Denial

This posting is different from others I have made so far. I was trying to focus mainly on the science to convince people this is a very real and very urgent problem. But I often wonder why so few people are taking global warming as seriously as the threat warrants, or even close. I think one reason is that the vast majority of people are in denial, in one way or another, especially in this country. In this posting will list some of the types of denial and avoidance I have noticed in people.

First are the absolute deniers. I think that most of them are conservative and therefore automatically against anything that seems “pro-environment”, which they see as a liberal cause. Others are invested in or funded by the fossil fuel industry so much that they are automatically against anything that might threaten their interests. Some simply believe that God would never let something so bad happen, or at least that is their excuse. The absolute deniers have usually made up their minds, and you can rarely change their minds with mere facts or science. They usually feel no need to provide any proof of their positions. Instead of looking at all the data and drawing their conclusions from it, they cherry-pick the data to support the conclusions they have already made. What they don’t understand is that the question of whether global warming is happening has nothing to do with politics, ideology, or belief. The laws of physics and chemistry do not care what anyone thinks or believes. These people and their children will suffer the consequences as much as everyone else will. But those who have been actively blocking any progress towards fighting the threat will be the most to blame.

Then there are the willfully ignorant. Some simply ignore the issue, perhaps out of laziness or boredom. Others accept that global warming is happening and is caused by human activity, but thinking about it makes them feel so bad (depressed, scared, helpless, hopeless, bored) that they avoid it whenever possible. If you bring up the subject with this type of denier, they will usually change the subject or leave the discussion. Sometimes they will come right out and say they don’t like to talk or think about it. Often the ones who do admit the reality to this extent make an effort to help, by recycling, driving less, and so on. But they miss a lot of opportunities by not being informed or involved in the political process. They usually have no idea how little time we have left or how this problem is unique, simply because they avoid it at all costs. If enough of these people would be willing to feel those uncomfortable emotions, our chances would be much better. If they would just admit to themselves that the lives of their children and grandchildren are at stake, they might do something about it. But it’s difficult to acknowledge anything when you try to ignore everything.

Then there are those who do not deny or ignore the problem, but they don’t have any idea (or won’t admit) how big it is. Many don’t know how bad it could get, and almost none of them have any idea how little time we have to stop it from going out of control. This includes most liberals and I think even most environmentalists. Many people are too busy to deal with it. They think many other things, personal or shared, are more important. The vast majority of liberal talk show hosts and commentators rarely mention global warming or climate change, or when they do it is only in passing. I would ask everyone to question whether any of the things they spend their time on about might be less important than whether most life on earth ends. I’m sure the vast majority could find some time to help in some way if they put the problem in perspective. We need everyone we can get.

I think most liberals and people who care about the environmental fail to grasp how this threat is different from others, how when feedback takes over it will be too late, how we won’t get a second chance, and most of all how none of their other causes will mean a thing if global warming does go out of control. For example, when the entire system has collapsed, it won’t matter whether we once had universal health care. Will it matter that much whether we found a cure for cancer when billions are dying of hunger? I’m not saying we should abandon all other causes. But I am saying we should recognize this cause is the most important one, and give it the amount of attention it deserves.

Some people have concluded that it is hopeless to fight global warming, and they use this as their excuse to ignore it and do nothing. Some of them came to this conclusion years ago, when we still had enough time to make relatively gradual changes. Others, when confronted with what we need to accomplish in a short amount of time will ask, “What if the scientists are wrong?” Others are confident that science will find a solution before it’s too late. But you can’t be sure it is hopeless until feedback actually takes things out of control. If your own life was at stake, wouldn’t you try as long as there was even a small chance? This is much more important than your own life, so we should not give up so easily. And of course the scientists could be wrong about how much time we have, but they are just as likely to be too optimistic as too pessimistic. If you don’t realize or admit this, you are just making excuses. And do you really want to let the future of your own children and many future generations depend on the chance that some miracle invention will be discovered in time? We have not been using the many inventions we already have all these years that we knew about the problem. What makes you think any new invention will be implemented to any greater extent? I think these are all really excuses for avoiding responsibility. In my next posting, I will talk more about responsibility.