What an excellent post, allentown. You must be a physicist.
I was reading an interview with Peter Sandman, the founder of the 'environmental communications' discipline. Most of the interview centered on crisis communication, and how to speak to people about risk and dread. However, the following response was one of the most honest I've heard from someone who is a self-proclaimed alarmist:
"Dubner: If I were to come to you as the, letâs say the head of the United States government, and I say, you know, I care about climate change a lot, but for all kinds of reasons, social, political, economic, itâs a very hard subject to gain the proper kind of traction on, and Peter, I think the first step is to change the way we communicate, change the way we have a climate change conversation. What do you do, what are your first few, what are your first few steps of action there?
Sandman: All right, hereâs a quick list. Number one, express regret for some of the solutions that are going to be unpleasant and costly. Number two, express uncertainty that youâre right, but conviction that the risk is too great to ignore. Number three, give people absolution for having dug this ditch without realizing that they were digging it. Number four, be interested in possible solutions that are less unpleasant. Take the possibility of a technical fix seriously. If we canât find one, then we canât find one, but environmentalists donât want to find one. Theyâre very hostile to the idea that we might solve this problem without changing everything about our way of life. You know, be open to that. Number five, be more optimistic. Donât try to say the world is going to [heck] in a hand basket where itâs already too late, weâre doomed, therefore use compact fluorescents. Nobodyâs going to change their lives if weâre doomed. We have to have a good shot at solving the problem seriously. Last pointâŚwell, no next to last point, take adaptation seriously. You know, instead of just trying to reduce our [impact], or reduce the amount of climate change, try to reduce our vulnerability to climate change. Take seriously learning how to live comfortably in a hotter world with wilder weather. And finally, stop trashing the enemy. Be much more respectful of people who think youâre wrong, or people who think the cost is too high, or people who are in any of a variety of ways opposed to the climate change movement. Theyâre allowed to treat you with contempt. Itâs a big mistake to treat them with contempt (if you intend to make any progress)."