how to talk to climate change deniers

Its important to frame this information correctly, while not repeating their incorrect claims at the same time by repeating their claims, it continues to reinforce their beliefs. Chris Mooney Climate . AmericasPower.orgs Clean Coal ad from 2008: But first we have to say so long to our outdated perceptions about coal. So there are three things that I suggest that you understand before you try to engage them in a conversation about climate change. Krishna: This term clean coalthere is no such thing as clean coal based on my understanding of the science. Our podcast focuses on the deniers, people who simply do not believe in climate change. "The dominant way of communicating about climate change is to keep pounding away with the same arguments and asking people 'Why don't you accept this?' and 'What's wrong with you?'," he explains. 1. I have yet to hear an honest debate on the left about the environmental costs of renewables vs the benefits. First and foremost, its important to remember youre talking to a family member, not a stranger or a coworker, and you have an existing bond with this person. But you can start the process of internal questioning that may lead your loved one to revisit and maybe even ultimately abandon their convictions themselves. Brian Anderson (left) was convinced climate change was 'nonsense' until his son Lance Lawson started discussing it with him, Prof Sander van der Linden says facts don't always change minds - in fact, they might backfire, Abbie Richards is sceptical about the merit of arguing with climate change deniers, Reciting the facts isn't always the answer, Why we know so little about the battle for Kherson. emphasizing that the most important way to reach science deniers is to talk to them calmly and respectfully--to put ourselves out there, and meet them face to face . Beginning by asking questions and truly listening to the answers tells your family member that you respect them as an individual, even if you disagree with their position. Rather than focus on understanding misinformation about climate change, it may be more useful to actually understand information about climate change. Krishna: Not necessarily just the advertising, but you can find posts on Facebook, on Twitter, on various kinds of social media that get amplified, but then the correction of that post doesnt get amplified. Know when things are getting tense and shift the conversation to something else can allow tensions to cool down. Video, Why we know so little about the battle for Kherson, How extreme weather is linked to climate change, Facebook drives sceptics towards climate denial, How high-profile scientists felt tricked by group denying climate change, Small army of volunteers keeping climate deniers off Wikipedia, 'Go back to Africa' remark halts French parliament, Trump drops strong hint about 2024 White House run, Kyrie Irving suspended over anti-Semitic posts, The Albanian gangs luring migrants to the UK, Imran Khan: Shock at attack on Pakistan ex-PM, Johnson had numbers to challenge Sunak - top Tory, Dutch wolves to be paintballed to scare them away. In the most respectful, loving way, of course: 1. Kahan and colleagues like to plot these worldviews on charts that illustrate how certain sociocultural tendencieshierarchical-individualist and egalitarian-communitarian are the two big onesconsistently correlate to the same judgments about whats worrisome and what isnt. A study has thrown light onto why people deny climate change - and how to change their minds. The conundrum encompasses more than global warming. 555 11th Street NW Dont look at this as a one-time conversation and an argument you have to win then and there. Snickers? Its called the cultural cognition of risk, and its best-known advocate is a handsome, puckish law and psychology professor at Yale named Dan Kahan. The thing is, while climate change currently. But Kahan and Skocpol arent as far apart as they seem. Will the Supreme Court End Affirmative Action? "There'll be no progress that way," she insists. And so, those are the folks that we can try to talk to, and we can identify them by just engaging them in a conversation to understand their perspective. "Whenever he drove me to school, I would give my own argument, and he would downplay the evidence. Read more Print length 264 pages Language English Publisher The MIT Press Publication date Krishna: It isnt; the reason why I call them amplifiers, or we call them amplifiers, is because theyre very motivated to spread the misinformation that they have accepted. 5. Use this as an opportunity to get an understanding of what their concerns are and where theyre coming from. "He basically told me something along the lines of 'It's nonsense'," Lance recalls. In this episode, Krishna explains how climate misinformation spreads, who believes it, and how to engage with people who deny climate change. Its clear we dont have a moment to waste when it comes to taking climate action. POST. But if you have somebody whos more tentative about their attitudes towards climate change, they may be more willing to listen to you, and the kinds of things that they have accepted as misinformation are easily correctable, thats when you know that you may be able to engage with that person in a conversation about climate change. ', "It was a breathtaking moment, to see him so engaged.". With time and patience, Lance managed to convince his father that climate change was real - so much so that he was surprised by his own success. Colarossi: You mentioned Facebook, and I wanted to ask, too: where does climate change disinformation, misinformation, mostly circulate and reach people? Most TCCDs will not change their mind. Is It Worth Trying to Sway the Most Staunch Climate Deniers? On his blog, he once called these strong in-group effects tapeworms of cognitive illiberalism and a dispiriting omen for democracy. Bloomfield Knowing the "why" behind the denial can help those who are concerned about climate change communicate more effectively with those who question the science behind it. Bonus points if you attach a voice memo with your question. Most news stories interpreted the communiqu as the strongest statement yet from the worlds top climate expertsmore than 800 from 39 countriesthat human-induced global warming will irreversibly transmogrify earth, sea, and sky unless carbon emissions are capped soon. Climate change is a hoax--and so is coronavirus. This episode was engineered by Andy Hallock, produced by Dana Ferrante, and edited by Doug Most and Andrew Thurston. While a student, she interned at ThinkProgress in Washington, D.C., where she wrote over 30 stories, most of them relating to climate change, coral reefs, and womens health. "One time, my dad came downstairs in the middle of the night, so enthused after watching a documentary about deforestation that he was like: 'Lance you won't believe what's going on in the rainforest! So, disinformation-amplifying folks are the ones that I just talked about earlier, right? There is clear evidence that over the past seventeen years, the global temperature has risen by 0.09F. 4. Chronicling Russia's Invasion of Ukraine. Deniers suggest climate change is just part of the natural cycle. What about converting as much oil and coal use to natural gas? And so when you think about this in the context of vaccines, you can easily see where this is going. And thats a problem that were confronting as disinformation and misinformation researchers. In fact, studies suggest that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists believe climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities. Introduce the topic casually - and ask lots of questions Instead of starting off strong, mention climate change in a casual conversation about an entirely different topic or by talking about current events, like extreme weather or an upcoming election. People assimilate the data and choose the experts that fit most neatly with their and their peers values. Try to gauge: how strong their attitudes are, how motivated they are by climate change, what kinds, and to what extent, have they accepted climate change misinformation, In reality, climate change misinformation and disinformation amplifiers are a small minority of the population. Sometimes democracy is less a matter of thinking well than of choosing your friends wisely. People in India were most likely to think that way, followed by those in Thailand and Spain. Kahans conclusions wouldnt surprise anyone who has spent her life studying politics. Are China and the United States Really Serious about Climate Change? History has made fools of environmentalists who believed that people would change their behavior if they only knew how bad global warming could be. "Lance spoke in a language that I could appreciate and understand," says Brian. Those in the camp accepting of the overwhelming scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and human activity significantly . They may demonstrate tentative indications of having accepted some misinformation, but havent really yet developed extreme attitudes about the issue. Lance says that his father is a very religious man - so he asked him to assume that climate change might be real, and questioned whether he wouldn't then have a moral responsibility to take care of what God had provided. She graduated with a BS in journalism from Emerson College in 2016, with focuses on environmental studies and publishing. The chart above shows which risks go with which predisposition. In a recent book, The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science From Denial, Fraud and Pseudoscience, I talk about how we can use a values-based conception of science to defend it from the threat of science deniers and pseudoscientists, who attack it using a mishmash of conspiracy theories, cherry-picked evidence and other reasoning flaws that are . We all know someoneperhaps an uncle or a friends mom on Facebookwho is a climate change denier. Profile, Dana Ferrante In the face of warmer air and ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, stronger storms and an increased risk of drought, fire and flood, scientists agree -- quite overwhelmingly -- that climate change is very real. Do you have a story for us? In fact, studies suggest that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists believe climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities. Call on that family connection and make it personal. adamjohnsonnyc Report. The effects are visible and measurable. And we can't justify government intervention because that's a bad thing.". Then we need to motivate them to take action action that essentially requires changing every aspect of their lives. Profile, Andrew Hallock Or maybe you're just in the mood to argue. And once that mental model is created, its very difficult to break through that mental model and provide alternate explanations that will be accepted. This is the type of denial we are all familiar with: that the science of climate change is not settled. Lance Lawson. Environmental issues are central to the World Economic Forum's work, with the . Video: Reeses Peanut Butter Cups? Whats Your Favorite Halloween Candy? In a conversation with Redditors, Jorgensen talked Feb. 14 about the difficulty of communicating climate change and the tricks he employs to convert climate-change deniers. Why do I never hear from the ideologues driving the conversation about gradually reducing greenhouse emissions in a responsible way, balancing the advantages and disadvantages. Here are the basics you might want to know: Warm water powers hurricanes. So there are things like misinformation that is all about climate change scientists and how theyre alarmist, theyre out to make money out of climate change, and they are not reliable. The audacious PR plot that spread climate change doubt, Don't let climate doom win, project tells worriers. [Laughs]. We all have the fun uncle on Facebook whos posting all kinds of stuff about how climate change is a left wing conspiracy, about how its a liberal East Coast conspiracy to suppress the Midwest, and so on and so forth. How do we know climate change is caused by humans? is production manager for BU Today, The Brink, and Bostonia, and produces BU Todays award-winning, biweekly podcast Question of the Week. Basically anyone who does not completely accept a far left agenda on this issue is a climate denier. But we have a unique opportunity this year to make a real change starting with the White House and Congress. Whatever inspires you to myth-bust this holiday season, here are six ways to respond to your family's climate-denying comments. Send an email to today@bu.edu. Lance says there is a common misconception that people who don't believe that climate change is real are "stupid or uneducated". "You have to approach people in terms of where they're at.". Thanks for listening, and see you in two weeks. And we have to continue to advance new clean coal technologies, to further reduce emissions, including the eventual capture and storage of CO2. Climate change, he told Lance, was completely "overblown". Betsch and Philipp Schmid, a doctoral student in her lab, decided to examine two strategies for counteracting the spread of misinformation in public debates: The first, called topic rebuttal . First, says Kahan, rid yourself of the thought that Americans distrust science, scientists, or the scientific consensus. In the view of ideologues on climate, there is nothing in between a person who completely accepts all of the most dire talking points (thus labeled a good moral person) and someone who completely rejects any risks and dangers from a warming climate, completely rejects humankinds role in the warming planet. We discuss the origins of climate misconceptions and how to effectively engage with people who deny climate change. Fear tactic? The latest attack on the Green New Deal argues that Democrats want to wipe out cows and ban burgers. One of the best ways to do this is by sharing your climate story, why do you care about the climate crisis, how does it impact you, what are your concerns? Do they watch too much Fox News, whose website, predictably, called the report an embarrassment, self-serving and beyond misleading? Krishna: Absolutely. These days, many of our fellow citizens reject scientific expertise and prefer ideology to facts. Theyre the folks who are extremely motivated about the topic, have extreme attitudes, and have accepted a whole bunch of misinformation about it. It has been this successful campaign. Last point, I think what's happening too is independents right now are deciding not just for whom to vote but the whether . Judith Shulevitz is the science editor ofThe New Republic. The second reason positivity won't always work is that a lot of people like having someone to blame. Those folks are who I refer to as disinformation-amplifiers. Realize that climate change isn't as partisan as it seems The first step is recognizing how we got here in the first place. "We need to tackle our teachers, our neighbours All of us have to become vessels for communication.". Will SCOTUS Cripple Climate Change Remedies? There is an industry and mechanism behind climate change denial that has been used for years to get people to believe that climate change science is fake. Here's how to start. So, disinformation-vulnerable, receptive, and amplifying publics, and what strategies for corrections work the best among these publics, across different kinds of media. Colarossi: And slow any progress of transitioning the world away from fossil fuels, which the majority of scientists agree, needs to happen to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Then we need to convince them it's man-made. Kahans most provocative finding, though, is that people better at cognitive reflection, or slow, probing thought, are actually more likely to arrive at predetermined conclusions about risk, not less. Listen to local people. There is a distinct difference between a denier and a skeptic. It would force me to acquire new evidence, and that cycle helped expand my own understanding.". I honestly do not see a focus on solutions on the left. In fact, this could be a long process of educating and challenging your family members existing misconceptions about the climate crisis. Read more Print length 271 pages Language English Publisher The MIT Press Publication date All I hear is preaching, moralizing and shaming. It is psychologically easier to fight a concrete enemy with a name and identity than to fight . CO2 doesvary naturally. Finding this common ground gives you the chance to connect on a human level and can help your family member see the conversation as a discussion between two people on the same team, instead of an argument between opposing sides. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Most of the population instead can be classified into what I refer to as disinformation-vulnerable and disinformation-receptive individuals. Colarossi: And like you said, too, that isnt the majority of Americans at this point. One of the more common arguments made by climate change deniers is that it's impossible to predict the weather years in advance, seeing as how meteorologists can only make educated guesses at. Because of these inherent properties of renewables, you have to cover VAST areas of land with windmills and solar panels, which includes wilderness and farmland. Author of the new book How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason, Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University.He is also the author of Dark Ages: The Case for a Science of Human Behavior, Post-Truth, and The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial . Colarossi: Thank you for explaining this whole topic so clearly; its so complicated. The Toronto-born daughter of missionaries and the wife of a pastor in Lubbock, Texas, Hayhoe has had a . If youre able, share an episode or give us a follow wherever you listen to podcasts. Climate-Change Deniers Would Rather Talk About Cow Farts Than Fix the Planet. [Laughs], Krishna: Hopefully thats one that works. What is the environmental impact? Have a debate about whether it makes sense to push for it politically, here in the US. He thinks misperceptions of risk make perfect sense if you view them in a social context. Required fields are marked *, Pioneering Research from Boston University, BostonUniversity. That's why talking about the facts of the climate crisis is one of the best ways to take climate action. Read about our approach to external linking. To answer your question though: climate change misinformation, you can find it anywhere just because its not really regulated. Why do people persist in underestimating risk in the face of a clear scientific consensus? But as that viewpoint has become untenable in the face of overwhelming evidence, this talk explores the more subtle . By asking questions and learning what their concerns are, it can help you find points of middle ground where you may agree. "It was incredibly cold," Brian says, and this made it hard for him to believe scientists who spoke of a "warming planet". With the rise in use of electric cars and the reliance on coal decreasing..we are making moves in the right direction. Did it turn out to be false? Risk assessment by groupthink is reasonable, if not rational, because, at the personal level, it costs nothing. "My father is a very smart man," he says. Tell them what worries you about climate change. She calls them "dismissives" and she does not waste time trying to change their minds. Santana, Buddy Guy to be Honored at Jazz Foundation of America's Great Night in Harlem. Part of HuffPost Science. This is a two-sided conversation and dialogue, after all, so using this connection allows for an opportunity to instill a sense of urgency about these connection points, hopefully inspiring your family member to learn more and take action. What Issues Will Decide the 2022 Midterm Elections? https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skeptic. In reality, climate change misinformation and disinformation amplifiers . Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering. Thats why it becomes such a difficult thing to correct, because not only has the campaign to deny climate change and sow doubts in the minds of the people about climate change been prolonged and very well-funded, its been successful. Vaccines are bad for you. He and his kind conduct research on how to present science so that it wont be entangled with issues of membership and loyalty to a group., So what would he tell the environmentalists? So, thats when you have to weigh the trade-off between you spending all of your resourcesyou know, time, effort, money, blood pressureon trying to convince this person, when theyre really unlikely to accept your viewpoint. Top 10 tips for combating climate change revealed, Russia attacks leave 4.5m Ukrainians without power, Why we know so little about the battle for Kherson. Be gentle.". The pandemic has taken many lives and upended much of our world. The degree to which humans contribute to climate change is still debated by top scientists (even at BU). "Climate change is a hoax-and so is coronavirus." "Vaccines are bad for you." These days, many of our fellow citizens reject scientific expertise and prefer ideology to facts. This argument is a favorite of famous climate change denier Rush Limbaugh, and it is just simply false. "But I also think trying to find things that you can agree upon might be more helpful, like [other] policies that we could both get behind.". She is also a Metropolitan College MLA candidate in gastronomy, and can be reached at dferr@bu.edu. It can also help you avoid triggering what psychologists call the backfire effect, the phenomenon where people hearing evidence that disproves their closely held beliefs feel personally threatened and only cling on tighter than ever. Ill start by talking about how climate change denial is a very well-funded industry. Jessica Colarossi Yes. Krishna: Theres another set of misinformation that talks about: okay, maybe climate change is really happening, but we cant really do anything about it and all of these policies to make it go away wont really work. It was during school pick-up a few years ago that Lance Lawson first asked his father about his views on global warming. Science denial. The urge to maintain status within ones social network is so powerful, Kahan told me, that well-educated people will use their information-gathering and computational skills to marshal a more impressive body of evidence in support of whatever identity it is (freethinking skeptic, caring mother hen) that earns them brownie points in their troop. Give Them The Facts "You have to find that balance between freaking them out and explaining the changing world they're living in." Parents who are nervous about bringing up climate change with their child . His father, Brian, is one of them - he grew up in rural Minnesota in the 1970s. Please, stop this. On the other side, Democrats seem talking about issues that voters are telling pollsters aren't important as they're deciding for whom to vote, not as important: January 6, Trump, Trump, Trump, climate change, abortion. Study what countries who are using it on a wide scale already know. Kaiser sums up the primary reason he and other conservatives rejected the premise of climate change: "Because if climate change is as bad as they say it is, it would justify government intervention. Ask one simple question: If the answer is nothing, well theres nothing you can say or do. Wong-Parodi sees it as a success if a skeptic can recognize the need to adapt to the impacts of climate change, even if they are reluctant to accept the fact the humans are . 2022 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Below are a few statements you might encounter when talking to a climate change denier and how to respond with the science. . The reporters werent wrong, but they missed something, perhaps because it was so obvious it slipped beneath notice. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Not by rehashing the same data and facts we've been discussing for years, says climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe. And remember - it's a party, so you know, have fun with it. Climate change denial Though some climate change deniers have stated that scientists disagree about whether the earth is warming, global warming datasets from multiple sources have pairwise correlations exceeding 98%. For example, wanting a better planet for your kids, safe drinking water, and concerns about extreme weather, like wildfires and hurricanes, in your area. Over time, the language of climate deniers and delayers has evolved from "basic climate denial" to "culture wars," said Arena. A denier flat out ignores alternatives. Colarossi: We can jump right into some of the big questions we have for you. I dont think I exaggerate when I say that lack of belief in climate change is the main obstacle to keeping the planet a place on which humans and other species can live comfortably. You can also find this episode onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Google Podcasts, andother podcast platforms. In the meanwhile, here is a more humorous (?) Prof van der Linden believes that changing the minds of climate deniers is impossible without affirming - to some extent - their worldview. Colarossi: Can you explain the difference actually between climate change disinformation, the people who amplify it, and those who, like you just said, are vulnerable, which sounds like thats actually the majority.

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