[MCN] It's getting harder to take refuge in the uncertainties of climate science

[Lance Olsen]

HEATED, a newsletter for people who are pissed off about the climate crisis—written by Emily Atkin <https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkMuOxSAIhp_muGzEXvQsXMxmXsN4oa05Vhu10_Ttx54mBAjkBz6srrikfMk9lUpup-q1o4x4loC1YiZHway8kwOA4HwgLXMgRkF8UXNG3LQPsuYDyX6Y4K2uPsVbwAbek1VSLfRsnNF9P5qRWvEGeLNxBAvCAjfPVn04j9GixD_MV4pIglxr3V_9z4v9NjvPs6unv0_qbNpaBbeUT0TiJaMMaJsKnL2HqYPO9iXTWXxWs78Gui2sK4cpVdvPrSVZBh1tCiW27nIDfMvtftXidkRfL4VRm4DuQavPg76wasGIuT3OKV0lTACU815MfOQPS2PvYZoYp5S0vS41VZQr3pJ_MMd9VA>.

Lawmakers who denied Biden’s victory also embrace a deadlier conspiracy: climate denial <https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwtkcuSmzAQRb_G7EzpgQEvWEz8SPAEp5xMxuMVJaTGyBZChYQZ_PWRx6nS4-q2ulrqw5mDc9dPmemsCx5L6SYDmYbRKnAO-mCw0JdSZBHGaZJEgVcCp4s0kLase4CWSZW5foDADJWSnDnZ6UcCiRIaNBkCsqyXNMFCMEAsTiNcixr4Ai2jWIj4WZUNQoLmkMEN-qnTEKiscc7YGX2Zka0fDfi3inDseiX80fip2NiyK_R2PjbdXICWIOaV9MLOb5I7_7EZ3bruCnpG1zDtMCfv0wdR1_zSoeJtE-3vHP1c7caK7tF__168nUhx4WOxGiU7bpH3PveXzWex5rS4n4m_b7ySv-RuFMfcFZcDLabc5nqPTzKPc_3txunB8fa9OdHfpiKRrA_h5uX4-j36E6tUa3M7vI6O3s0qni_W8-XNfJgfCzVu_w6fzc4GMiOIYITxEifEtynEIae2R3V6bSozi1B7JqEdKusYv4a8a4M-U0zzTlnto-cHky_bIyn93g5auqkEzSoF4knLPZl_8SvPoKF_9LdkLsMxxihJaBoni-SJx-OkOI5JglDg64rOZ-nsieQfq53FPA>

90 of the 147 members of Congress who voted to overturn the election deny basic climate science, a HEATED investigation has found.

Emily Atkin <https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkEuOhCAQhk_T7NpYiIILFrOZaxge1UoagQBOx9sPtkmlnvlT9ZVRFdeYT5liqeRySz0TyoCf4rFWzOQomBdnJQMQnDPSMgtiFMSV5ZURd-W8rPlAkg7tnVHVxXAJKOMD2STS2QoUYp7ZyJjWis2j5pMGeIEFY--t6rAOg0GJf5jPGJB4udWaymP4edDfZhu2W233idnbViaMyWNLRsanEZ64O38-VX27QJykPYUeYAZOZzZ10Jmh5P4l3ptOD9bvK-3KoUtV5t2ZuJMsvQom-hLadL2Qvu1GtLS4H8HVc8GgtEd7w9b7ZV_8ZcWA-TpvUVXCBNBzPoiJj_yma98YYJoo73vS9trYVEHeRP-d5IKR>
Jan19
Excerpt  
The members of Congress who spread dangerous disinformation about Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election are the same lawmakers spreading dangerous disinformation about the climate crisis, a HEATED investigation has found.

According to an analysis of their public statements and votes <https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkU1v3CAQhn-NOVp82GAfODRNV0mOlaJKvVh8zGK0GCzAG21_fXFWYpjR8L6a0YNRFVzKD7mnUtF5LfWxg4zwVQLUChkdBfLirRwImYQYUKssmcYJ-bJcM8CmfJA1H4D2QwdvVPUpngY6CIZWaa3hs1LXebKzoaO2dNaE4dFgbSah1XOqOqyHaEDCHfIjRUBBrrXupWM_OnppxyZTepeSC9CbtLVO2TMoW1aAWk5BC_J5f_u4v8-fP9Vf_qrJn7sxfOThN1dBXd5u6_bPfUwvfB_cryYH62vHLnvwHXslHWXO21Zh5CXFlGBCZiLoPPCe9IaVjK_TbdV7N-DN0b4culRlbuc6KMugokmhxPbqTijf7cZkaXk7oq-PBaLSAewTV31C_wa4OIiQ22fYRVVJOCFYCDZxMYonn8aTEc6pwBi1uTY1V5QrnJb_AKmXrA>, 90 of the 147 Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn the results of the presidential election <https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkU2OhCAQhU_T7NoI_mAvWMxmrmFKqFbSCAbKMd5-yjYhvEoVj0c-LBDOKZ9mS4XEtY10bmgiHiUgEWaxF8yjd6aVctC6FVw5OXSD8GV8Z8QVfDCUdxTbPgVvgXyKl0G1uhGLAWfr99BD5zpoa-Vap9yADqa3BJQK7lTYncdo0eAf5jNFFMEsRFt5ND8P9cvrOI7qgLL4OFOKl6myaeXBnGFbvC1cqlpJli0FT3fHpjhnLOWJAS2lDOFpUwg4I-se6UkZ7AczHxXeXP5aypfU6tX2laxsUzK__rNM26Ot11lVZZ8KseUKF9kEiHxfiTydLxLfNoMYWdc9ejpHjDAFdDcjukl_qY0zRsz8A24EMrKXsta6GXrd6RsKQ2xk3ytd14JzXWJXNAteln9F5ZiV> explicitly deny or have denied that climate change is human-caused and dangerous. 

These lawmakers’ denials of basic scientific facts range from delicate expressions of doubt to preposterous claims of conspiracy. Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, for example, has merely said he believes climate science “is uncertain,” while Texas Rep. John Carter calls climate change “a chicken-little scheme” to use “government propaganda” to brainwash the “unwashed masses.” You can check out all their statements here <https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkU1v3CAQhn-NOVp82GAfODRNV0mOlaJKvVh8zGK0GCzAG21_fXFWYpjR8L6a0YNRFVzKD7mnUtF5LfWxg4zwVQLUChkdBfLirRwImYQYUKssmcYJ-bJcM8CmfJA1H4D2QwdvVPUpngY6CIZWaa3hs1LXebKzoaO2dNaE4dFgbSah1XOqOqyHaEDCHfIjRUBBrrXupWM_OnppxyZTepeSC9CbtLVO2TMoW1aAWk5BC_J5f_u4v8-fP9Vf_qrJn7sxfOThN1dBXd5u6_bPfUwvfB_cryYH62vHLnvwHXslHWXO21Zh5CXFlGBCZiLoPPCe9IaVjK_TbdV7N-DN0b4culRlbuc6KMugokmhxPbqTijf7cZkaXk7oq-PBaLSAewTV31C_wa4OIiQ22fYRVVJOCFYCDZxMYonn8aTEc6pwBi1uTY1V5QrnJb_AKmXrA>; I highlighted what I felt were particularly wild ones in yellow. [[bold emphasis added ]]

End of excerpt

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Science, 5 SEPTEMBER 2008


Books

The Tobacco Strategy Entrenched 


Excerpt : A tobacco industry strategy memo argues, “Doubt is our product since it is the best means of competing with the ‘body of fact’ that exists in the minds of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy.” (1) The aim: to sow doubt in the minds of the public, judges, and even regulatory scientists (if they are susceptible) about the scientific basis for greater public health or environmental protections (think global warming) or tort law actions. Because of the tobacco industry’s success in obfuscating, slowing, reducing, and blocking regulatory actions, its approach has been adopted by others, has become institutionalized in presidential administrations, and has been used as talking points by some politicians. Fostering doubt and controversy and demanding high degrees of certainty postpone legal actions, keep products in commerce longer, and perhaps delay improved protections indefinitely. They can also leave the public or work force at risk.

As Michaels (an epidemiologist at George Washington University) explains, this clever strategy permits people to oppose public health rules without arguing the policy point and without being labeled anti–public health. It also uses a common science term that might resonate with some in the scientific community. Scientific articles usually note uncertainties about the research subject and the need for further studies. 


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Scientists Are Certain There's Uncertainty In Climate ... - WLRN <https://www.wlrn.org/environment/2020-02-06/scientists-are-certain-theres-uncertainty-in-climate-change-that-doesnt-mean-they-doubt-its-real>
www.wlrn.org › environment › scientists-are-certain-th... <https://www.wlrn.org/environment/2020-02-06/scientists-are-certain-theres-uncertainty-in-climate-change-that-doesnt-mean-they-doubt-its-real>
Feb 6, 2020 — Among scientists, conveying uncertainty in predictions over sea rise, increasing temperatures and other impacts linked to climate change — without suggesting doubt — remains a nagging challenge.

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Climate of Doubt Strategy #2: Exaggerate Uncertainty <https://skepticalscience.com/climate-of-doubt-strategy-2-exaggerate-uncertainty.html>
skepticalscience.com › climate-of-doubt-strategy-2-exagg... <https://skepticalscience.com/climate-of-doubt-strategy-2-exaggerate-uncertainty.html>
Nov 27, 2012 — The PBS Frontline program Climate of Doubt did a masterful job in exposing the tactics climate denialists have used to delay meaningful action ...

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"Furthermore, Dr. Yellen stated, 'Climate change is an existential threat … both the impact of climate change itself and policies to address it could have major impacts, creating stranded assets, generating large changes in asset prices, credit risks and so forth that could affect the financial system. These are very real risks.’”

JDSupra  January 21, 2021 The U.S. Financial System and Climate Risk

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-u-s-financial-system-and-climate-3306153/ <https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-u-s-financial-system-and-climate-3306153/>


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The Conserver Society. Harper Colophon Books.

Page 181 : “if Americans were asked point blank whether they would agree to reduce their energy consumption by one-half, many would probably recoil in apprehension and reject the idea. Yet energy consumption in 1960 was about half of what is now [ 1979 ]. Many of us remember 1960. Surely we had a civilized country then, with roads, electricity, entertainment, and so on. Yet we we were consuming half the energy.”

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“A new area of study is the field that some of us are beginning to call social traps. The term refers to situations in society that contain traps formally like a fish trap, where men or whole societies get themselves started in some direction or some set of relationships that later prove to be unpleasant or lethal and that they see no easy way to back out of or to avoid."

John Platt. Social Traps. American Psychologist, August 1973

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Frontiers in Conservation Science  January 13, 2021
doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 

Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future 

Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Paul R. Ehrlich, Andrew Beattie, Gerardo Ceballos, Eileen Crist, Joan Diamond Rodolfo Dirzo, Anne H. Ehrlich, John Harte, Mary Ellen Harte, Graham Pyke, Peter H. Raven, William J. Ripple, Frédérik Saltré, Christine Turnbull, Mathis Wackernagel and Daniel T. Blumstein

Keywords: sustainability, extinction, climate change, political will, human population, consumption 

Abstract

We report three major and confronting environmental issues that have received little attention and require urgent action. First, we review the evidence that future environmental conditions will be far more dangerous than currently believed. The scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its lifeforms—including humanity—is in fact so great that it is difficult to grasp for even well-informed experts. Second, we ask what political or economic system, or leadership, is prepared to handle the predicted disasters, or even capable of such action. Third, this dire situation places an extraordinary responsibility on scientists to speak out candidly and accurately when engaging with government, business, and the public. We especially draw attention to the lack of appreciation of the enormous challenges to creating a sustainable future. The added stresses to human health, wealth, and well-being will perversely diminish our political capacity to mitigate the erosion of ecosystem services on which society depends. The science underlying these issues is strong, but awareness is weak. Without fully appreciating and broadcasting the scale of the problems and the enormity of the solutions <- plural required, society will fail to achieve even modest sustainability goals. 








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