US in a sense climate illiterate

[Dr Martin Williams [account from Drupal site]]

I'm often appalled by some of the hogwash I see from US forum posters regarding global warming; as well as the obfuscation that's been so prevalent in the US – and seeing re polls showing many Americans don't believe in global warming resulting from human activities. Seems to me that many heads are firmly thrust in sand, with wilful delusion: people don't want to believe in warming, so they don't. Views impacted by political spectrum of course: to right-wingers, global warming supposedly some kind of socialist plot (what baloney!); also get more right-wing type of Christians saying warming isn't real.

So, I was kind of glad to see these comments from a climate scientist, reported by Reuters:

Quote:

U.S. wavering on climate commitment could undermine action to save the planet, the director of Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said on the sidelines of a conference on Monday.

Preserving the Greenland ice cap was the defining action needed to prevent several meters of sea level rise and warming which would threaten the world's food and water supplies, Hans Schellnhuber told reporters.

The doubts of many Republican U.S. senators over the practicality of a draft, domestic carbon-cutting law undermined the chances of strong global action soon, he said.

"It's a deeper problem in the United States, if you look at global polls about what the public knows about climate change, even in Brazil, China you have more people who know the problem, who think that deep cuts in emissions are needed," he said.

"The United States is in a sense climate illiterate still. If you look at what people in the Republican party think about this problem it's very unlikely you come up with something."

"Climate illiterate" U.S. seen risking warming inaction

[Dr Martin Williams [account from Drupal site]]

Should you know someone from the US who doesn’t know about climate change, you could point them to info at:

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States

Quote:

This web page will introduce and lead you through the content of the most comprehensive and authoritative report of its kind. The report summarizes the science and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. It focuses on climate change impacts in different regions of the U.S. and on various aspects of society and the economy such as energy, water, agriculture, and health. It’s also a report written in plain language, with the goal of better informing public and private decision making at all levels.

[Dr Martin Williams [account from Drupal site]]

Article on Yale Environment 360 worth a read; looks at reasons underpinning polls showing Americans are now less concerned about global warming, with fewer believing humans are causing warming. Includes:

Quote:

Three years after it seemed that “An Inconvenient Truth” had changed everything, it turns out that it didn’t. The current Pew survey is the latest in a series of studies suggesting that Al Gore probably had a good deal more effect upon elite opinion than public opinion.

Public opinion about global warming, it turns out, has been remarkably stable for the better part of two decades, despite the recent decline in expressed public confidence in climate science.

…

climate change seems tailor-made to be a low priority for most people. The threat is distant in both time and space. It is difficult to visualize. And it is difficult to identify a clearly defined enemy.

…

System justification theory builds upon earlier work on ego justification and group justification to suggest that many people have a psychological need to maintain a positive view of the existing social order, whatever it may be. This need manifests itself, not surprisingly, in the strong tendency to perceive existing social relations as fair, legitimate, and desirable, even in contexts in which those relations substantively disadvantage the person involved.

…

Calls for economic sacrifice, major changes to our lifestyles, and the immorality of continuing “business as usual” — such as going on about the business of our daily lives in the face of looming ecological catastrophe — are almost tailor-made to trigger system justification among a substantial number of Americans.

Apocalypse Fatigue: Losing the Public on Climate Change

 

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