Even though the scientific evidence for the dangers of human-made climate change is overwhelming at this point, there is still plenty of skepticism about it among ordinary people and, unfortunately, among policy makers. An important factor in this situation is that we don’t experience climate; we experience weather and weather is highly variable.
Policy decisions that could lead to substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are slow to come by. Research by the Carnegie Institution suggests that this is in part due to the fact that most of us don’t personally experience the effects of climate change.
Extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and hurricanes are on the rise. Such events help spur the discussion of climate change in the media and by politicians, but these things have actually directly affected only a small percentage of us. For the rest, climate change seems anecdotal and perhaps even questionable. Our own weather might actually be unusually good or perhaps even colder than usual.
The Carnegie study’s modeling shows that within 50 years, pretty much everyone will be experiencing the kind of extreme weather that could trigger significant policy changes. The problem, of course, is that by then it will be too late for policy changes to be of much help.
So we face the problem of needing to learn to base policies upon sound climate science and not to wait until we all personally experience climate change. It is a problem that most of the world’s governments have not yet solved.
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Climate change: Don’t wait until you can feel it
Photo, posted December, 2013, courtesy of Kool Cats Photography via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.