Page 40 - Standard Indicators for the social appropriation of science
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Climate change denial
problem. Almost every plastic is produced from Which are the most popular arguments
fossil fuels - and in every single phase of its life among people about global warming
cycle, plastic emits greenhouse gases. denial?
The fossil fuel industry, political lobbyists,
Many supermarkets in Europe support the media moguls and individuals have spent the
ecological way and customers can use past 30 years sowing doubt about the reality
ecological bags, which are made of recyclable of climate change – where none exists. It is
plastic, or paper bags and bags made of important to be able to identify the different
organic cotton. types of denial. The below taxonomy will help
to spot the different ways that are being used
6. Protect our forests and plant more trees to convince you to delay action on climate
It has long been known how important forests change.
both for the microclimate in individual regions
are and for the global climate as a whole. 1. Science denial. This is the type of denial we
They “feed” on CO and convert the climate- are all familiar with: that the science of climate
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damaging gas into oxygen, which is vital for our change is not settled. Deniers suggest climate
survival. A research team at ETH Zurich has change is just part of the natural cycle. Or that
compiled some fascinating figures: Two thirds climate models are unreliable and too sensitive
of man-made CO emissions could be removed to carbon dioxide.
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from our atmosphere if we were to reforest
900 million hectares of forests worldwide. Some even suggest that CO is such a small
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But we should not only focus on reforestation part of the atmosphere it cannot have a large
measures, but also stop the deforestation of heating effect. Or that climate scientists are
huge areas at the same time. fixing the data to show the climate is changing
(a global conspiracy that would take thousands
How can industrial production be limited? of scientists in more than 100 countries to pull
off). All these arguments are false and there
That is very complicated, especially since is a clear consensus among scientists about
it depends on the demand from Europe. the causes of climate change. The climate
Europe has lowered its emissions, in part by models that predict global temperature rises
relocating production to China, for example. have remained very similar over the last 30
So, demand should decrease, we should years despite the huge increase in complexity,
reduce consumption, especially of superficial showing it is a robust outcome of the science.
redundant things and of all things that we
are consuming at a very high rate. China 2. Economic denial. The idea that climate
has to create its own plan of where it wants change is too expensive to fix is a more subtle
to go. They now have their own plan for total form of climate denial. Economists, however,
decarbonisation by 2060, they want to be a kind suggest we could fix climate change now by
of hyper futuristic nation that is ecological and spending 1 percent of world GDP. Perhaps
at the same time deeply rooted in traditions. even less if the cost savings from improved
human health and expansion of the global
Climate change can also be mitigated by green economy are taken into account. But if
changing agriculture, which has to be addressed we don’t act now, by 2050 it could cost over 20
differently, in the way people consume. There percent of world GDP.
has to be a concern to consume seasonal
products, to consume less, which will impact 3. Humanitarian denial. Climate change
the reduction of industrial production. deniers also argue that climate change is good
for us. They suggest longer, warmer summers
in the temperate zone will make farming
more productive. These gains, however,
are often offset by the drier summers and
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