Is it possible that living in California, for so many years now, has shielded me from the harsh reality?
Because of where I live and what I do, I mostly hang out with people who view climate change and energy dependence as established problems. We usually go straight to discussing the merits of the solutions supposed to ease the crisis.
I realize global warming is not at the top of everybody’s list but I certainly wasn’t expecting skepticism from my mother and mother-in-law, when one day we were casually talking about what it is I do in life … They are smart and educated – one of them is even a biology teacher in high-school – so they represent the very people I thought did not need additional convincing before being compelled to action.
It turns out there is still a lot of skepticism out there
… And that I was quite un-prepared to make a convincing argument at the time!
I think it is because of the diffuse sense of confusion that plagues environmental sustainability. You can read two articles with completely opposite recommendations and still not be able to decide which one you truly support.
A practical guide to talking with skeptics about climate change & energy dependence
Since then I have taken the time to organize my thoughts and here is what I should have said!
Both parts provide the fundamentally non-negotiable facts of the climate & energy crisis we will need to bear in mind as we examine the solutions proposed today to lead us towards a happy 2050.
If you feel like an environmental evangelist today, I hope you’ll find it useful!
January 31st, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Bravo!
I am definitely not part of the skeptics, but i watched your videos with great enthusiasm and can’t wait to get into core issues.
Stéph.
March 8th, 2009 at 3:50 am
hi!
Fully agree within your approach however it would be better to provide more argument. I’ve seen the Al Gore movie like you I think but even with all these proof I still see some article sponsored by oil majors proving the reverse. Thus I think it would be profitable to have counter argument on what they say (oil majors).
On the other side our CO2 footprint must be reduced but all systems still more expensive than regular one. In the same way is sponsoring some installation but only if electrical based, crazy !
So more article on how to argue against those who are not believer and have sme good point as well
How to run against CO2 footprint without increasing too much cost?
Would be happy to see discussion about ITIL processes and green IT approach as it’s still hard to convince to invest…..
JMarc
March 9th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Thank you Jean-Marc for the comment and suggestions for new questions to explore.
The point you’re making on cost is important as we tend to forget that doing nothing to address the climate & energy crisis is costly too – in other words, if we don’t act, the price to pay will be severe. In sheer economics terms, N. Stern, the former chief economist of the world bank, said back in October 2006 that if we failed to act on climate change, the cost to the global economy would be in the order of 7 trillion dollars. He now thinks he under-estimated it.