Deborah Snow at The Sidney Morning Herald writes—Why 'doomism' is part of the latest frontier in the climate wars:
Once if you were a climate scientist the chief enemy was denial. Now, says Michael E. Mann, it’s more likely to be “doomism”: the idea that taking action to reduce the threat of runaway climate change is pointless because it’s already too late.
Doomism, argues the internationally renowned climate scientist, is part of the latest frontier in the climate wars - a new tool being exploited by those resisting change in the way the world does business.
It sits alongside what he calls “soft denialism” (climate change is happening but it's OK, we can adapt) and “deflection” (sowing division by making it all about individual lifestyle choices). Such tactics, he says, are in some ways “even more pernicious” than the old arguments flatly rejecting human-induced climate change. [...]
“The greatest threat I see to climate action is the paralysis that comes from disengagement, disillusionment, despair,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on a flying visit from the United States this week. “It would be one thing if we were really doomed … as a scientist it would be disingenuous of me to argue otherwise. But the science tells us we can still make the reductions in carbon emissions necessary to avert the worst impacts of climate change. Yes there is urgency, but we still have agency.” [...]
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“Once you realize that trickle-down economics does not work, you will see the excessive tax cuts for the rich as what they are—a simple upward redistribution of income, rather than a way to make all of us richer, as we were told.”
~~Ha-Joon Chang, 23 Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism (2010)
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BLAST FROM THE PAST
At Daily Kos on this date in 2005—Journalists hurting their own cause:
The journalism profession, already held in low regard by, well, everyone, isn't doing itself any favors by 1) having its flagship trade organization —the Society of Professional Journalists—give [Judith] Miller its "First Amendment Award" and 2) making Miller part of its efforts to pass a federal shield law. Miller will be testifying before Congress on behalf of that federal shield law.
Could these people come up with a more unsympathetic person and facts on which to pin their lobbying efforts?
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Mick Mulvaney cops to G7 emoluments plan AND the quid pro quo, while tainting the Barr "investigation." Trump endorses ethnic cleansing. And that’s just what happened yesterday! Plus, the long history of the very strange Trump-Giuliani relationship.
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