Friday August 29th, 2008
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The Fog Around Global Warming
Posted by Su Avasthi on August 9, 2007 - 10:45pm.
Ever wonder how some people can still deny global warming? It continues to shock me that deniers still refute climate change, even though most of the scientific community has made it clear that it's real and it's happening.
Newsweek's latest cover story does an amazing job of exploring the climate change debate—and unfounded reasons that so many Americans either deny that climate change is happening, or insist that they still need further proof.
Titled The Truth About Denial, the article fleshes out how global warming came to seem foggy, not fact-based. The minute a scientific study appeared, it was immediately refuted as a half-baked theory.
The reason? Because soon after scientists began to issue warnings, big business and industry groups formed lobbying groups to cast doubt on greenhouse gas facts.
According to Newsweek, the groups—representing petroleum, steel, autos and utilities, among others—planned to "reposition global warming as theory rather than fact to sow doubt about climate research just as cigarette makers had about smoking research."
Taking a page from the tobacco industry's playbook, these corporations and organizations—dubbed the Carbon Lobby at WorldChanging.com—paid think tanks and scientists to foster doubt and alternate theories about the issue.
Wow. If it sounds like a fantastic conspiracy theory, then it's one that most of us have witnessed throughout our lives. I find it both chilling and fascinating to discover how the issue has been spun for decades. And it also explains why climate change hasn't been viewed as a geniune threat until recently.
And even now, Newsweek has an online poll about the issue, and a surprising 38 percent (when I checked) still don't believe that climate change is a threat. The good news, though, is that around 60 percent are worried. Hopefully, public opinion is starting to change significantly.
If that happens, a writer at WorldChanging.com noted, then large corporations will soon have to face public pressure to act responsibly and own up to climate change. Not doing so will become economic and political suicide. A corporation that ignores the issue will risk become villified.
One thing seems pretty clear to me: any company or group that has deliberately set out to obscure an issue that affects the planet's survival certainly deserves to be seen as the villian.
Topics:
- Planet
- climate change
- corporate responsibility
- corporations
- global warming
- global warming deniers
- global warming facts
- greenhouse gases
- Newsweek
Today I just wrote in my blog about that very subject. See "My Faith in Al", http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com
This debate reminds me a lot of the debate on evolution. Despite all the scientific evidence, the power of the media can get anything through. Hence the importance of blogs and other venues for free thinkers.
If you believe climate change is real, I challenge you to take action! Yes you -- personally. Seek out and implement ways to reduce your affect on the Earth's environment.
If you use air conditioning, set it two (four, six) degrees higher. If you use heat, set it two (four, six) degrees lower. Switch to a more fuel efficient car as soon as possible. Buy an electronic bicycle for short commutes. Walk if it's less than a mile.
Become a vegetarian. Some studies estimate that switching to a vegetarian lifestyle saves as much energy as driving a hybrid car.
Shop with local businesses and avoid giant corporations. Find small local businesses and shop at them. Avoid the most powerful giant corporations whenever possible. (Go to Co-Op America's web site for lists of local businesses. (www.coopamerica.org )
The next time you go out to eat, use a locally-owned business, not a chain.
Find a farmer's market buy your produce there. (www.localharvest.org) Reducing what you buy at chain grocery stores reduces the distance that food has to travel. My research shows that most farmer's market produce is grown within 150 miles. Grocery store produce travels an average of 1,500 miles.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. We all need to remember that those three terms are in order -- on purpose. First, Ichaellenge you to reduce. If you don't buy it, it doesn't need to be produced. Then reuse. Shop at your local reuse stores. They need the money for their charitable work and you can find good stuff cheap. Recycling comes last.
The most powerful thing you could do (if you're an entreprenuer) would be to start an environment-focused business: products made from recycled materials, a non-profit phone company, an organic farm, an eco-friendly restaurant, etc...
Ask yourself: What can I do?
Who can I motivate?
What can I change in my life?
How can we get kids involved?