Robb Willer, social psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, says that “dire predictions about global warming, especially when they are not accompanied by a clear solution, usually backfire, undermining the intended effect of the overall message.”
“In effect, the warnings make some people less amenable to reducing their carbon footprint.” So more social research that supports the claims of our old friends, Nordhaus and Shellenberger.
“The crisis is still growing because we are continuing to dump 90 million tons of global-warming pollution every 24 hours into the atmosphere — as if it were an open sewer.”
“The scarier the message, the more people who are committed to viewing the world as fundamentally stable and fair are motivated to deny it,” says Matthew Feinberg, a doctoral student in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
But if scientists and advocates can communicate their findings in less apocalyptic ways and present solutions to global warming, researchers say, most people can get past their skepticism.
And, what spells fundamental stability better than reaching for the switch on your personal computer and coal-fired electrons hastening to do your bidding without complaint? “Just had 1 hour power outage on cold night with strong wind. Without power, everything stops, including heat, and even worse, WiFi,” reports Politics in the Zeros blogger Bob Morris.
The utility companies play upon such concerns. As this blog has noted before, the inference is that renewable energy is somehow unreliable. Whereas coal ash impoundments are something upon which we should rely? That’s MBM (Male Bovine Manure), Clem.
Meanwhile, the deceivers extensively fund denial. Here, for instance, are some Treehugger posts that describe Dirty Tricks by those who oppose efforts to mitigate GHG emissions:
- The 8 Dirtiest Tricks by Foes of Clean Energy Reform
- Ten Dirty Things About Big King Coal
- Dirty Clean Coal Lobby Gave $240000 to Obama Presidential Campaign
- Revealed: 5 “Grassroots” Groups Funded by Dirty Energy
- Clean Coal Carolers from an Industry Run By Morons
If electric utilities were to take responsibility for global climate disruption, then we would see greater effort to reduce emissions and not denying accountability for, nor the high societal cost of, those emissions.
A key part of the deception is Astroturf-ing. A recent example is whistle blower Wendell Potter explaining to Amy Goodman how health insurers astro-turfed to “throw Michael off the cliff“. As Reddit contributor Burbulous observed, “This year I stopped thinking so much about liberals vs. conservatives and started framing the conflict more as people vs. corporations. That certainly made more sense. [it explains] how health care and global warming shook out.”
And, it is more than that. It is sizable advertising bought to insure that reporters don’t question the sources, and sizable campaign contributions to make sure that our “elected” representatives don’t question their ethics.
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“When someone talks about pushing you off a cliff,” observes Michael Moore, “it’s just human nature to be curious about them. Who are these people, you wonder, and why would they want to do such a thing?”
Writing for Scientific “Do You Want to Take a Fair and Balanced Survey, Chump?” American, Christie Nicholson notes, “Earlier this year a Gallup pole found that 48 percent of Americans believe that global warming concerns are exaggerated. Back in 1997 31 percent of Americans thought the concerns were overrated. ”
“Why,” she asks, “the increase?”
Well, Ms. Nicholson, it has all to do with those climate alarmists and nothing at all to do with the billions deceivers have spent to foster such doubt.
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism ASIN: 0713998997
Profit over People: Neoliberalism & Global Order ASIN: 1888363827
(Note: Could have chosen Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent (co-author) or Necessary Illusions, as well.)
Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans ASIN: 1608192814
Of course, Climate Progress bothers to take a closer look at the UC Berkeley study.
Joe J’accuse Romm lists the major flaws in climate science coverage by mainstream media:
Brooklyn Treehuger Brian Merchant says that in 2010 media climate coverage sank to the lowest level in 5 years.
“The above graph charts the major newspapers’ coverage of climate change over the decade. The top line is total coverage, and the colored ones are individual newspapers like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. As you can see, there was a major spike in coverage both in 2007 (when An Inconvenient Truth came out) and in 2009 (due to the Copenhagen climate conference). This year? Fizzle. Coverage from the major outlets dropped to the lowest point since 2005.”
“The picture gets even more grim when we turn to broadcast news,” says Merchant.
” in a year where the global temperature was found by NASA to likely be the hottest ever recorded, where extreme weather events like droughts and floods wreaked havoc around the globe, and where nearly 20 nations broke heat records, there were few major headlines, and mere minutes worth of TV coverage about climate change.”
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