The few of you who read this blog regularly may recognize the tags I put on this post. If you analyze the arguments in this video, you'll be bothered by the "world without birds" reference. The analogy to a "book without words" works pretty well, but I don't think anyone is claiming that all birds will go extinct as a result of climate change. If we take the interpret the words of the video literally, it's got its facts wrong. But in a larger sense, it's got them very, very right. We are changing the world dramatically. Our children and grandchildren will live in a very different world from the one we have know.
I wrote a couple of months ago about different modes and purposes of persuasion, specifically about the difference between persuading the public that action is necessary and persuading the public what action is necessary. When persuading the public that action is necessary, we communicate most effectively with feelings. When persuading the public what action is necessary we communicate most effectively with facts. That may seem unscientific, but it simply pays attention to the science of human behavior.
Steve Dempsey, who made the video above, understands the difference and made the video precisely to convey the message that action is necessary. Here's one part of his e-mail interview with Andy Revkin.
I wrote a couple of months ago about different modes and purposes of persuasion, specifically about the difference between persuading the public that action is necessary and persuading the public what action is necessary. When persuading the public that action is necessary, we communicate most effectively with feelings. When persuading the public what action is necessary we communicate most effectively with facts. That may seem unscientific, but it simply pays attention to the science of human behavior.
The science of human behavior, particularly the psychology of risk perception, robustly shows that we use two systems to make judgments about risk; reason and affect, facts and feelings. It is simply naïve to disregard this inescapable truth and presume that reason and intellect alone will carry the day. (On Risk)
Steve Dempsey, who made the video above, understands the difference and made the video precisely to convey the message that action is necessary. Here's one part of his e-mail interview with Andy Revkin.
Q. What makes climate particularly tough to convey?Now how do you feel about those birds?
A. We live in a world where everything is instant. Instant music, instant meals, instant information, etc. It's particularly hard to convey something that has a devastating effect over time. I mean, I can tell someone that all of the glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone in a few years but, without showing a timelapse of what's happening, it's a tough sell for many. Climate change is an intangible and I'm hoping people will look at their children and grandchildren and think about what kind of world they will have. Maybe that's a better way to think about the seriousness of this. So to sum up my answer, climate is not something you can reach out and touch and there is no immediate reward for those who work hard to make a positive change. It takes extra effort and resolve to convince people that the real benefit of what they are doing today will positively affect the generations of the not so distant future. It's all about preserving our legacy as humans.
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