Atmosphere of Doubt

     Why has it become so easy to deny something so factually significant as anthropogenic climate change? Over the years, it seems as though denying climate change, and acknowledging the source, is becoming harder and harder, but millions of Americans still hold tight to denial. In order to grasp onto to this question, one must look at the science of why we don't believe the science.
    First off, Everyone posses different cultural worldviews, and therefore, fear different risks whether they be big government or too much freedom. Secondly, reasoning, like it or not, is suffused with emotion and reasoning often follows initial emotional responses to new information. Especially with climate change, many are too emotionally invested in their current beliefs, their beliefs make up much of their personal identity and way of life, that learning about global climate change often triggers a fight or flight response internally. Because of this, often times learning more about the issue does not increase empathy people have for the environment and for others, it often only further solidifies their denial. In terms of political parties and various religions, different groups will almost always interpret ambiguous information differently, they look at the same data, but formulate completely different conclusions based on their own perspectives. Also, the reality that culture absolutely matters in science does not make the situation any easier to comprehend. Overall, it seems that because of the immense gravity of the situation of the effects of human caused global warming, many have an inexhaustible list of reasons to deny it, because accepting the truth would shatter their core beliefs. This is why trying to convince a skeptic about the realities of climate change is impossible, unless the truth is conveyed with love and understanding and repetition is involved.
     It is extremely difficult to convince someone who has already made up their mind that anthropogenic climate change is happening. In order to have a fighting chance, we must be very tactful in how we go about trying to change their minds. Because emotion is so connected to human reasoning, our arguments must be lead by values in order to give the facts chance. We must also make the conversation personal to the individual so that a cultivation of empathy can take place. Above all, if skeptics don't hear what they need to hear from someone they respect, like a business, political or religious leader, then, no matter how well thought it is, the message will fall on deaf ears.


The following is a example of a tactful approach of convincing Conservative Christians the reality of global climate change:


          -Their argument- God wouldn't let something as devastating as global climate change to happen to the earth he created.
          -Response- Because of the existence of free will, God allows us to make our own decisions and live the consequences, he is not a puppet master.


          -Their argument- Human's can't stop the inevitable, like the end of days (judgment day) from occurring.
          -Response- The Bible does not approve of letting the world burn.
                            Caring for the environment goes hand in hand with caring for the poor, as Jesus commands us aging and again in the Gospels to do.


          -Their argument- As conservatives, we look to hold onto our way of life and keep the status quo.
          -Response- Conservation is conservative. What's more conservative than preserving our natural  resources to make sure we have enough for the future?

On Care for Our Common Home

     Over the years, Popes have issued a variety encyclicals which convey major themes in the Catholic socials teachings which cut straight to the heart of the question, what does it mean to live as a Christian at this time, in this place and with these sets of challenges? From On the Condition of labor during the industrial revolution to Peace on Earth during the cold war and atomic era, Popes, and the Catholic Church, have used worldwide events as vehicles to portray their message to the world-lessons on how to overcome such hardships humanity has faced in the past and will face in the future. Now, the newest, and arguably the most daunting problem looms before us, the degradation of out common home.
     Not only is it the Earth herself that is suffering under the hands of oppression and greed, but the poor too are finding it more challenging to live a dignified life. It is time for us to stop simply giving aid to those in need and ask ourselves, why are so many people in need in the first place, and, does this need stem from what humanity is doing to the environment? Today, it seems that too many Catholics and Christians alike have failed at trying to keep as little contradiction as possible between their beliefs and their lifestyles. As people of faith, to be disciples of Jesus Christ, we have to be concerned, and therefor willing to do something, about the poor. We can't go on any longer pretending that the fundamental principles like life and dignity of every human person and care for God's creation aren't applicable to todays atmosphere. When such denying occurs, we begin to loose our identity as Christians. It is imperative, now more than ever, for Christians to know where their values are coming from, to know what is guiding their ship, because if not we'll just be swept away with the social tide of indifference and apathy. With the future so uncertain and bleak, it is only becoming more and more crucial that we fall back on such teachings as the seven core themes that the Catholic Church urges us to live by.

Climate Science

     The science behind climate change cannot only involve one scientific field of study. It requires the gathering and pooling of data from a multitude of studies from a large number of scientists located throughout the world. More recently, the reality of human caused global warming has pushed the scientific community to step back from their specific fields of research and look at the big picture of what their findings mean to better understand Earth's global processes. Such pooling of data has lead to the formation of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), which covers "the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation" (UNFCCC, web). Whether or not one believes the UNFCCC holds true promise for stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, it's hard to deny that such gathering of scientific research is, for lack of another word, exciting.
      To see such worldwide cooperation among the scientific community gives hope to those that cannot find it among the world's leading policy makers. With so much of the scientific community agreeing on what is causing such a dramatic change in global temperature, us, what is now needed is leadership. Leadership in the form of grassroot movements that will catch fire to the extent that the global leaders who failed us in Copenhagen will not be able to shrug off the inevitable. In order for us to work toward a resilient future, we must start making the hard decisions about how we are going to deal with global warming now.
     
    

DoD Roadmap

     With climate change threatening to reduce the availability of the most basic resources in the most unstable regions of the world, it's easy to understand why the United States Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a Climate Change Adaption Roadmap. It seems that now, more than ever, "Climate change represents a foreign policy issue," because of this, "foreign policy must become part of the solution to the problems thrown up by climate change" (Beck, 2). My focus of interest in this course concerns such foreign policy that the United States military has and is continuing to put forth concerning the national and global security threats that Climate Change has, and is predicted to cause.
     In November 2006, the British foreign minister Margaret Beckett stated that "wars fought over limited resources - land, drinking water, oil - are as old as human history" (Beck, 2). As these resource become scarcer, due to both an increasing population and global climate change, tension is building and the risk of future violence brought on by civil unrest is growing by the day. The 2014 Climate Change Adaption Roadmap details how climate change affects the DoD's operations, how the department will adapt to and mitigate climate change threats, and how the department will coordinate with other entities addressing climate change. The following is an excerpt from the Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's forward, which focuses on the uncertainty of the future and how it does not deter the military from taking action towards adapting and mitigating climate change impacts:


A changing climate will have real impacts on our military and the way it executes its missions. This military could be called upon more often to support civil authorities, and provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the face of more frequent and more intense natural disaster. Our coastal installations are vulnerable to rising sea levels and increased flooding, while droughts, wildfires, and more extreme temperatures could threaten many of our training activities. Our supply change could be impacted, and we will need to ensure our critical equipment works under more extreme weather conditions. Weather has always affected military operations, and as the climate changes, the way we execute may be altered or constrained.


While scientists are converging toward consensus on future climate projections, uncertainty remains. But this cannot be and excuse for delaying action. Every day, our military deals with global uncertainty. Our planners know that, as military strategist Carl von Clausewitz wrote, "All action must, to a certain extent, be planned in a mere twilight."


It is in this context that DoD is releasing a Climate Change Adaption Roadmap. Climate change is a long-term trend, but with wise planning and risk mitigation now, we can reduce adverse impacts downrange.

UNFCCC

       The history of the UNFCCC has shown us little promise for the future in respect to world leaders coming together and agreeing on a binding accord to drastically reduce global carbon emissions. Whether it was Copenhagen in 2009 or twenty years ago, world powers have fumbled at the chance to enact positive change in response to the Anthropocene based global warming that looms overs us. Like Anjali Appadurai, the United Nations Climate Conference has been negotiating long before most in this class were born (Klein, 5). Copenhagen especially "was a fiasco because environmentalists were hopeful that our leaders would do the right thing" (McKibben, 7).
       Now is the time to take a different approach to the dilemma which we all face. Instead of relying on the leaders of nations to make the right decision, large grass-root movements need to emerge (and continue emerging) crying out for change. "To the extent Paris matters, its success will depend not on the character of our leaders but on how much a resurgent climate movement has softened up the fossil fuel industry, and much pressure the politicians feel to deliver something" (McKibben, 1). More and more policy windows have been presenting themselves due to the increasing existence of unprecedented extreme weather patterns and natural disasters. What is needed is for environmental movements to cultivate empathy toward nature and the environment on a global scale. I believe this can be accomplished through the arts and through religion (for example the Pope's latest encyclical). Once empathy exists, anger will be fostered toward global climate change and those who have dragged their feet while it enlarges. This anger, I believe will be the key to increase the pressure that politicians already feel to take the steps toward stopping the damage we are causing our home, in order for positive change to ensue and a brighter future to exist.