The human race now has the technology to explore the vast reaches of space and to investigate the smallest fragments of our DNA. We’ve got supercomputers and theories about everything from the movement of the continents to the composition of the atom. So, why can’t such a technologically advanced culture decide whether climate change is real? Why is Einstein’s complicated theory of relativity widely accepted while climate change is widely debated? Before we can start any real discussions about the causes and consequences of climate change, we first must understand what information is shared and why, and who supports legislation while others fight against it. Here is the true story of the climate change debate.
Climate change is real. As a future geoscience major, I’ve heard it from my professors who have dedicated their lives to studying the Earth. And former vice president Al Gore declared the reality of climate change in 2010. In 2014, the Smithsonian Institution declared that “Scientific evidence has demonstrated that the global climate is warming as a result of increasing levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases generated by human activities”. And a 2022 National Geographic Article summarizes the findings of UN report, approved by 195 governments, which warns climate change is already worse than expected. This report states that, as of the date of the report’s publication, the mean global temperature had already increased by about 1.1 degrees Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit) as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. For a sense of scale, the Paris Climate Agreement hoped to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius and certainly below 2 degrees Celsius. This temperature increase isn’t simply affecting the average daily high temperature as some media outlets would have you believe. The climate change the Earth has already experienced is causing more severe droughts, flooding, and wildfires; melting permafrost and decreasing agricultural activity; and even causing more extreme weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes.
With so many influential voices declaring that climate change is real, why is it still up for debate? Simply put, the American climate denial industry makes nearly a billion dollars a year. In his article “Meet the Money Behind the Climate Denial Movement“, Colin Schultz describes the inner workings of the lucrative climate denial industry. While scientists work to publish their findings supporting climate change, the climate denial industry hires people to deny climate change in books, on tv, and through social media. After completing a study on this industry, Robert Brulle, a Drexel University sociologist, described it as working similarly to a stage play: certain prominent conservative faces deny climate change on tv or in the media and are supported in the background by conservative foundations. In fact, according to Brulle’s study, DonorsTrust, a conservative philanthropic organization and the single largest climate change countermovement funder, donated $78.8 million between 2003 and 2010. Another well-known climate change denier, the Exxon Mobil Foundation, donated $7.2 million over the same period. In total, similar foundations contributed $556.4 million to the climate denial industry. The fact-based arguments of scientists are being overridden by the all-mighty dollar sign.
As the climate change debate continues to rage, well-known actors, celebrities, and producers are beginning to add their voices to the mix. Documentarian and biologist David Attenborough describes how much the Earth has changed in a single lifetime in his documentary “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet“, while Will Smith explores the natural world in his Disney+ shows “One Strange Rock” and “Welcome to Earth“. A People Magazine article “Celebrities Who Care About Climate Change” lists many other famous individuals who are doing their part to protect the Earth, including Lenardo DiCaprio, Jane Fonda, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Rosario Dawson, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, and more. One artist living near Miami, Florida even created signs for the Village of Pinecrest’s residents to show how many feet of ocean rise (between 0-17) would flood their homes in order to increase awareness of the vulnerability of coastline cities.
Awareness of climate change is spreading, and the best way for us to combat the climate denial industry is to share the facts and speak out about climate change whenever and wherever we can. This is my contribution. Members of my family have told me, “We can’t do anything to the Earth that it can’t handle”. And I agree with them, in a sense. The Earth will recover from any climate change we cause; it has seen worse. But that doesn’t mean that we’ll be around to see it. We very well might cause the next mass extinction event. Scientists have even named it the “Anthropocene”, meaning the human epoch, as described in “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” episode 12 hosted by Neil de Grasse Tyson. Climate change is real, and if we continue to believe the nay-sayers, the Earth we call home will be destroyed forever.
It’s not only foundations that are donating money to climate change misinformation, but a lot of companies as well. Climate change research was initially funded by the oil and gas industries, but when they didn’t like the results they tried to hide it and spread confusing information to mislead the public.
Before reading my post, I had no idea that there was a climate denial industry, and the amount of money that this industry is spending is shocking. I think that celebrities have the power to influence the opinions of a large number of people, so it is relieving to hear that so many are speaking up about climate change. I learned a lot from this post, and your point that Earth will recover from climate change but we might not has really stuck with me.
Arguing with climate change deniers becomes harder and harder everyday. We are finally at a point where research is showing without a doubt that humans have drastically increased the effects of climate change. Also having an environmental major I get nervous thinking that my research will be argued by people who have never studied environmental issues. That researchers who dedicate their life to the science have to face backlash. Your post does a great job of showing the many ways we can try and refute the insane theories and misinformation. I look forward to following your blog this semester.
Climate change denial is such an interesting topic because it is so perplexing. I’ve always wondered how someone can believe that climate change doesn’t exist with all of the science and logic proving otherwise. I also liked the chart that you provided, I thought it was really interesting and helpful!