by wj
Between the fires raging in Southern California and the ice storms in the eastern part of the country, it's pretty obvious that climate change is starting to hit us big time. The obvious question is, Why do people here in the US have such trouble accepting that?
The answer, I think, is simple: words matter.
The world is heating up. People who study the topic know that. It is leading to changes in the climate worldwide. Probably catastrophic ones in many places. Because the experts know that the cause is global warming, that's how it has gotten talked about for decades. "Warming."
The thing is, if you want people to make changes, what people experience is critical. And what is the bulk of the US population (basically those east of the Rockies) experiencing? Cold snaps, ice storms, etc. For them, "warming" just isn't happening; in fact quite the opposite. So if someone tells them that the whole global warming thing is a hoax, and they don't really have to make changes to address it, that resonates. Generally, people dislike having to make changes. A reason excuse not to make uncomfortable changes is going to be attractive.
If we'd spent the past couple of decades talking about "climate change" rather than "global warming," the bulk of the country would be paying attention. They aren't stupid; they can see that the climate they live in is changing. And they are having to change to cope. They'd be demanding action, even inconvenient actions, to deal with it -- precisely because people dislike change. But tell them to make changes, even minimal changes, to stop something that is not what they are experiencing, that is actually the opposite of what they are experiencing? Not an easy sell.
Is it too late to reset? I'm afraid so. But at the very least, we can try to learn from this. Because it likely won't be the last time we can see a problem coming, and want to get people to pay attention to dealing with it. (Various health care issues loom on the horizon, I suspect. Just for one example.)
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