http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/cold-comfort-the-psychology-of-climate-denial-20091202-k5r8.html
I always find it fascinating how people could deny the fact that global warming is occurring all around us. Just last week, the weather went from being 60 degrees and sunny to being 30 degrees and snowing in just a day. That was never a natural progression of the weather in the past, but these days it is growing increasingly common, just one sign of global warming showing its face. But still, many people sit there and deny the fact.
According to this article, there are simple psychological explanations for this denial. First, people do not want to believe in something that causes them to change their routines which have become a source of comfort. Scientists say to travel and consume less to save the planet, yet we have all grown up being told through the media that the path to happiness rests in consumption. Also, a human instinct is to shut out the terrifying truth that "the world as we know it is heading for a smash." These explanations act as defense mechanisms, allowing us to resist terrifying truths which directly affect us. Taking this all into consideration, I now view people's denial of global warming as slightly more reasonable.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Interesting insight. I always just thought it was for economic reasons that people chose to ignore it. i.e. if we really accepted the facts and implications of climate change we would have to significantly alter our lifestlye and give up a lot of energy-inefficient luxuries. It's enlightening to read about the psychological mechanisms as well.
ReplyDeleteEric