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Instead of proceeding to fruitful discussions about what specific corrective
actions to take to improve our ecological fortunes, we allow ourselves to become
mired in conversations about fundamental science. The physical causes of a rise in
atmospheric temperatures have been known for over a century, ever since Svante
Arrhenius published his quantification of carbon dioxide’s contribution to the greenhouse effect (Arrhenius 1896).
The reason the debate can continue at all, though, is that most people do not
know anything about fundamental climate science. This is broadly true of anyone
outside the scientific community and includes policymakers, corporate leaders, consumers, and designers. Figure 6.2 clearly shows the climate science milestone
Fig. 6.1 FLICC taxonomy of techniques found in science denial showing the five main techniques
used to deny science. They can be remembered with the acronym FLICC: fake experts, logical
fallacies, impossible expectations, cherry picking, conspiracy theories. Each has one or more subfallacies shown in the taxonomy. (Used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
International)
6.2 Climate Change Story
Instead of proceeding to fruitful discussions about what specific corrective
actions to take to improve our ecological fortunes, we allow ourselves to become
mired in conversations about fundamental science. The physical causes of a rise in
atmospheric temperatures have been known for over a century, ever since Svante
Arrhenius published his quantification of carbon dioxide’s contribution to the greenhouse effect (Arrhenius 1896).
The reason the debate can continue at all, though, is that most people do not
know anything about fundamental climate science. This is broadly true of anyone
outside the scientific community and includes policymakers, corporate leaders, consumers, and designers. Figure 6.2 clearly shows the climate science milestone
Fig. 6.1 FLICC taxonomy of techniques found in science denial showing the five main techniques
used to deny science. They can be remembered with the acronym FLICC: fake experts, logical
fallacies, impossible expectations, cherry picking, conspiracy theories. Each has one or more subfallacies shown in the taxonomy. (Used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
International)
6.2 Climate Change Story