In short, we aren’t on track to an apocalyptic extinction, and the new head is concerned that rhetoric that we are is making people apathetic and paralyzes them from making beneficial actions.

He makes it clear too that this doesn’t mean things are perfectly fine. The world is becoming and will be more dangerous with respect to climate. We’re going to still have serious problems to deal with. The problems just aren’t insurmountable and extinction level.

  • HWK_290@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Well by all means, let’s make it seem less serious than it is! That’ll get people moving

    Signed, an actual fucking climate scientist

    • jemorgan@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Did you even read the article, Mr/Ms climate scientist?

      He’s asking people not to talk like the world is going to catastrophically end once we hit that 1.5 degrees milestone, because it’s making people feel hopeless and apathetic, which is actually slowing our efforts to change.

      And he’s totally right. If the government told people a meteor the size of Texas was going to impact earth in 12 hours, there would be effectively zero effort to stop it. If you tune in to a lot of the conversation around climate change from people who are not climate scientists, but who want to leave a better world for their kids and believe climate scientists, they feel hopeless. It feels like a foregone conclusion that we are going to go over the 1.5 degree goal (probably because it is), and if we think the biosphere is going to collapse when it does, it is really, really hard to take action.

      It’s not saying to undersell the risks, he’s saying to be truthful about the risks. We can definitely still salvage complex life on earth with optimistic, consistent effort, but recent media coverage has been giving the impression that it’s too late. This is bad and counterproductive.

      Keep on fighting the good fight brother/sister.

      • heeplr@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        because it’s making people feel hopeless and apathetic, which is actually slowing our efforts to change.

        That’s the thing I don’t get. How to come to such a conclusion?

        If you ever have been on a sinking ship, you know how suddenly even the worst enemies will cooperate willingly quite well in face of time pressure and a life threat. Some might even be willing to sacrifice themselves when in such a situation, even a few minutes gained can make a huge difference. But aswell if the situation seems hopeless.

        It’s totally atypical for most humans to just accept fate and relax in any life threatening situation. Humans tend to die fighting/ defending.

          • heeplr@feddit.de
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            1 year ago

            climate change unstoppable != scary life threatening consequences

            Those are two entirely different narratives.

            (And I didn’t get past the paywall.)

            • jemorgan@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              Homie I’m trying to explain what you’re obviously not understanding about this, and you keep responding with arguments about how you’re correct to not understand or something?

              Guy said “don’t be hyperbolic about the 1.5c goal because if people feel hopeless they are less likely to act.” We shouldn’t be acting like the scary life threatening consequences of climate change are unstoppable. That is one narrative, you silly goof.

              • heeplr@feddit.de
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                1 year ago

                Guy said “don’t be hyperbolic about the 1.5c goal because if people feel hopeless they are less likely to act.”

                Then he’s wrong. But it’s more likely you misread the study since that’s not the conclusion.

                • jemorgan@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  My guy I can only imagine how hard it must be to go through life completely illiterate.

                  “The belief that climate change is unstoppable reduces the behavioural and policy response to climate change and moderates risk perception.”

                  • heeplr@feddit.de
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                    1 year ago

                    So you are saying

                    “The belief that climate change is unstoppable”

                    is the same thing as

                    “a temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius is an existential threat to humanity”

                    Those are fundamentially different things and you just pulled some study you think is fitting to OPs article. But allright… I’m the one who’s illiterate.

    • Wooki@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Title rage baited?

      What’s weird is you claim to be a scientist yet don’t understand fundamental social science.

      Any scientist worth their weight has a basic understanding and any effective scientist understands how to use the field to their advantage. He is not wrong at all.

      • HWK_290@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        LOL WUT

        So first off, climate science is data driven. Social politics should play no part in how to interpret the result that shit is getting hotter and people are dying… That’s pure statistics baby

        But in terms of communication, sure, understanding psychology helps. But look where a poor understanding of social psychology got us…

        And social science is not the same as psychology. Social science means integrating diverse perspectives into environmental decision making. Which many in this thread are failing to do

        • Wooki@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          You’re overly ignorant of social science and you’ve shown to have zero understanding of what it is. Statistics are a huge component.

          Climate change is human created and you think we can fix it without the human science. Good luck with that.

          • HWK_290@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            lol no

            Statistics are a summarization of data

            All fields use it.

            A statistic is that the climate will increase more than 1.5 degrees by the end of the century

            How we operationalize that information requires other statistical summaries BUT that does not negate the fact that we have passed a tipping point and people are dying because of it…

            That doesn’t absolve us of action now… Or risk of overstating the threat

            Another statistic is that most people don’t understand statistics

            Signed, an actual fucking statistician

            • Wooki@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Again ignoring the point and proving mine to what, prove an elementary understanding of…statistics? So you don’t understand social science at all. Got it.

              • HWK_290@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Sorry to have disappointed you. I’ll go ahead and tender my resignation later today. I guess I can’t help the planet after all… 😢