Mar 9, 2025 06:25 PM
Is climate persuasion a fool’s errand?
https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/202...ls-errand/
INTRO: It happens every day. A friend or colleague talks enthusiastically about buying a new gas car, or shivers theatrically on a chilly day and says: “So much for global warming.” Now you’re faced with a choice. Do you engage them with facts and arguments or just smile neutrally and change the subject?
Climate change, perhaps, used to be a topic where reasoned discussion was possible, particularly if people were lacking basic facts about atmospheric chemistry and the scale of fossil fuel use. These days, it can be more of a conversational third rail than religion or sport.
Here we tackle two intertwined questions. First, there’s now been two decades of research on environmental psychology. What have we learned about changing people’s minds on climate? But there’s a second, larger, question looming in the background: Does moving towards a decarbonized planet need everyone to buy into a science-based view anyway? (MORE - details)
https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/202...ls-errand/
INTRO: It happens every day. A friend or colleague talks enthusiastically about buying a new gas car, or shivers theatrically on a chilly day and says: “So much for global warming.” Now you’re faced with a choice. Do you engage them with facts and arguments or just smile neutrally and change the subject?
Climate change, perhaps, used to be a topic where reasoned discussion was possible, particularly if people were lacking basic facts about atmospheric chemistry and the scale of fossil fuel use. These days, it can be more of a conversational third rail than religion or sport.
Here we tackle two intertwined questions. First, there’s now been two decades of research on environmental psychology. What have we learned about changing people’s minds on climate? But there’s a second, larger, question looming in the background: Does moving towards a decarbonized planet need everyone to buy into a science-based view anyway? (MORE - details)