Tag: climate denial

False Hopes and Disingenuous Agreements: COP21 and Climate Catastrophe

December 28, 2015

The corporate mass media were briefly all agog about the agreement reached in Paris for the world’s nations to reduce green house gas emissions and save the planet.[1] COP21 was widely declared a success, then quickly ignored. But really, what was accomplished? A very slick propaganda pitch by the world’s political elites, that’s what. Yet, … More False Hopes and Disingenuous Agreements: COP21 and Climate Catastrophe

Global Warming, Climate Change, Climate Disruption, Climate Crisis, or Catastrophic Climate Destabilization: What Shall We Call It and Why?

October 17, 2015

What’s in a word? Or phrase? Well, a lot sometimes. In the case of anthropogenic alteration of the complex ecological and climate systems, it all started with “global warming.” It was a simple and accurate term. The emissions of primarily carbon dioxide by the steady increases in burning of fossil fuels throughout the industrial era … More Global Warming, Climate Change, Climate Disruption, Climate Crisis, or Catastrophic Climate Destabilization: What Shall We Call It and Why?

Climate Crisis Confusion: Mitigation or Adaptation

October 3, 2015

I ran across a publication on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Website the other day. It seemed useful on one level and very disturbing on another level. Its title is, “Community-Based Adaptation to a Changing Climate.” [1] The eight-page document by the EPA Office of Policy, describes various effects of global warming on local community … More Climate Crisis Confusion: Mitigation or Adaptation

Can We Get There from Here? Stalling on the Path to Species Survival…or Not

April 24, 2015

You can find just about any message you’d like to hear about climate change. The gloomiest of fatalists: “It’s too late; we’re doomed; party on.” The science denier: “It’s the greatest hoax ever to deceive the American public; those scientists are just making these claims to get grants.” The suburban consumer: “It’s not my problem; … More Can We Get There from Here? Stalling on the Path to Species Survival…or Not

Magical Thinking: It’s Everywhere and Getting More Dangerous

March 5, 2015

We all labor under certain illusions, some modest and minor, others enormously majestic. Social illusions have always been with us. We tend to think of the myths of “primitive” peoples as illusions and our own beliefs as facts. But that may be the biggest illusion of all. Some of what at first appear to be … More Magical Thinking: It’s Everywhere and Getting More Dangerous

Racism and Climate Denial Are Positive Feedback Loops

December 23, 2014

Learning is usually an exalted concept – in the abstract. But the practice of learning does not often measure up to the ideal. That is clear in the way we treat our schools. Social learning reflects the failures and deficits in personal learning. Power fears truth. Institutions perpetuate the prejudices and magical thinking of their … More Racism and Climate Denial Are Positive Feedback Loops

Necessary but Unlikely Total Mobilization to Curtail Climate Chaos

February 13, 2014

The inevitability of climate chaos leading to species extinction of humans, along with many other species, now seems assured without massive mobilization and collective action on a scale never before achieved by humans.  Necessary but seemingly impossible – that is not a comforting thought.  Yet, here we are, contemplating whether or not the president will … More Necessary but Unlikely Total Mobilization to Curtail Climate Chaos

Errors, Mistakes, and Stupidity: Why Magical Thinking Can Be Deadly

February 8, 2014

We humans are both rational and emotional beings.  The mix between the two can produce some strange and amusing results.  Conventional economics assumes that all human behavior is rational in the sense that everyone chooses only actions that serve their best economic interests and the result is the best overall outcome for everyone.  Yet all … More Errors, Mistakes, and Stupidity: Why Magical Thinking Can Be Deadly

What It Will Take: Living in a World We Made But Never Expected to See, Part I

January 8, 2014

For most of us the world we see around us is “normal.”  We see little difference between the natural, social, and economic worlds – they are mostly one experience.  We are born into cities, suburbs, small towns, and (rarely anymore) farms.  We see history through the limited scope of textbooks once read as required and … More What It Will Take: Living in a World We Made But Never Expected to See, Part I