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The problem of addressing global warming is very much one about persuasion. That means getting beyond people's tribal defences, which are a big part of climate

The problem of addressing global warming is very much one about persuasion. That means getting beyond people's tribal defences, which are a big part of climate change denial. Disinformation campaigns play a significant role, but the reason the disinformation is so effective is it plays into people's confirmation bias which is driven by perceived threats to their status in society. They see this liberalism as threatening, of which anthropogenic global warming is a part, and reject it outright, willing to accept any information that confirms their prior emotional decision. I believe that we need a Greta Thunberg-like figure who is conservative-leaning on literally every major topic of political contention, except believes that anthropogenic climate change is real and we should take significant action to mitigate it, and then we need the media and entertainment industries to prop them up as virtuous. People's instinctive defences will be lowered and we will be surprised at how easily people's minds can be changed.

ed25519FUUU 6y ago
No offense, but it’s clear you’ve never spent enough real time with people who are “deniers” to really understand anything, especially if you think what’s missing is a celebrity. I would say the bulk of the resistance I see comes largely from distrust of institutions and people who are very pro climate change, and then secondary worry about the financial impact of decarbonization on them personally as well as losing competitiveness to countries like China who are huge polluters and honestly dgaf.
- hntrader 6y ago
  The deniers I know are conservatives who reject it outright simply because it's what the liberals believe (or perhaps, to find some common ground, it's what liberal institutions believe). They've read little about it and assume that it's hysteria. Maybe my idea of a conservative celebrity is a silly idea and won't work, but I believe the root cause is one of tribal conflict (combined with cynical disinformation campaigns), and to change their mind requires getting around these tribal defenses in some way. According to Pew, 84% of Liberal Democrats think that humans significantly contribute to global warming, whereas 14% of Conservative Republicans do. I think this helps to confirm that there's a pretty important tribal dimension at play here (although we also can't rule out that financially self-interested people have self-selected themselves into the latter category).
  - rriepe 6y ago
    I'm a heretic and you can e-mail me about it if you want
  - bkirkby 6y ago
    You might want to consider that "the deniers I know..." Indicate you might have created your own ideological bubble and don't realize it.
- JarlUlvi 6y ago
  There are a number of claims being made which are inter-related, not all of which are claimed by all proponents 1. CO2 is the primary global warming gas, and other gases contribute also 2. CO2 precedes temperature change 3. The warming trend is unique to earth because of human activity 3. We understand the Climate science and carbon processes well enough to make accurate predictions 4. Climate modeling is accurate, and contributes to knowing what will happen 5. Our temperature measurement systems are accurate and scientifically valid 6. We understand all the interplay between albedo, cloud formation, and water vapor at different altitudes 7. We understand why the earth appears to be getting larger 8. The earth's warming is due to human activity and is not a natural process of warming and cooling driven by solar activity and events 9. Solar activity levels play no part in global warming; these changes are from human activity 10. Green biomass has decreased, not increased due to human activity Alternative claims exist such as: 1. CO2 is primarily plant food 2. CO2 is a trailing indicator of temperature change 3. The warming trend exists among multiple planets not just earth 3. Climate science and carbon process knowledge are in their infancy 4. Climate modeling is inaccurate, and has been very inaccurate thus far 5. Our temperature measurement systems have been contaminated by the heat island effect, and are not accurate and scientifically valid 6. We do not yet understand all the interplay between albedo, cloud formation, and water vapor at different altitudes 7. We understand the earth appears to be getting larger but we do not know why 8. The earth's warming is to a natural process of warming and cooling driven primarily by solar activity and events 9. Solar activity levels play the most significant part in global warming; these changes are not only from human activity 10. Green biomass has increased due to human activity Regardless of position, I don't believe name calling will convince people either way. I have no personal interests in either idea though I have some investments in green energy & petroleum. As green energy is not self-sufficient, I expect that petroleum will continue to be around for many years as we transition to future energy sources.

ed25519FUUU 6y ago

No offense, but it’s clear you’ve never spent enough real time with people who are “deniers” to really understand anything, especially if you think what’s missing is a celebrity. I would say the bulk of the resistance I see comes largely from distrust of institutions and people who are very pro climate change, and then secondary worry about the financial impact of decarbonization on them personally as well as losing competitiveness to countries like China who are huge polluters and honestly dgaf.

hntrader 6y ago
The deniers I know are conservatives who reject it outright simply because it's what the liberals believe (or perhaps, to find some common ground, it's what liberal institutions believe). They've read little about it and assume that it's hysteria. Maybe my idea of a conservative celebrity is a silly idea and won't work, but I believe the root cause is one of tribal conflict (combined with cynical disinformation campaigns), and to change their mind requires getting around these tribal defenses in some way. According to Pew, 84% of Liberal Democrats think that humans significantly contribute to global warming, whereas 14% of Conservative Republicans do. I think this helps to confirm that there's a pretty important tribal dimension at play here (although we also can't rule out that financially self-interested people have self-selected themselves into the latter category).
- rriepe 6y ago
  I'm a heretic and you can e-mail me about it if you want
- bkirkby 6y ago
  You might want to consider that "the deniers I know..." Indicate you might have created your own ideological bubble and don't realize it.
JarlUlvi 6y ago
There are a number of claims being made which are inter-related, not all of which are claimed by all proponents 1. CO2 is the primary global warming gas, and other gases contribute also 2. CO2 precedes temperature change 3. The warming trend is unique to earth because of human activity 3. We understand the Climate science and carbon processes well enough to make accurate predictions 4. Climate modeling is accurate, and contributes to knowing what will happen 5. Our temperature measurement systems are accurate and scientifically valid 6. We understand all the interplay between albedo, cloud formation, and water vapor at different altitudes 7. We understand why the earth appears to be getting larger 8. The earth's warming is due to human activity and is not a natural process of warming and cooling driven by solar activity and events 9. Solar activity levels play no part in global warming; these changes are from human activity 10. Green biomass has decreased, not increased due to human activity Alternative claims exist such as: 1. CO2 is primarily plant food 2. CO2 is a trailing indicator of temperature change 3. The warming trend exists among multiple planets not just earth 3. Climate science and carbon process knowledge are in their infancy 4. Climate modeling is inaccurate, and has been very inaccurate thus far 5. Our temperature measurement systems have been contaminated by the heat island effect, and are not accurate and scientifically valid 6. We do not yet understand all the interplay between albedo, cloud formation, and water vapor at different altitudes 7. We understand the earth appears to be getting larger but we do not know why 8. The earth's warming is to a natural process of warming and cooling driven primarily by solar activity and events 9. Solar activity levels play the most significant part in global warming; these changes are not only from human activity 10. Green biomass has increased due to human activity Regardless of position, I don't believe name calling will convince people either way. I have no personal interests in either idea though I have some investments in green energy & petroleum. As green energy is not self-sufficient, I expect that petroleum will continue to be around for many years as we transition to future energy sources.