18:39
Comentarii Adauga Comentariu

_ Why climate change ISN'T going to end the world and why we need to stop obsessing about net-zero, according to Cambridge University professor

_ Why climate change ISN'T going to end the world and why we need to stop obsessing about net-zero, according to Cambridge University professor

Young people are terrified that climate change will destroy Earth by the time they grow up, but the world is not actually ending, argues Cambridge professor Mike Hulme.

Humanity is not teetering on a cliff's edge, he says, at risk of imminent catastrophe if we don't reach net-zero carbon emissions by a certain date. 

And he has made it his mission to call out the people who claim we are.

In his most recent book, Climate Change Isn't Everything, Hulme argued that belief in the urgent fight against climate change has shot far past the territory of science and become an ideology.

Hulme, a professor of human geography at the University of Cambridge, dubs this ideology 'climatism,' and he argues that it can distort the way society approaches the world's ills, placing too much focus on slowing Earth from warming.

The problem, he said, is this narrow focus takes attention away from other important moral, ethical, and political objectives - like helping people in the developing world rise out of poverty.

DailyMail.com spoke with Hulme about why he thinks climatism is a problem, how it should be balanced out, and what keeps him hopeful about the future of humanity.

As with other 'isms' - like cubism or romanticism - ideologies provide a way of thinking about things, explained Hulme. 

'They're like spectacles that help us to make sense of the world, according to a predefined framework or structure,' he said

To be clear, Hulme does not claim that all ideologies are wrong. 

'We all need ideologies, and we all have them - whether you're a Marxist or a nationalist, you're likely to hold an ideology of some form or other,' he added. 

As Hulme sees it, many journalists, advocates, and casual observers of climate change have become devotees of climatism, inaccurately attributing many events that happen in the world as being caused by climate change. 

He gives the examples of a fire, flood, or damaging hurricane.

'No matter how complex a particular causal chain might be, it's a very convenient shorthand to say, 'Oh, well, this was caused by climate change,'' Hulme said.

'It's a very shallow and simplistic way, I would argue, to try to describe events that are happening in the world.'

Researchers have shown that warming oceans do lead to more frequent and more severe storms: Twice as many cyclones now become category 4 or 5 as they did in the 1970s, scientists have found, and Atlantic storms are three times as likely to become hurricanes.

Hulme doesn't argue that the effects of climate change are not happening, though, just that stopping climate change won't stop disasters from happening altogether. 

'Fundamentally, we're going to have to deal with hurricanes, and we're not going to deal with them just by cutting our carbon emissions,' he said.

The solutions, he argues, will include better forecasting, better early warning systems, better emergency plans, and better infrastructure.

'There are all sorts of things that we can do to minimize the risks and dangers of hurricanes, that are way more effective in the short term than trying to cut our carbon emissions,' said Hulme.

The danger of climatism, he pointed out, is that it leads people down a false chain of events: If all of these things happening in the world are caused by climate change, then all we have to do is stop climate change, and all the other things will stop themselves.

'So whether it's Putin's war, or whether it's the Hamas-Israel conflict in Gaza, whether it is a hurricane hitting Miami - if all of these things are caused by climate change, let's get rid of climate change,' said Hulme.

'And that clearly is a very inadequate way of thinking about the complexities of most of the problems we we face in the world today.'

This distorted thinking can make people forget about other important concerns, he argues.

As an example, Hulme points to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 17 areas that the world's governments have identified as top priorities for humanity. 

The SDGs include building peace and justice, eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, and ensuring clean sanitation and water for billions of people on the planet.

'These are really important goals, and the danger is if we obsess about just climate change, if we think that climate change holds the key to wellbeing and a better future, we take attention away from interventions that will make progress on the sustainable development goals,' he said.

As an example, Hulme points to Western European governments that are not willing to put money into the transition away from open wood burning cookers in many rural villages in the global south, which cause very high mortality levels, particularly amongst women and children.

'Liquid petroleum gas (LPG) is much cleaner, much more efficient, much easier for women and girls to get access to,' he said. 'But in the name of climate change, well, we can't put money into LPG transition, because that's a fossil fuel.'

Others are coming around to see things his way, though.

'LPG for clean cooking can and should be permitted as a transitional fuel to save lives in the short-term until we can provide universal access to alternative low-emissions clean cooking systems,' experts from the World Bank and Columbia University wrote in March.

If society were to put climate change priorities into their proper proportions then, Hulme said it would still be on the list.

It just wouldn't be the only item on the list, and it wouldn't be at the top.

'There's 17 SDGs, and two of them are related to climate. So that begins to rebalance, or re-proportion, the amount of effort and attention we might wish to pay,' said Hulme.

Beyond these mixed up priorities, Hulme also takes issue with what he sees as an obsession with deadlines: 'There's this idea of the ticking clock counting down to Ground Zero - we've only got five years, 10 years, two years - however long different commentators put the deadline.'

He calls this line of thinking 'deadline-ism,' a sort of sub-ideology of climatism, and he says he finds it unhelpful.

'It's like holding a gun to your head and saying, 'You've only got three seconds to make a decision.' 

And under those circumstances, most human beings would not make a very good decision,' he said.

Perhaps even worse, it has the potential to undermine the gravity of the true threat posed by climate change. 

One danger of deadlines can be that they cultivate a sense of fatalism: 'Well, if we've only got three more years, clearly we're not going to solve it in three years time. So what the heck, let's give up,' Hulme said.

The other danger is cynicism: The average person sees deadlines come and go, but the world is still here, and as far as most people can tell, climate disaster has not befallen us.

'We've had many of these supposedly decisive years, said Hulme. 'And you know, it's not surprising that people may become somewhat cynical or fatigued by this type of rhetoric.'

Hulme's critics have argued that he is over-egging the pudding - that his picture of climatism as a rampant and harmful ideology is overstated or inaccurate.

'[Hulme's] claim that mainstream climate policy pays no attention to social and economic context and to non-climate priorities is simply not credible,' wrote development economist Simon Maxwell in his review of Climate Change Isn't Everything.

'It is certainly true that the climate and development worlds have in the past run on parallel and poorly connected tracks. That was probably true in the 2000s,' Maxwell wrote. 'But today? The literature is awash with references to climate compatible development, climate-smart development, climate-resilient development, just transition, and many other formulations of the same kind.'

Hulme disputed the idea that he is over-egging the pudding on climatism - after all, the whole basis of his argument is that climatists are the ones making a bigger deal out of it than they should be.

'I'm quite happy to have an argument or discussion about whether I'm over-egging the pudding, as opposed to the people who I think are over-egging the pudding,' he said, pointing to his deep experience in the field.

'I've been observing concerns about how climate change is talked about, framed, and reacted to in public for many, many years.'

And this public framing has led to a phenomenon called 'eco-anxiety,' which Hulme said he sees among his students at Cambridge University

'They have absorbed these claims of tipping points, and they take these things literally, and feel that there is no future for them because the climate is going to go out of control,' he said. 'They feel that it will be too late, and everything will collapse.'

As an educator of young adults, and as someone who has studied climate change over a 40-year career, Hulme sees a pastoral dimension to his role.

'I see people unnecessarily going down a spiral of despair and hopelessness that I find deeply concerning and worrying,' he said.

Part of what makes this so unfortunate is that he still sees many reasons to feel hopeful about the future. 

Chief among them, the irrepressible ingenuity and spirit of humans and their social formations. 

'Despite what I've just said about mental health and eco-anxieties, the vast majority of humans have this irrepressible spirit,' Hulme said.

He emphasized that the risks associated with climate change are important things to attend to.

'We do need smart climate policies, whether it's mitigation or adaptation,' he said.

'We need energy transitions away from carbon-emitting energy sources, and that energy transition is going to come through innovation. It's going to come through smart people doing smart things more efficiently, with the human ingenuity and creativity that we've been granted, making use of the material resources that the planet offers.'

In the end, it's faith in humanity that Hulme holds on to.

But he's a realist, too. 

'For good or ill, through the last 200 years of human development, we've set in motion this resetting of the climate system, and we're not going to eliminate that any time soon,' he said. 'We've got to accept the fact that there is going to be residual climate change for a long, long time to come.'

Bad things are going to happen, Hulme acknowledged, and the climate will continue to change. But smart mitigations can shave off some of the worst excesses of that changing climate. 

'That doesn't mean we give up,' he said. 'It's never too late to do the right thing. There is no cliff edge, after which we all fall down.'


(Fluierul)


Linkul direct catre Petitie

CEREM NATIONALIZAREA TUTUROR RESURSELOR NATURALE ALE ROMANIEI ! - Initiativa Legislativa care are nevoie de 500.000 de semnaturi - Semneaza si tu !

Comentarii:


Adauga Comentariu



Citiți și cele mai căutate articole de pe Fluierul:

_ Alertă alimentară! În mai multe produse de pasăre de la Penny a fost descoperită salmonella

_ Cântarea la orgă a unei piese muzicale de 639 de ani schimbă acordul pentru prima dată în doi ani

_ 'Dimineața, jurnalist la Al Jazeera, seara, terorist în Hamas!' - Descoperirea făcută de IDF pe un laptop în Gaza

_ Noile insule nu îi vor ajuta pe cei care au rămas fără adăpost din cauza creșterii nivelului mării

_ RICHARD KAY: Harold Wilson, seducătorul atât de nefericit încât și-a lăsat papucii sub patul iubitului său la Checkers

_ Trăind pe Strada Neliniștită

_ Bărbatul care s-a auto-inmolat în apropierea procesului lui Trump a fost antifascist, a avertizat despre „lovitură mondială” și a vrut să înceapă „revoluția nenorocită”

_ Democrații se mută pentru a-l deposeda pe Trump de protecția serviciilor secrete

_ Un misterios avion american de lux, echipat și adaptat de către armata americană, zărit în vestul României

_ Resorbția nutrienților este legată de trăsăturile de rezistență la secetă ale plantelor de savană, arată cercetările

_ Turcia salută primul său astronaut care s-a întors dintr-o misiune de 3 săptămâni la Stația Spațială Internațională

_ Această dimineață coboară în haos, în timp ce telespectatorii clacă segmentul de astrologi „prostii” după scene bizare

_ Bloomberg: Putin semnalează Statelor Unite că este deschis la discuţii în privinţa războiului din Ucraina

_ NASA investește într-un nou concept de rachetă nucleară pentru viitorul explorării spațiului și al astrofizicii

_ Marile rețele de hypermarket-uri nu renunță la practicile ilegale. ANPC a rupt cu amenzile anul trecut. Prăpăd la Lidl, Profi, Penny, Auchan și Kaufland

_ Google atacat pentru Gemeni AI �Ștergerea oamenilor albi din istorie� � se ridică solicitări ca CEO-ul Sundar Pichai să fie �nlocuit

_ De la Bianca la Kim, Julia și Amber: O privire asupra tuturor partenerilor pe care Kanye West a încercat să-i schimbe - și cât de departe a reușit să o ducă

_ Culisele celui mai important Sinod al BOR: Cum s-a trecut de la ÎPS Teodosie la Vasile Bănescu, dar și un posibil conflict la orizont cu Rusia și Ucraina

_ Premiile BRIT: de la înjurături accidentale în aer până la căderi dramatice de pe scenă și gafe șocante, o privire asupra celor mai ICONIC momente ale ceremoniei

_ URMĂȚI LIVE: Președintele Trump vorbește cu o mulțime masivă de la Get Out The Vote Miting din Greensboro, Carolina de Nord, la 2 PM ET

_ Marcel Boloș răspunde criticilor din Opoziție: 'Nu am avut niciodată în gând şi nu am avut referire la bolnavii oncologici / Nu acesta este subiectul'

_ Baza uriașă Blast Rocks din Irak folosită de milițiile legate de Iran

_ Există mai mult în această panică actuală de gripă aviară decât se vede?

_ Pe cine a pus Patriarhul Daniel lângă Vasile Bănescu, la Biroul de Presă al Patriarhiei Române: Mutări ciudate la nivelul consilierilor patriarhali

_ Nicolae Ciucă, despre susținerea PNL pentru Iulian Dumitrescu la șefia CJ Prahova: 'În acest moment nu am o propunere de la filiala Prahova' - VIDEO

_ Noul album Taylor Swift LIVE: Fanii se înnebunesc din cauza indicii despre relația lui Matty Healy din Departamentul Poeților Torturați

_ Creșterea importantă a importurilor de petrol rusești a împins cota de piață a OPEC în India până la un nivel scăzut

_ „Defund NPR Act” introdus în casă din cauza părtinirii, CEO „Radical, Left-Wing Activist”

_ VEZI: Școlile curajoase din Virginia de Vest refuză să concureze �mpotriva concurenților transgender (bărbați bio) la �nt�lnirea de atletism, sacrific�nd gloria potențială pentru a susține corectitudine

_ Cele mai râvnite posturi din justiție - Concurență de patru procurori pe un post la Inspecția Judiciară, cu nume-surpriză pe listă

_ Rep. Greene: Membrii Congresului care susțin ajutorul Ucrainei ar trebui să se alăture armatei Kievului

_ După tentativa de asasinat a premierului Slovaciei, unii oficiali europeni sunt ameninţaţi cu moartea. Cine sunt vizaţii

_ Susținut cu aur sau scăpat: planul lui Judy Shelton de a îmblânzi Fed și de a restaura dolarul

_ Efortul Never-Trump de a-l elimina pe candidatul MAGA, CJ Pearson, de la votul din Georgia, EȘUCĂ LA MISERAL � Mai multă interferență electorală?

_ Senatorul Rand Paul �L AVERTAZĂ pe Trump: ��ncetează să-l mai susțin pe vorbitorul Johnson� | Dincolo de titluri

_ Bursa de Valori București (BVB) înregistrează o scădere de aproape 1,8 miliarde de lei în capitalizare și o diminuare a valorii tranzacțiilor cu acțiuni

_ Instructions For A Teenage Armageddon Review: Starul Bridgerton strălucește în această poveste despre un adolescent sarcinat care ascunde un secret întunecat, scrie VERONICA LEE

_ Humza Yousaf împărtășește temerile cu privire la „apărarea copiilor mei de rasism” după ce graffiti islamofob au apărut lângă casa familiei primului ministru scoțian din Dundee

_ UE impune în premieră sancțiuni împotriva coloniștilor violenți din Cisiordania

_ Miturile economice ale lumii își ating limitele

_ Poliția din Kansas City este cercetată pentru eliberarea unui presupus prădător de copii, �n ciuda recunoașterii că deține pornografie infantilă la telefon (VIDEO)

_ The Hertz Meltdown dezvăluie amploarea debaclei EV

_ Joe Biden: ��n loc să import produse străine, export produse Fedurhhahh!� (VIDEO)

_ Vestea mult așteptată de firmele românești - Guvernul, gata să pompeze 12,5 miliarde de lei în economie

_ �Oamenii slabi devin gazde pentru rău � asta este exact ceea ce se �nt�mplă cu Mike Johnson� � Tucker Carlson explică metamorfoza lui Mike Johnson cu Joe Rogan (VIDEO)

_ Reformă constituţională controversată aprobată de Parlamentul din Togo

_ Abuzuri în lanțul de aprovizionare: Legislația emblematică a UE privind moda rapidă atârnă în balanță

_ Supravegherea motivată crește motivația la redactarea unei teze, arată studiul

_ Alegerile lovesc și lumea muzicii: Connect-R acuză Kiss FM că l-a eliminat de la un concert, din cauza reacției sale la rezultatul votului

_ Model plin de farmec, 27 de ani, își împușcă soțul, 34 de ani, mort, apoi se sinucide pe balconul unui apartament de pe malul oceanului din Florida

_ De la clasice britanice, cum ar fi plăcinta de căsuță și fripturile: mâncarea de tavernă pentru care americanii din generația Z se îndrăznesc - în ciuda faptului că îi batjocoresc în mod regulat britanicii pentru mesele lor „fade”

_ TikTok respinge acuzaţiile de interferenţă în alegerile din România

_ SMOKING GUN: Biroul procuraturii lui Fani Willis a primit două scrisori de la consilierul lui Biden de la Casa Albă �n mijlocul v�nătorii de vrăjitoare a lui Trump (VIDEO)

_ Echipa de cercetare dezvăluie baza celulară și moleculară a dezvoltării stimulilor la Impatiens uliginosa

_ VIDEO Marcel Ciolacu, primit de prim-ministrul Bavariei, cel mai important land german în relația cu România

_ „Nici o viață nu a fost salvată” de injecțiile cu vaccinul COVID-19 spune omul de știință Denis Rancourt – VIDEO

_ FR Gimnastică anunţă modificări în componenţa echipelor pentru Campionatele Europene de seniori şi juniori, ca urmare a retrageerii fraţilor Burtanete

_ Un nou moment bizar cu Joe Biden - Președintele SUA susține că vede des copii care îi arată degetul mijlociu (VIDEO)

_ Momentul Rishi Sunak îi spune studentului care îl confruntă despre Serviciul Național „îți va plăcea” după ce un adolescent l-a întrebat „de ce urăști atât de mult tinerii”

_ Estimare SUA: Muniţia Ucrainei este la o limită critică. Borrell: Trebuie să facem mai mult


Pag.1 Pag.2

Nr. de articole la aceasta sectiune: 102, afisate in 2 pagini.