Scaring, guilting and/or shaming individuals is commonly perceived to be the most effective way to motivate them to engage in climate action here on Twitter. But as I explain here, such approaches backfire more often than they succeed.
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Prof. Katharine Hayhoe
@KHayhoe
Climate Scientist, Chief Scientist , Prof , Champion of the Earth , Climate Ambassador , Mom . Tweets 100% mine.
Prof. Katharine Hayhoe’s Tweets
Scientists map milkweed plants in Canada as #MonarchButterflies only lay their eggs on its leaves. If you want to help, comment with your photos and information below. ⬇️
#MonarchBlitz #CdnSci
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#Alaska’s Bristol Bay region produces more wild salmon than anywhere else on Earth. The Indigenous caretakers of Bristol Bay—the Yup’ik, Dena’ina and Alutiiq people—continue to maintain a way of life sustained in part by these healthy salmon populations: nature.ly/3zMPKmJ
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Ten years ago, this only applied to people who reject the science of climate change. Now, it applies just as much to people who are very worried about climate change - and while I completely sympathise with the fear that drives us, turning on each other is not the answer 😰
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I don't block people for what they say: I block them for how they say it.
If someone can't express their opinion without being rude or mean, or without ridiculing, smearing, or misrepresenting me or someone else who's trying their best, then I don't want it in my timeline.
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Reading this week. Two completely different themes and genres, with oddly cohesive titles. and #Climate #MontyPython
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What’s causing so much climate “doomism” out there?
A few guesses:
< a thread 🧵 >
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I can't think of any climate scientists who think we're doomed.
Can you?
Because I see countless comments suggesting there's zero point in action.
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Fascinated that this article doesn't mention climate change but does say the coal industry contributed to the flooding through strip mining and mountaintop removal.
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Floods wiped out homes and businesses in a part of Kentucky that includes seven of the 100 poorest counties in the nation. newscentermaine.com/article/news/n
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Can faith and science coexist? Scientist shares how faith led her to take action. This week, the #USofAnxiety wants to know: What has motivated you to take action against climate change in your own life? We also speak to .
Listen tonight at 6 PM on WNYC.
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And to those who say, “doomerism will wake people up!” I have some important information: the vast majority of people are already worried, but only a tiny fraction are activated. More doom won’t do it: they need rational hope powered by efficacy. For more, read this thread:
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What we most lack is "efficacy" - the simple belief that if I/we do something, I/we can make a difference. And how does efficacy grow? By understanding both the personal (not distant or remote) risk of climate impacts and the role each of us can play in catalyzing climate action.
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We need to push back just as strongly on doomerism as we do on denial because they both accomplish exactly the same thing: inaction. As says, “we are only ever as doomed as we believe ourselves to be.”
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Personally I don’t know one single climate scientist that is not scared, worried, anxious about our future. But that doesn’t mean we are doomed.
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At the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial, Washington DC
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I am stunned by how bad this article is, and how irresponsible and self-promoting the scientist selling his new book is.
Public energy on climate action is a finite resource, and performative fatalists are sapping it to ramp up book sales.
archive.ph/wip/0awAe
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“Gaia, as I see her, is no doting mother […]. She is stern and tough, always keeping the world warm and comfortable for those who obey the rules, but ruthless in her destruction of those who transgress.” James Lovelock on People and Planet
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A climate 🧵.
Are you wondering why and how #climatechange can worsen /both/ floods and droughts?
Here's a short explainer:
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#floods #droughts
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"... but the 1930s were warmer." A common refrain from climate change deniers. Here's a map showing where the 1930s (1930-1939) were warmer than the 2010s (2010-2019) using NASA GISTEMP data. Areas in orange were warmer in the 1930s.
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I don’t know who needs to hear this (the entire climate movement apparently) but you can be glad that some good climate stuff has been proposed AND critical of the way this bill mostly cuts out frontline communities and ignores the timeline of the climate crisis at the same time
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"They need to be worried," we think, so we dump even more fear-based information (most of it relating to things that are far away in time or space or relevance). Then we wonder why this increases psychological distance & doesn't encourage long-term action.
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And to those who say, “doomerism will wake people up!” I have some important information: the vast majority of people are already worried, but only a tiny fraction are activated. More doom won’t do it: they need rational hope powered by efficacy. For more, read this thread:
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What we most lack is "efficacy" - the simple belief that if I/we do something, I/we can make a difference. And how does efficacy grow? By understanding both the personal (not distant or remote) risk of climate impacts and the role each of us can play in catalyzing climate action.
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We need to push back just as strongly on doomerism as we do on denial because they both accomplish exactly the same thing: inaction. As says, “we are only ever as doomed as we believe ourselves to be.”
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Actual climate scientists are clear: we are *not* doomed. It is *not* too late.
We can stop climate change, and have already done a lot of work to do so.
Don’t listen to the “it’s too late” nonsense. It’s not true, and is intended to scare you — not inform you.
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Your regular reminder that, no, we are not all doomed, and climate meltdown can be stopped.
But it’s up to us, and depends on how fast we can take action to cut emissions. We’ve made some progress in recent years, but still have a long way to go: nature.com/articles/d4158
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"This bill is a compromise.... It is also a historic achievement for the climate left & a tribute to both its moral fervor & its political realism. Climate is a top-shelf political concern b/c it has been pushed there" – w/ an excellent take
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Yikes, . You’ve done some great work but boosting inaccurate defeatism is both bad for public trust and harmful for climate action. If it’s unavoidable, why are the scientific and activist communities working our butts off to stop it? Why not boost those voices instead?
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This statement is entirely untrue and extremely unhelpful, especially on the verge of breakthrough climate legislation that can limit planetary warming below the 1.5C/3F danger limit.
Says Expert.
(see: washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/0 & @CoveringClimate: coveringclimatenow.org/event/press-br)
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fossil fuels are driving increases in the price of electricity. more evidence that fossil fuels are an economic disaster in addition to being an environmental disaster.
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If you put solar ☀️ panels on your house, your neighbors are far more likely to put solar panels on theirs, too. That’s the power of “behavioral contagion." Here's how Dr. Katharine Hayhoe () says it could help save the planet:
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We published a fascinating story the other day about how wastewater is a significant source of nitrogen pollution because people eat so much protein. This is a thread about harassment (1/x)
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How climate change affects heat waves & eight ways they affect us:
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How does climate change affect heatwaves? A thread.
1 - As the planet warms, extreme heat now begins earlier in the year and stretches later. In the 1960s, the US heatwave season was about 25 days. By the 2010s, it was nearly 70 days. Source: epa.gov/climate-indica
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While a severe 2022 #marineheatwave is affecting the #Mediterranean Sea, what are the lessons learnt from past #MHW?
1⃣ Tens of sessile species belonging to diverse groups (corals, sponges, algae...) can be affected by mass mortality events,.... will new ones enlarge the list?
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Flood #3 on #Stevanna Way today. Unbelievable. Three floods in 6 days. #flagstaff #flood #Flagfireflood
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"Both [MO & KY] flood disasters were 1-in-1000 yr rain events triggered by the same atmospheric setup. They exemplify the dangerous weather scientists think will become more common as the Earth warms." Good explainer by 's
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Climate change is super-sizing extreme rainfall that can lead to devastating floods such as those in KY & MO this week. has quantified the human fingerprint in many previous extreme rainfall events. See: worldweatherattribution.org
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“the “knowledge deficit paradigm” made us approach climate change […] as if they were STEM issues. But they are worldview issues. And the most advanced tool we have to change worldviews—to transform people’s attitudes, values, and structures of perception—is called the story”
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Why Children’s Stories Are a Powerful Tool to Fight Climate Change yesmagazine.org/opinion/2022/0
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As the Northwest heat wave stretches on, I talked to about the importance of avoiding maladaptation as we try to cool ourselves down (with a special shoutout to heat pumps!).
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Talking about #climatechange can be daunting. Learn from Dr. Katharine Hayhoe on how we can connect with others and how we can solve it together. 🤝youtu.be/ew-1b03SX9o
#activism
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"It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F), without immediate & deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.” – #IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Jim Skea
#ClimateReport: Mitigation of #ClimateChange ➡️bit.ly/WGIIIpr22
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