Feb. 22, 2007
Global Warming: It's All In Your Head
It's Not A Question Of Facts, But Perceptions, Says CBSNews.com's Dick Meyer
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There's big news on climate change: Global warming is all in your head. The thing is, that's bad news for the planet.
How so? Well, as much as you would like to think that your opinions on the risks and realities of climate change are based entirely on your rational and purely objective assessments of scientific evidence, they aren't. They are shaped by primordial human brain wiring and anthropological patterns of behavior.
The most basic "facts" of climate change are what they are and the disputes on those basics are relatively narrow in the scientific world. How people perceive those "facts" — the threats or non-threats they inspire — varies wildly and for entirely nonfactual, emotional reasons. (Interestingly, the most animated disputes generally are poorly informed battles allegedly about what the facts are.) And if you aren't prepared to entertain that notion, this column will irritate you immensely.
So what is it that makes some human brains dismiss or ignore global warming and others, far fewer, feel worried, threatened and called to action? Answering this question properly is probably far more important to future behavior and policy than endless arguments about how hot it will be in Cincinnati in 2077.
Charles Darwin explains a lot of this. Global warming simply does not present the kinds of stimuli that the human nervous system evolved to respond to in order to survive threats from bears, lightning, rolling boulders and mean cavemen.
Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist who wrote "Stumbling on Happiness," summed up evolutionary psychology's perspective by noting how global warming lacked four traits "the human brain evolved to respond to."
First, the threat is not human and we "social mammals" are especially sensitive to dangers from other humans — and dangers that are intentional (terrorism) rather than accidental (floods). Similarly, homo sapiens respond with greater instinctive power to threats that violate group sensibilities or "moral emotions;" global warming doesn't spawn visceral feelings (for most) of something "indecent, impious or repulsive."
Third and most obvious, the threat of global warming is far, far away, not immediate, not something that makes you duck or twitch. In fact, a person really has to use the analytic brain hunks to get in a global warming lather, not the affective or emotional mechanisms that detect common threats and risks. As another scholar said, "risk is a feeling." Statistics and reports don't enter the brain through feeling portals. So after Hurricane Katrina, polling found concern about global warming ticked up.
Similarly, climate change is gradual. Indeed it is invisible; there are no "affective" sights and sounds to switch on the neurological special alert system — no infernos, poxes, pests and plagues.
The problem with the Darwinian angle here is that it doesn't explain why some human brains do feel threatened and worried by global warming and some don't. The biggest variable here is probably simple anthropology: as social mammals, we use the group to survive and thus tend to share the beliefs of our own group.
In modern society, groups are intangible and amorphous; they aren't discrete tribes gathering walnuts and spearing bison. Group ties are as often emotional or even ideological as geographic or even familial. You may identify, with varying degrees of self-consciousness, as a Catholic, a Green, a Jew, a small businessman, an African-American, a geek, a recovering alcoholic, a Republican, a liberal, a lesbian, an Italian-American, a Blue Blood, a Texan, an artist or a stamp collector. Most people cross-pollinate.
But these group affiliations are likely to be a strong determinant of your feelings about global warming (feelings you will call a "position"). Do you think global warming is an urgent problem because you are a Democrat or are you a Democrat because you think global warming is an urgent problem? Some variant of the former is most likely, I'm sorry to report.
Scandinavians and Germans have been the most alarmed and politically active about global warming. Why? Diet? Too much existentialism?
Compared to other countries, Americans display an unusually large disconnect in describing themselves as environmentalists by being broadly unwilling to support voluntary restraints and vigorous laws and regulations. (This comes from a paper called "The American Paradox" by Dale Jamieson of New York University, part of a fascinating collection of papers on "Global Warming: The Psychology of Long-Term Risk" in the July 2006 edition of a journal called, "Climactic Change.")
Group identification not only orients specific positions but what might be called the distribution of alarm. Elke Weber, also writing in "Climactic Change," notes that societies have a "finite pool of worry." Neither a group nor an individual can stay at red alert about terrorism, salmonella, bird flu, identity theft and global warming. We don't prioritize threats and risks rationally; we do it emotionally and through the genius or dumbness of crowds.
On top of all this very cool psycho-babble are some common-sense factors that keep global warming from triggering our inner worry monkeys. It's a hard problem to solve; OK, the world is warming, but it's not like you can go out and buy a Glock, duct tape or Cipro and do anything. Global warming is also the classic other guys' problem: leave it for the next generation; let the Chinese cut their pollution then we'll talk. It is also susceptible to optimism: American ingenuity will fix it.
"Global warming is a deadly threat precisely because it fails to trip the brain's alarm, leaving us soundly asleep in a burning bed," Daniel Gilbert wrote.
Scientists, economists and "ists" of all sorts have probably done all they can do to trigger our humanoid alarm systems. American politicians will probably hurt, not help. Bizarre and inconvenient as it sounds, effective and affective warnings and information about global warming will likely come from novelists, moviemakers and comedians.
Dick Meyer is the editorial director of CBSNews.com, based in Washington.
E-mail questions, comments, complaints, arguments and ideas to
Against the Grain. We will publish some of the interesting (and civil) ones, sometimes in edited form.
By Dick Meyer
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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See all 104 CommentsAll we can do on an individual basis is recycle or buy new light bulbs. All we can expect are higher taxes to make the Rich People even richer. We have learned what we have down here, and we just try to deal with it. So stick that in your bottom, Darwin.
The only ones who feel worried, threatened and called to action are liberal democrats who hate America and are more worried about how the world views us. If they really cared about global warming, they would direct their ire to the worst offenders - like China.
Thank you for this article. This is something I think about every day.
Why do most humans choose to live with their heads in the sand? How do we get through their barrier of denial, and get them to see the facts rather than just repeat their internal fiction? How do we inspire them to take control of their lives, instead of pointing the finger and claiming that it is someone else's fault or responsibility?
Why can't people see what they are doing to themselves and all life on the planet? Will they wake up before it is too late?
er bigwhtpony, do you have rabies? 'Cos it sure sounds like you do with your expression of such a hilariously paranoid and extraordinarily illogical and ignorant position.
By the way, our governor ( yes, a Republican idiot) has decided to allow the utility companies to build 12 ( count 'em---12 ) new coal burning plants. Trust me, Texas aint gonna get any cooler anytime soon.
Good luck in your state.
If you think that's absurd then watch Al Gore's "An Inconsistent Truth"
Interesting, so you acknowledge the validity that human behavior is causing global warming, but you refuse to take responsibility for our share of the probem - whatever happened to the idea that conservatives are the champions of personal responsibility? And you won't even ask your government to hold India and China accountable for their contribution,...but you support our invading Iraq to spread democracy. Apparently, its our job to make the world see things our way in that department...hmmmm....sounds kinda hypocritical, don't you think?
Intelligent people are worried about Global Warming!
They read, investigate the scientific analysis, and form wise decisions.
Those who refuse to acknowledge the threat do not.
tejasdemo get your head outta your *** and and smell the
coffee because you obviously want to preach your the demoncrats bogus hippie *** with your such kind of a responce to bigwhtponys comment because by saying that you obviously want to tell your liberalistic side of things what? do you believe al GORE wants to help help the american people recognize what might be happening to the world. you cannot believe that the north pole has melted in 5 yrs because thats what al gore thinks if he actually cared about our planet he would have gotten involved in it WAYYYY long ago but have you noticed that he started this crock of *** runaround around the time that he lost to bush so thats a giveaway that he is only in it for publicity and his own good and have you saw that he blames the right for our "world meltdown" because he "wants to warn the american public and fill us when knowledge about our "epidemic"" but what he wants to really fill is his *** pocketbook
Yes, what is it that makes the human brain dismiss global warming? It is actually amazing the difference in people's brains. Take my husband's brain and mine for instance. I know that there is dust in the air that we breath and that there are all these tiny little bugs that crawl over our bodies and in our beds. For my husband, if he can't see it, it doesn't exist. (I hope he doesn't read this) There are alot of people out there like that. I am not saying that he doesn't believe that there is global warming, he is just too lazy to do anything about it. And there is the other reason why people CHOOSE not to believe in global warming, because if they admit it, it means they might have to do something about it.
It%u2019s interesting that most of the blame in the report goes to humans. For example the ice cap on Mars is shrinking too (increased solar activity). We have been coming out of an ice age for the last 10,000 years and this is just a continuance. The warmer we get the more bacterial growth there is, more bacteria more heat and CO2, methane etc%u2026 They say that bacterial mass on this plant, above and below the ground, is more then equal to all other life combined.
So why do we blame humans? Simple, the earth and the sun don%u2019t care and will cough up a dime. Talk about buying scientists!!
France for example is working on the first operational Fusion (not fission) reactor and needs billions of euros to complete/test. Promoting fear is the best way panic people into parting with their hard earned money. Could it be France/Europe have an interest in fanning the global panic?
i would be willing to bet that alot of the reason that the colorado river is drying up is because of urban sprawl. many more people are living in larger and larger urban areas and they all want their pools, fountains, and hot tubs full of water. for proof, check out this link
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=1661
This is me.
http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/
Read that, then post factual reasons why it is not correct. Not your feelings, not a story about how cold it was in your city last week, etc. I dare say there will be no takers....
This uniquely human trait seems to have become vestigal in humankind. It's a shame, we need it.
Of course, there are other abstract threats we can't reconcile to. For 50 years we've been dealing with the specter of nuclear proliferation. We can't deal, day-to-day, with the idea of annihilation.
But another unique power the human being has, the power to use thought in tandem with tools to alter our environment for the better, is the only thing that's gonna save us from a very unpleasant future.
The total distrust of the MEDIA, the real reasons of why politicians say and do what they do and big business making up the lies to make money out of it, as they do in many things....
Good example is petrol, we must change to unleaded, and the unleaded is suposed to be far worse for cancer than the leaded was...
SO we are now immune to what we are told....
So people who attack the media consequently also have a hostility to free expression and democracy. For an example, look at the Republicans for the last 13 years. They hate the media, and they also seek to cripple our Constitution.
(I also was of this opinion back when most media critics were liberals, when were on a crusade against chauvinism and violence on TV. )
There are many scientists against humans being the cause of global warming but of course the media doenst print it.. Yes the cliamet has changed and it will again without anything being done from us look up ...SATELLITES REVEAL A MYSTERY OF LARGE CHANGE IN EARTH'S GRAVITY FIELD ...August 01, 2002 - (date of web publication) and
But how do we square the fact that almost every planet in our solar system is simultaneously undergoing temperature change and volatile weather patterns. Does this not suggest that global warming is a natural cycle as a result of the evolving nature of the sun? Can Al Gore fill me in on this one?
- Space.com: Global Warming on Pluto Puzzles Scientists
In what is largely a reversal of an August announcement, astronomers today said Pluto is undergoing global warming in its thin atmosphere even as it moves farther from the Sun on its long, odd-shaped orbit.
- Space.com: New Storm on Jupiter Hints at Climate Change
The latest images could provide evidence that Jupiter is in the midst of a global change that can modify temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit on different parts of the globe.
Second, why do we believe that the complete cause of this change is man made? Does that not seem a bit simplistic and naive? There was an ice age just a few thousand years ago, did that end because of man? What about the plant burried under the ice caps? The climate is always changing, why do we have to make it someone's fault?
I figure it is like most things in life, it is what you make of it. If you want it to be the end of the world, then maybe it will be, if you look for the good that can come of it and capitalize on that, well then you come out ahead.
Hey! I'm gonna be ground up into hot dogs tomorrow, but I've always wanted to see the inside of a slaughterhouse!
A study of the ice caps on Mars may show that the red planet is experiencing a warming trend. If both Mars and Earth are
experiencing global warming, then perhaps there is a larger phenomenon going on in the Solar System that is causing their global climates to change.
- United Press International: NASA looks at a monster storm on Saturn
NASA says its Cassini spacecraft has found a hurricane-like storm at Saturn's South Pole, nearly 5,000 miles across -- or two-thirds Earth's diameter.
- Science Agogo: Global Warming Detected on Triton
There may not be much industrial pollution on Neptune's largest moon, but things are hotting up nonetheless. "At least since 1989, Triton has been undergoing a period of global warming," confirms astronomer James Elliot, professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Percentage-wise, it's a very large increase."
- Associated Press: Study says sun getting hotter
Solar radiation reaching the Earth is 0.036 percent warmer than it was in 1986, when the current solar cycle was beginning, a researcher reports in a study to be published Friday in the journal Science. The finding is based on an analysis of satellites that measure the temperature of sunlight.
We all know that trees are the lungs of the earth so it stands to reason that as we are making CO2 far more than before plus we are cutting down trees that abosrb the CO2's at an alarming rate that we ae going to have an imbalance. It would be logical for governments to replanting forests or plant trees in deserts like Israel did, or where land the land is at this stage useful. . However in having said this, we have to realise that scientists also say that the sun is heating up, along with Satellite data since 1998 indicates the bulge in the Earth's gravity field at the equator is growing, and scientists think that the ocean may hold the answer to the mystery of how the changes in the trend of Earth's gravity are occurring.
Before 1998, Earth's equatorial bulge in the gravity field was getting smaller because of the post-glacial rebound, or PGR, that occurred as a result of the melting of the ice sheets after the last Ice Age. When the ice sheets melted, land that was underneath the ice started rising. As the ground rebounded in this fashion, the gravity field changed.
"The Earth behaved much like putting your finger into a sponge ball and watching it slowly bounce back," said Christopher Cox, a research scientist supporting the Space Geodesy Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. this is from the Goddard space flight center.
August 01, 2002 - (date of web publication)
So the fact that that homosapians survived an ice age says little about what happened to many of its members. Many froze to death.
So here we sit. People who don't really believe in science or evolution now tell us that we'll evolve and adapt to global warming. Interesting perspective.
Perhaps we should use our evolved brain and try to innovate solutions. I find it ineresting that folks who argue against global warming science don't have confidence in the same human brains that took us to the moon. They think its too costly. Perhaps they should see this as an opportunity for the US to lead once again.
Or maybe they will just build more boats and prepare to adapt to the next flood God sends us.
You are ALL over the map with your posts, and most have nothing to do with the subject at hand.
The issue is fairly simple: the temperature of the earths atmosphere is increasing. And that increase is primarily caused by greenhouse gases created by humans. Why is that so hard to grasp?
The green lines in your text editor are "grammar check". The idea is to get rid of the green lines, not accumulate them. Since you can't put a sentence together naturally we're going to trust your opinion on the fate of civilizaiton as we know it.
Early man learned that while a river makes an efficient sewage system, you better put the bathrooms down stream from your drinking water.
Man's waste products have always created a danger for his survival. This is no different.
I'm sure some of our ancestors didn't believe that taking a dump up stream caused illness down stream ... many died as a result. Some earlier "scientists" figured it out and moved the bathroom.
However, Mr. Meyer may be on to something. The lack of an immediate "in your face" type of threat makes it a difficult sell for many people. The average citizen does not think beyond this week, much less years down the road...
Follow the money indeed.
It is interesting to note that most of the "denial" side of this issue has been created and funded by Exxon Mobil and other big energy companies. This is well documented. Global warming skeptics have been manipulated by a well organized and funded campaign.
I'm with you.
And the fact that the danger isn't immediate helps those getting rich continue to delay action of any kind. They have no incentive to find new energy sources. Why should they.
They'll have money to build boats. The rest of us are on our own ... and we better start evolving.
THERE WILL BE A HUGE PEACE RALLY IN WASHINGTON ON MARCH 17. 41 STATES HAVE ORGANIZATIONS CHARTERING BUSES ETC. IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THE CAUSE GO TO www.impeachbush.org
Posted by dallison7 at 04:03 PM : Feb 22, 2007
National sovereignty? Democracy? Forget it: global warming has now brought the Left closer to global government, statism, and the eradication of individual rights than it has ever been before.
Yes there is definitely a change in the weather, and whether it will keep going and get worse or whether in a couple of years our climate will switch back, just like we have seen since the 1940's, or get much colder no one knows as there are other causes other than CO2's for climate change which the media does not talk about, thus my posts which I suggest you go back and read again...
There is also another cause as I have said before, the sun is also heating up. Mars may be in the midst of a period of profound climate change, according to a new study that shows dramatic year-to-year losses of snow at the south pole, and it is melting away at an alarming rate.
..plus..To determine the Sun's role in global warming, Dr Solanki's research team measured magnetic zones on the Sun's surface known as sunspots, which are believed to intensify the Sun's energy output.
There is an 18 page summary of the 2007 report by the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) at the following link.
http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/
Post some factual reasons why it is not correct.
That is why I am not posting hairbrained ideas like you are :)
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