requiring all the richest to prove that that is what they do if they want to keep their wealth.
Can someone point me to any articles that says what is likely to happen if the world continues pretty much the same with the US not changing its stance appreciably? Something like ice caps will melt in year 20xx, etc.
ranger001: Check out:
COP23 video: Does Donald Trump make limiting global warming to 1.5C impossible? by Leo Hickman & Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Nov 15, 2017