"Denial" must have some adaptation-survival purpose -- but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is. Perhaps, the emotion of Denial, gives humans a chance to "catch their breath", "to regroup" ... to gain a few precious moments to "deal with bad news"?
But stay stuck in that "state of Denial" for too long -- and that "bad news" is going to get worse. Sooner or later humans have to face the realities of the situation, or reap the dire consequence of ignoring the danger signs.
In much of the world, they have already moved well past this "dismal state". They have accepted the realities we all face, as our relatively limited planet continues to warm.
And they ask, 'What is wrong with those Americans? When will they wake up and smell the coffee?'
EU Climate Commissioner Shocked by US Climate Denial
SustainableBusiness.com News -- 09/28/2011
Who needs science when the deep pockets of entrenched fossil fuel industries will tell you what to believe?
EU Climate Chief Connie Hedegaard says of the US Republican Presidential candidates who are falling over themselves to deny the reality of climate change, "I'm shocked that the political debate in the US is so far away from the scientific facts."
"When more than 90 percent of researchers in the field are saying that we have to take [climate change] seriously, it is incredibly irresponsible to ignore it. It's hard for a European to understand how it has become so fashionable to be anti-science in the US," she continues in an interview with Politiken, a Danish newspaper.
Maybe that's it -- Climate Change Denial, is just the latest 'fashion trend'?
Nahhh, I doubt it.
It seems the roots of Climate Change Denial are bound up in how a person views Science ... is Science the method of human discovery of repeatable, predictable events, or is it more like a Sporting event, where "which team you root for" is largely a matter of personal preference. No big shakes, if you pick the wrong team ... there's always Next Season, right?
Understanding Climate Denial
by Zachary Shahan, planetsave.com -- Sept 28, 2011
by John Cook, Skeptical Science
There are a number of areas of science where the evidence has become so overwhelming that a scientific consensus forms. For example, the consensus on the link between smoking and cancer, that HIV causes AIDS or that humans are causing global warming. Where there is a scientific consensus, there are often movements that deny the scientific evidence. All of these denialist movements have been found to share 5 common characteristics, including cherry picking, conspiracy theories and fake experts.
Understanding the denial of scientific evidence is a crucial element to putting the climate controversy into proper context. The first step is recognizing that the process of denial is to be distinguished from cases where the title ‘denier’ is used derogatorily. Complaining about the word ‘denier’ can be a form of denial itself, using concern trolling to avoid a serious discussion of the scientific evidence.
[...]
But don’t forget that 2%. The rare person who was “skeptical” about climate change but then considered the full body of evidence is the exception that proves the rule. In Confessions of a Climate Change Convert, D.R. Tucker perused all the scientific evidence, became convinced that humans are causing global warming and uttered the famous pronouncement, “I was defeated by facts”.
Sooner or later all Deniers must face reality. Sooner is better. When the Doctor tells them to Quit Smoking, it is to their future benefit, to actual listen and then do it.
Here's another root of Climate Change Denial that is bound up in something a bit more cynical. It's called continuing with a broken business model. It's called trading long term impacts and costs, for short term profits. It's called the well-worn American system of "Money Talks" and sets the national agenda ...
Who's Bankrolling the Climate-Change Deniers?
by Bryan Walsh, time.com -- Oct 04, 2011
[...]
As the sociologists Riley Dunlap of Oklahoma State University and Aaron McCright of Michigan State University suggest, climate denialism exists in part because there has been a long-term, well-financed effort on the part of conservative groups and corporations to distort global-warming science. That's the conclusion of a chapter the two researchers recently wrote for The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. "Contrarian scientists, fossil-fuel corporations, conservative think tanks and various front groups have assaulted mainstream climate science and scientists for over two decades," Dunlap and McCright write.
[...]
Fossil-fuel companies like Exxon and Peabody Energy -- which obviously have a business interest in slowing any attempt to reduce carbon emissions -- have combined with traditionally conservative corporate groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and conservative foundations like the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity, to raise doubts about the basic validity of what is, essentially, a settled scientific truth. That message gets amplified by conservative think tanks -- like the Cato Institute and the American Enterprise Institute -- and then picked up by conservative media outlets on the Internet and cable TV.
[...]
All of the naysayers seem to be following the playbook written by the tobacco industry in its long, ongoing war against medical findings about the dangers of smoking. For both Big Oil and Big Smoke, that playbook is lethally simple: don't straight-up refute the science, just raise skepticism and insist that the findings are "unsettled" and that "more research" is necessary. Repeat that again and again regardless of the latest research, and you help block the formation of the solid majority needed to create any real political change. That's made all the easier because whether you're quitting smoking or oil, the job is painful -- and voters don't like pain.
Voters may not like pain, and the talk of Carbon Taxes sends them running to Fox News, but then again most Americans aren't stupid either. They may be addicted to Nicotine -- but most of them know that they really should quit -- someday ...
American Attitudes -- SustainableBusiness.com News -- 09/28/2011
Recent polls [Woods Institute for the Environment - Stanford University] show the percentage of Americans who believe climate change is real increased from 75% last year to 83%. Republican attacks on science were cited as a major factor in the increase.
Polls also show that Americans overwhelmingly want the US to focus on renewable energy and move away from fossil fuels.
After Denial, eventually there is Acceptance, grudging as it may be.
Of course the Denialists first have to go through the stages of Anger, Bargaining, and Depression, before that productive state of Acceptance, finally dawns.
"Denial" must have some adaptation-survival purpose -- but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is ... the sooner we get serious and decide to kick the Fossil Fuel Habit -- the better off we will all be. Just ask the Doctor. Just ask 99% of Climate Scientists.
And then get on with it, already! The planet is NOT getting any Healthier, by postponing the inevitable. Not by a long shot.