On climate change and American scientific "literacy"

[nadinbrzezinski]

It is amazing to me, as I sit here typing this in a house in Cleveland, with snow out there. If I did not know enough about the science it would be very easy to conclude that... well of course global warming ain't happening. I mean it is like snowing, and it is cold... and shit. Never mind this has been a mild winter (from what I have been told by the locals) in this city.

Of course we had two back to back massive storms... and since it is like snowing, the world could not be warming up... of course we know weather systems are chaotic... but if you have more water becoming vapor there is more water in them clouds that under the right conditions will fall like... the white stuff. (And yes I am simplifying things in a horrible way, I know)

But the arguments made by the rank and file right wingers are based on pure sheer ignorance, and they are proud of it... and of course quite a bit of BELIEF that the world was bequeathed by God to man to do as he may do... not even she. Never mind somewhere in there is also the little tidbit of being a good shepherd. (Ah cafeteria religious thinking) Of course there is the not so small group of people who see this as the Time of Armageddon, and of course this fits with the plan... (never mind ye shall never know the time or the day of my coming... oh wait what did I say about cafeteria practices... yeah it fits)

But the main problem is that this country may say we are number one... but sadly we are not. We are just above Mexico in HS graduation rates... and Mexico is not in the top ten, perhaps in the top fifty... ok maybe in the top ten NON Advanced Economies... and what our kids learn in school is increasingly tinged with ideology and religious thinking. And this is the result... and damn it they are proud of it. (For the record so is Mexico, the difference is that Mexicans are complaining of this Right Wing non teaching, as in they want to do something about it, and realize this is dangerous. So we may see a day, in the not so distant future when we are passed by Mexico, and perhaps they will correct the problems with their education faster than we will. Think about that for a minute.)

Me, will have to go OUT THERE later in the day to get groceries for parents... and trust me, for my SoCal blood IT IS COLD out there... no worries, brought a good jacket for this weather. It is over twenty years, but it works just dandy. And the boots I got a week ago are nice and toasty...

[Odin2005]

1. K&R

[MindPilot]

2. It's easy to dismiss it with stupidity or lack of education.

I know some otherwise brilliant people who have no problem believing with absolute certainty that a guy who was executed 2000 years ago is going to come back to life and escort them to heaven. Just as others believe with the same level of absolutism the equally ridiculous idea that global warming is a vast conspiracy among the scientific community to make money.

It's way more complex than stupid or a lack of critical thinking skills. I think there is a part of the brain that in some people is able to isolate itself from the normal thinking process so it can keep those beliefs intact.

[GoCubsGo]

6. Yes, that place is called "fear"

It rules these peoples lives, and their absolutism is their way of coping with their multitude of fears. They chose to remain willfully ignorant in order to avoid reality, because reality is really, really, scary to them. The consequences of Global Warming/Climate Change ARE really, really scary. It's easier to stick one's head in the sand and buy into the conspiracy theories than it is to face reality. They same goes for their religious beliefs, which help them deal with their fear of brown-skinned people, homosexuals, Muslims, feminists, poor people, educated people...

[Orsino]

10. Fear and greed.

Acknowledging that global warming is real would lead to giving up the recreational combustion of fossil fuels, and to energy conservation in general. Information that points in this direction is therefore an attack on their values, and in their minds, on American supremacy as well.

[Winterblues]

11. Why are they so afraid, don't they all have machine guns?

Or at least an automatic pistol or two?

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. I have learned that fear

is a factor, but also that it does not matter if your education is High School or a PhD... it is so specialized that people do not understand science in the US. That is a fact.

It is also a fact that Americans fear experts. This goes back a long time, like to the early colonial period.

[slackmaster]

3. FYI, in case you hadn't checked, it got up to about 75 F in San Diego yesterday

:hi:

[MindPilot]

4. It was in the 80's inland.

Driving up to Barona yesterday, my car told me the outside temp was 84.

[slackmaster]

5. I had to work all day, and then from 9 PM to 1:30 AM

:argh:

I missed the whole day and much of the night.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. We were flying on our way to the freezer

I am envious.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. A large percentage of Americans can't even handle evolution.

That's basic biology.

Even a large number of DUers struggle with basic chemistry, physics, math, geology and astronomy.

Global warming doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of being understood by a reasonable number of Americans.