George Monbiot has written an astonishing piecein the UK's Guardian under the byline,
Why the sudden surge in climate change denial? Could it be about something else altogether?
His arguments would seem to fit my own experience - that it's the older, whiter, more technocratic individuals who succumb to the insanity and inanity of climate change denial.
He, of course, puts it far better than I ever could. Join me over the fold for his analysis and my analysis of his analysis
Monbiot is one of the UK's greatest green/eco/environmental thinkers and writers. He has a sharp mind and a brilliant capacity for intelligently focused research. When he says,
There is no point in denying it: we’re losing. Climate change denial is spreading like a contagious disease. It exists in a sphere which cannot be reached by evidence or reasoned argument; any attempt to draw attention to scientific findings is greeted with furious invective. This sphere is expanding with astonishing speed.
then sadly it's probably true - and if I didn't want to believe it, he backs it up with plenty of evidence (go to the Science Museum's 'Prove It!' page if you want to help an internet poll rebalance the right way.
All this proves is what we already knew: that the wing-nuts are winning the argument. But Monbiot takes a new look at why this might be: they're older, whiter, more scared than we are, less flexible and able to reduce their carbon footprints or consider a low carbon (or no-carbon) future.
he says,
Such beliefs seem to be strongly influenced by age. The Pew report found that people over 65 are much more likely than the rest of the population to deny that there is solid evidence that the earth is warming, that it’s caused by humans or that it’s a serious problem(9). This chimes with my own experience. Almost all my fiercest arguments over climate change, both in print and in person, have been with people in their 60s or 70s. Why might this be?
and answers himself with the following:
A recent paper by the biologist Janis L Dickinson, published in the journal Ecology and Society, proposes that constant news and discussion about global warming makes it difficult for people to repress thoughts of death, and that they might respond to the terrifying prospect of climate breakdown in ways that strengthen their character armour but diminish our chances of survival(14). There is already experimental evidence suggesting that some people respond to reminders of death by increasing consumption(15). Dickinson proposes that growing evidence of climate change might boost this tendency, as well as raising antagonism towards scientists and environmentalists. Our message, after all, presents a lethal threat to the central immortality project of Western society: perpetual economic growth, supported by an ideology of entitlement and exceptionalism.
The rest of his article is well worth a look, and it may help to explain why Technorati has 'climate progress' as top of their 'green sites' but has 'Watts up with that?' in 2nd place (see Climate Progress today)
all of which begs the question: if it's fear of death that's spurring the denial movement, against all scientific evidence, what can we, as progressive thinkers, do to mitigate it?