Comments on: How to turn the tide on climate change

By: Tessy Britton

Tessy Britton — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:38:05 +0000

As I mentioned on an earlier comment, this blog post and comments led to a meeting last week. As a follow up, a report of the ideas discussed at that meeting is posted on the Fellowship working site. Let us know what you think of this strand of ideas/thinking!

http://rsafellowshipcouncil.ning.com/profiles/blogs/communicating-climate-change

By: fourcultures

fourcultures — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:15:06 +0000

Surely the language of risk itself is part of the problem. To review the deepseated arguments between, say, the risk society analysis of Beck and the culture of fear critique of Furedi is to recognise that this is a cultural issue. When we go looking for risks and then saying things like 'no one except the most dogmatic would deny that it is a very big risk' we are adopting a particular cultural bias. This means our arguments and claims, our facts and evidence will be discounted by those institutions and individuals who happen not to share the same cultural bias as ourselves. By portraying climate change in terms of risk, the possibilities have been curtailed. Coudn't it be, rather, a management opportunity, a bussiness opportunity, the domain of sheer fate? And if it was, what would we then say of it? Here's the real risk inherent in the discourse of climate change: like poverty, inequality, sexism and racism, it will never be 'so unquestionably real no one can deny it'. If we wait till everyone agrees, we'll be waiting forever. We need to change our discourse so we include, rather than exclude, the four cucltural biases you yourself have written about so eloquently. I'd strongly recomend Prof Mike Hulme's book, Why we Disagree about Climate Change, which I've linked to.

By: Tessy Britton

Tessy Britton — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:03:59 +0000

Following this rather excellent post, comments and a further discussion on the Fellowship ning:

http://rsafellowshipcouncil.ning.com/forum/topics/climate-what-should-the-rsa?

…. William Shaw (RSA Arts and Ecology project), Tracey Todhunter and myself have agreed to meet to talk about some of these questions and ideas on the 4th March at 2.30 at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden Piazza. {could get some ideas for the Carbon Museum}

Everyone is welcome to join us! Please email me if you plan to come so we can order more tea! brittons100@btinternet.com

By: stephen fitzpatrick

stephen fitzpatrick — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:27:02 +0000

phil

“It would also appear that the emails from UEA were not hacked but leaked”

thanks for the note phil – am intrigues; where did this come from?

By: phil h

phil h — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:48:20 +0000

Stephen – interesting analysis.

One influential blogger has been Bishop Hill, who has unpicked some of the evidence base of the IPCC report and Al Gore’s hockey stick.

It would also appear that the emails from UEA were not hacked but leaked.