We have seen climate change youth leaders march and strike from schools around the world. There are hundreds of thousands of youth activists. They have had hundreds of media appearances. Four of these youth leaders met with two committees in the U.S. House. One met with President Obama. She also gave a major speech at the Climate Crisis Conference at the United Nations.
It’s been estimated that four million people marched on September 20. Streets in major cities around the world were filled with teenagers, young adults and many others. They all are protesting the lack of progress in mitigating climate change. They want action. They want things to change.
Climate Change Deniers
Yet, lurking in the background, and then emerging on Fox TV, Radio and TV Talk Shows and hundreds of websites and blogs are climate change deniers. I wrote yesterday about one of these people who lashed out at the four youth climate change leaders who met with the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Climate change denial is an organized machine. A resource that is helpful to tease out this machine is The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. The authors of this Oxford Handbook explain how contrarian scientists, fossil fuel corporations, think tanks, and front groups have assaulted main stream science. They’ve done this for decades. “Climategate” was manufactured by using very minor errors in an IPCC report, and blew it into another “gate.”
In order for the climate change youth leaders to be successful, they need to understand climate denial. This is not very simple. Denial is complex, and well funded. It has a history much longer than the age of the climate change youth leaders.
Components of Climate Change Denial
As a preview, the chart below is from The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society, Chapter 10, Figure 10.1, and is entitled key components of the climate change denial machine. It’s quite a machine.
As a result, I’ll be identifying some of the climate change deniers, corporations, think tanks, and blogs. As I said, they are well funded, and relentless in their attacks on climate change leaders, and scientists.
In conclusion, I think you might be surprised. Tune in again.
0 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks