By Institute for Energy Research —— Bio and Archives July 22, 2020
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Mann said there has been a pretty dramatic move away from denialism toward what he calls “the other Ds.” With outright denial no longer tenable, the “forces of inaction” have turned to delay and deflection. But there’s another D as well, at the opposite extreme from denial, that worries him almost as much: Doomerism.
Doomist narratives … are now starting to appear in respected, mainstream venues…. It is important to be up front about the risks of unmitigated climate change … [b]ut there is also a danger in overstatement that presents the problem as unsolvable and future outcomes as inevitable. …. Importantly, fear does not motivate, and appealing to it is often counter-productive as it tends to distance people from the problem, leading them to disengage, doubt and even dismiss it.And now Schatz reports in Michael Mann Fought Climate Denial. Now He’s Fighting Climate Doom:
Mann rattled off a list of steps the White House is taking to undo progress on the climate…. Just about the time he was starting to sound like a true doomer himself, however, he brightened. “But I’m convinced that that is not a permanent obstacle.”Mann tweeted on June 12th when the profile piece was published, which led to this response:
I’m wondering what the difference is between “climate doom”, and realism based on scientific data? Legitimate scientific papers from the 80s and 90s concluded, “we have ten years left to address climate change, before it’s too late”. These weren’t fringe articles, but rather, genuine peer-reviewed papers in recognised scientific journals. So…are these papers suddenly no longer valid? Why is someone who reads these, and concludes that it’s too late, called a “doomer”? Honest question.
You busted a troubled narrative. Climate exaggeration has been mainstream for decades, and it is now alarming the alarmists.Revisiting the tweet on July 5th, these comments appear removed. The other side not only refuses to debate, they do not take tough questions. As Mann stated in another tweet: “All of the noise right now from the climate change denial machine, the bots & trolls, the calls for fake ‘debates’, etc. Ignore it all…. Report, block. Don’t engage.”
Yes, one can find examples of when individual scientists or politicians have exaggerated the impacts of climate change. But to present those examples as if they are mainstream views, when they are not, is very misleading.To which I responded:
I also must ask my critics who profess to dislike scientific exaggeration. Where are you when the big names exaggerate to spew climate alarmism? Where is the real-time rebuttal to Al Gore, John Holdren, Paul Ehrlich, Joe Romm, Rajendra Pachauri, and many others?
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