panasonic / climate change, meaningful discussion, updates
George Marshall’s Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change was a nuanced and insightful look into why climate change has become a politically divisive and taboo topic. He recounts conversations he’s had with people across the political spectrum, from dedicated climate scientists to equally dedicated climate deniers. He extends a genuine willingness to understand people, and as a result, is able to pull out what I find very reasonable guidelines for talking about such a complex and pressing issue.
quick notes about overall message
The early climate change narratives focused on tail-pipe emissions, not wellhead production. All following narratives concerning definition of problem, moral responsibility, and policy solutions stem from that framework (ie. focus on individual methods of cutting personal consumption, not on pressing corporations to cut consumption or oil companies to produce less)
We wish to avoid the anxiety it generates and deep changes it requires and put it off into the future because there will always be more pressing day-to-day things to focus our attention on (apparently people with children are less worried about climate change than those without children, perhaps revealing that children serve as a very effective day-to-day distraction from long term issues… but also makes me wonder whether the narrative about “what kind of world are we leaving for our children?” really works)
Many people globally already accept it as a major threat, but currently feel isolated and powerless. They could be mobilized if their concerns and hopes were validated within a community of shared conviction and purpose.
suggestions for more effective discussion
Emphasize that climate change is happening here and now (be wary of creating distance by framing it as a future threat)
People are more motivated to restore lost environmental quality than improve current environmental quality...express it as restoration of past loss (social or environmental)
Recognize moments of proximity that demand political and collective action...create a symbolic moment
Interference of outsiders will likely be counterproductive, building conviction will probably rely on local communities opening up a conversation about long-term preparedness. Preparedness and adaptation are ways for people to accept that climate change is already under way, and enable a conversation about the topic even if it’s politically taboo to discuss climate change as a whole
Not everyone wants to protect the status quo, so a narrative of positive change about how our adaption to climate change can also create a more just and equitable world can be effective
People respond to narratives, not science—follow narrative rules with recognizable actors, motives, causes, and effects
Resist simple framings (is that climate change is simply an environmental issue, a threat, an opportunity, a wellhead problem, a tailpipe problem, or any other oversimplification)
Policy makers can easily become locked into simple one-off solutions that solve more immediate problems...need to ensure that a wide range of solutions is constantly under review (iterative risk management)
Don’t accept your opponent’s frames — don’t negate them, repeat them, or structure your arguments to counter them (ie arguments that the low-carbon economy will bring jobs become vulnerable to evidence that the high-carbon economy might bring more jobs)
There are many common but uncompelling narratives of good vs. bad, right against wrong. We all contribute to this problem and we will all suffer from the consequences
Be careful that enemy narratives do not fuel division
Create a heroic quest in which the enemy might be our own weaknesses rather than a specific outside group
Build a narrative of cooperation that serves to bring people together to work towards a common cause—cooperation, not unity (we do not have to be the same people or necessarily share the same beliefs to work together)
Accept the spectrum of approaches pushing in the same direction even if they do not have the same detailed objectives
Be honest about the danger but encourage positive visions
Activate cooperative values rather than competitive values and stress what we have in common (concerns, goals, a desire for healthy and secure communities, a good future for our children)
Relate solutions to climate change as sources of happiness and how they can strengthen connections we feel with friends, neighbors, and colleagues
Enable communication methods with built-in interaction to create visible social norms. Climate change is not an isolated intellectual exercise, creating communities of shared conviction where people can express doubts and fears can strengthen bonds that enable collective action.
Keep an open mind, be alert to your bias, remember that experts can also be biased, and seek out a wide range of views (debate is useful so learn from your critics).
Learn from religions and the thousands of years of experience in creating sustainable methods of socially held belief
Frame climate change as an informed choice between desirable and catastrophic outcomes. Inaction itself is a choice in favor of more severe climate change
Invoke nonnegotiable scared values that make people motivated to make short-term sacrifices for long-term collective good (religion is incredibly effective at doing this)
Communicators should learn to emphasize the qualities that create trust and tell personal stories, especially if they have arrived at their viewpoint from a position of doubt. Be emotionally honest and talk openly about hopes, fears, and anxieties
Moral consistency is important for trust. Recognize the role of your own emissions, share your own struggle and success in reducing them (if not, you may appear hypocritical…no one is a perfect example, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t trying out best)
Labeling climate change as an environmental issue restricts our ability to understand it—drop the “eco” label…this isn’t about polar bears, saving the planet, or the exclusive cultural domain of environmentalism. Climate change is a social, political, and economic issue that affects and will increasingly affect every component of society, from food security to immigration, from public health to global economies
Close the partisan gap, affirm wider values that make people more willing to accept views that challenge their worldview. Begin by understanding and validating their values first and come up with ways that climate change can speak to those values
Never assume that what works for you will work for others
Mourn what is lost, value what remains
How we respond now will provide the template for future responses—acceptance, compassion, cooperation, and empathy will produce different outcomes than aggression, competition, blame and denial
what will happen in a 4 degree world (written in 2014)
1. Heatwaves — temperatures not seen on Earth in the past 5 million years
2. Extinctions — 40% of plant / animal species will be at risk of extinction. Forests will be especially vulnerable, 1/3 of Asian rainforests under threat, most of Amazon risk burning
3. Food yields — 3 degree rise causes all crops to experience dramatic decline in current growing regions (1/3 in Africa). 4 degree could reduce US production of corn, soybeans, and cotton by 63 to 82 percent
Total melting of Greenland ice sheet and likely the Western Antarctic ice sheet resulting in 32+ ft of sea level rise
World Bank: “No certainty that adaptation might be possible.”
John Schellnhuber: “The difference between two and four degrees is human civilization”
Potential to reach 4 degrees by 2060
Uncertainty is in timeline, not outcome. The key variable is the level of emissions and the speed with which we reduce them
That book was pretty draining to read, but I felt like it did a better job of conveying the underlying causes of political inaction better than any other book or article I’ve have encountered. Unfortunately, it was published in 2014, and I’m not sure that the public sphere has improved much on communicating about the dire consequences of climate change (not the mention that the values and priorities of the current administration didn’t even seem possible in 2014). I am still processing a lot of it and thinking of ways to make broader impact. I’m honestly not sure where to start, but I do want to think of more ways to facilitate conversations of fear, doubt, uncertainty, and general apolitical discussion of this global issue while finding ways to be more involved in the political space. Open to discussion or thoughts—shoot me a message.
other updates
Scored a warehouse deal on a State Bicycle 4130 road bike. Irvine is not the most friendly bike commuting city due to absurdly sprawled city planning, but there are nice trails and I’m making an effort to bike to places within a 3-4 mile radius (to the library, for example). My last bike had a weird single speed gearing ratio and was terribly unpleasant to ride, but this one has been great
Green Dreamer has been an informative / thoughtful / therapeutic podcast to listen to regarding earth issues. The host and guests provide a lot of nuance in discussing issues with a focus on personal wellness. Similarly, Sustainability Defined seeks to elucidate what “sustainability” actually means, and there’s a lot of good insight on that. In general, I find that the oversimplification of climate change in mainstream media frustrating — I know that it’s easier to accept a simple individual solution (ie. avoiding straws, recycling, buying an electric car, reducing meat consumption etc.), but I think there’s still a great gap in the discussion of our planet’s future. That’s not to say simple solutions shouldn’t be encouraged or aren’t impactful, but I think the amount of attention placed on small solutions are diluting a more important discussion—Where are we headed and how will we deal with it?
NPR’s Throughline did a good episode on Hong Kong — worth a listen if you still don’t quite understand what’s going on there. I haven’t been following the news as closely anymore since it’s quite heartbreaking and it feels hopeless, especially when locals describe it as a last stand, but I think it’s still important to understand what’s happening
I’ve never really tried to garden before because I didn’t have a backyard growing up, but a few years after doing an indoor plant research project and also meeting a lovely plant-inclined boy, we attempted a self-watering mobile garden!
Started new job as a Product Manager at User Interviews. I’m really excited by the opportunity to learn more about PM-ing, design, and software engineering, as well as to work with a cool team on a product I find meaningful. It’s also an entirely remote, so I’m pretty happy about my carbon footprint reduction and excited to see where the role takes me
Related to previous point… working on setting up a more ergonomic home office…will share when complete
Still very much constantly in awe of the beauty of California sunsets
Saw Whitney live — Light Upon the Lake was the soundtrack to my summer 2016 and they did not disappoint
reflection questions
What is something that’s been falling down your priorities list that you want to prioritize again?
What are ways you want to engage with your local community?