How To Talk To People About the Climate Crisis When Scary Facts Are Not Enough
25 November
Insights + Opinion
Climate change can evoke intense feelings, but a conversational approach can help. Reed Kaestner / Getty Images
Anger, anxiety, overwhelm … climate change can evoke intense feelings.
<p>"It's easy to feel dwarfed in the context of such a global systemic issue," says psychologist Renée Lertzman.<br/></p><p>She says that when people experience these feelings, they often shut down and push information away. So to encourage climate action, she advises not bombarding people with frightening facts.</p>
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<p>"When we lead with information, we are actually unwittingly walking right into a situation that is set up to undermine our efforts," she says.<br></p><p>She says if you want to engage people on the topic, take a compassionate approach. Ask people what they know and want to learn. Then have a conversation.</p><p>This conversational approach may seem at odds with the urgency of the issue, but Lertzman says it can get results faster.</p><p>"When we take a compassion-based approach, we are actively disarming defenses so that people are actually more willing and able to respond and engage quicker," she says. "And we don't have time right now to mess around, and so I do actually come to this topic with a sense of urgency… We do not have time to not take this approach."</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/11/why-frightening-facts-dont-always-move-people-to-action-on-climate-change/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>
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In Parting Blow to Climate Science, Trump Admin Removes Expert in Charge of National Climate Assessment
10 November
Politics
A girl places an American flag on the rubble of her grandparents' home after it was destroyed by a tornado on April 30, 2014 in Louisville, Mississippi. Joe Raedle / Getty Images
The Trump administration has reassigned the scientist in charge of the National Climate Assessment, the most important federal report on the climate crisis.
<p>The National Climate Assessment, which is released every four years, combines the expertise of 13 federal agencies along with independent scientists, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/climate/michael-kuperberg-climate-assessment.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The New York Times explained</a>. The last assessment, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-report-takeaways-2621535494.html" target="_self">released in 2018</a>, said unequivocally that the impacts of climate change were already being felt in the U.S. and would get worse if nothing was done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Trump administration tried to bury the report by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/us-climate-report-black-friday-2621301116.html" target="_self">releasing it Thanksgiving weekend</a>, and President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-rejects-us-climate-report-2621629346.html" target="_self">claimed</a> that he did not believe it. Now, there is concern the administration is trying to influence the findings of the next assessment.</p><p>"Even in their final days, they are continuing to attempt to bury the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change," <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a> senior climate scientist Rachel Licker told The New York Times.</p>
<p>The administration on Friday reassigned Michael Kuperberg, a climate scientist who runs the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which produces the report. The move was confirmed to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/11/09/trump-removes-climate-program-director/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> by one current federal official and one former White House official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity. Don Wuebbles, a University of Illinois climate scientist and friend of Kuperberg's, who directed the Fourth National Climate Assessment, also confirmed the news.</p><p>"Mike called me on Saturday and said he was just notified that he was let go, that his detail was over and that he should go back to the Department of Energy," Wuebbles told The Washington Post.</p>
<p>Kuperberg had led USGCRP since 2015 and had expected to continue to oversee the completion of the Fifth National Climate Assessment. Two people close to the administration told The New York Times he would likely be replaced by David Legates, a new appointment to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who has worked with climate denying groups and argued that carbon dioxide is "plant food and not a pollutant."</p><p>It is unclear what influence the change in leadership will have given that former Vice President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a> has <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/biden-wins-first-climate-election-2648783892.html" target="_self">won</a> the presidential election and will take office Jan. 20.</p>
<p>"It might be a short-term appointment," Competitive Enterprise Institute Director and former member of Trump's transition team Myron Ebell, who approves of Legates' appointment, told The New York Times. "If he only directs it for two months and a week, then he may not get very far, but let's see what can get done in two months. Maybe the next administration will throw it all away, but maybe some changes will be adopted, who knows."</p><p>One concern is that, if Biden replaces Trump's new appointment, it could further delay the next climate assessment, which was due in 2022 but has been pushed back to 2023. The new appointee could also influence the writers of the report, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/09/trump-removes-head-of-climate-science-report-435620" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">POLITICO pointed out</a>. Nominations for report authors are due Nov. 14, and the new USGCRP head could select people who deny mainstream climate science. However, a mainstream U.S. Geological Survey climate scientist named Betsy Weatherhead has been put in charge of coordinating the assessment itself, according to The Washington Post.</p><p>"I would be more concerned if Trump had won the election," Kathy Jacobs, who ran the Third National Climate Assessment and now directs the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of Arizona, told The Washington Post. "If USGCRP is rudderless for a few months, I don't consider that a devastating situation. The question is: What are they going to do in the interim?"</p>
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Avocado
Increased consumer interest in sustainability has largely driven the expansion of new organic product lines. It's this combination of consumer consciousness and evolved eco-friendly products that has people searching for the best organic mattress.
But there are many brands in this space. We wanted to take a closer look at the Avocado mattress and explore what makes it such a popular pick in the eco-market.
<h2>What should I look for when buying an organic mattress?<br/></h2><p>Whether it's an <a href="http://avocadomattress.n5ka.net/nrJ1V" target="_blank">Avocado mattress</a> or another product from a reputable manufacturer, there are a few things to consider before making a purchase.</p><p>The first thing to know is that accreditation gets a little fuzzy. </p><p>The reality is that not all mattresses claiming to be "natural" or even "organic" will qualify for an official organic label from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). </p><p>In order to do so, mattresses must be made up of 95% certified organic materials. </p><p>In addition, no harmful chemicals can be used in the processing or production of the mattress, which is considered a complex finished textile product. </p><p>As you research, you may find that some mattress manufacturers will call their products "organic" because they use a smattering of organic products—but not enough to carry the USDA seal, a practice that's known as "greenwashing."</p><p>To find a mattress that has been certified organic, you'll want to look for accreditations like GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).</p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg1MzAwNy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTcwOTM1MH0.LFqDzobbjsMxHhtZv3MQ9iOvBSxDwEQF840cDR8Ze9Y/img.png?width=980" id="5dcba" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="47f0b3694c23691bb74eb2e4329e6271" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
</p><p><br/></p><p>You can also look for the GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard) logo.</p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg1MzAxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMzIxMzkwOX0.TQWz8NDTzRpr4Q0sDssTj9r1BwV4cRNbgiGtn9wjWrA/img.jpg?width=980" id="73347" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1952e84d562c83064655dd296fdd14aa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
</p><p>These two standards help to uphold the 95% organic rule.<br/></p><p><span></span>Once you're squared away with certifications, the rest of the buying process is similar to purchasing a traditional mattress. </p><p>First, you'll want to find one that satisfies your desired level of comfort.<br/></p><p>As a rule, many organic mattresses tend to be a bit stiffer, so testing its firmness—either before purchase or during a trial period after you get it home—is in your best interest. </p><p>Lastly, as with most purchases—especially in the organic space—cost is a factor. A goal of bringing home the best eco-friendly mattress money can buy can price some consumers out of the organic market entirely.</p><h2>What makes Avocado the most popular organic mattress?</h2><p>There are two groups that most people will turn to while researching a product: Expert reviewers and fellow consumers. When it comes to picking the best organic mattress, both the pundits and verified customers agree that an Avocado mattress is at or near the top of the list.</p><p><a href="https://www.usnews.com/360-reviews/mattress/avocado" target="_blank">U.S. News & World Report recently gave Avocado the nod</a> in the categories of best mattress, best for back pain, best for stomach sleepers, best firm mattress and best hybrid mattress, citing its ability to provide a more restful night's sleep.</p><p>Avocado mattresses were also named best healthy mattress and <a href="https://www.health.com/home/healthy-home-awards" target="_blank">best organic mattress in Health.com's Healthy Home Awards</a>, <a href="https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/best-mattress-in-a-box" target="_blank">best mattress in a box for the environmentally conscious by <em>Shape </em>magazine</a> and <a href="https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home-products/g29892090/best-mattresses/" target="_blank">best organic mattress by <em>Good Housekeeping</em></a>.</p><p><span></span>The brand has also received a <a href="https://help.avocadogreenmattress.com/en_us/can-you-show-me-your-aca-certification-SJOs16UED" target="_blank">certificate of endorsement from the American Chiropractic Association</a>, been <a href="https://www.avocadogreenmattress.com/consumer-reports/" target="_blank">consistently lauded by <em>Consumer Reports</em></a> and touts <a href="https://www.avocadogreenmattress.com/natural-mattress-reviews/" target="_blank">more than 18,000 5-star reviews</a> from real Avocado mattress customers.</p><h3>Corporate Stewardship</h3><p>Peeling the curtain back on the company's operations and mission, it's easy to see why so many people consider Avocado to be the best organic mattress.</p><p>The brand's products are American-made, designed in Hoboken, New Jersey, and manufactured by hand in Los Angeles. </p><p>Its factories are powered by renewable energy, and Avocado ethically harvests wool for products from sheep that it raises while also producing its own natural latex.</p><p>It's because of that commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly practices that the Avocado mattress became the first in the world to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. And earlier this year, the company announced that it now offsets more carbon than it generates. </p><p>It's also important to mention that <a href="http://avocadomattress.n5ka.net/MG32K" target="_blank">Avocado is certified organic by the USDA</a>.</p><p>With a goal of not only providing superior products that promote healthy sleep, Avocado also believes in the power of sustainability and social responsibility—a belief it backs up by donating 1% of all revenues to environmental nonprofits</p><h3><span></span>Quality Products</h3>
<p>Beyond just its top-selling mattress, Avocado manufacturers ancillary bedroom products like bed frames, dressers and end tables.</p><h2>Do I pay more for an organic mattress?</h2><p>Like any consumer good, organic mattresses come in a variety of price points based on size, comfort level, materials used and amenities. However, generally speaking, you will pay more for an eco-friendly mattress than you might for a traditional mattress. </p><h2>What am I paying for with an organic mattress?<br/></h2><p>Perhaps the biggest reason why someone would purchase an organic mattress is because of its sustainability. </p><p>According to a survey covered in <em>Forbes</em>, more than three-quarters of all participants said they <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/07/23/77-of-people-want-to-learn-how-to-live-more-sustainably/" target="_blank">wanted to learn more about sustainable lifestyles</a>. And for at least some of those people, supporting the environment meant altering their habits of consumption. </p><p>Further, statistics show a substantial cross-section of consumers across various age ranges who are even <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/228380/people-who-pay-more-for-eco-friendly-products-and-services/" target="_blank">willing to pay more for eco-friendly products and services</a>.</p><p>One of the reasons why someone might be willing to pay more to purchase the best organic mattress is for their own safety. </p><p>Products treated with harsh or toxic chemicals can contaminate the air we breathe, a particularly troubling hazard considering <a href="https://www.reference.com/world-view/percentage-average-human-s-life-spent-sleeping-3b3e05c6a8925081" target="_blank">we spend about one-third of our lives in bed</a>. To make matters worse, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that indoor air can be as much as <a href="https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality" target="_blank">five times more polluted than outdoor air</a>.</p><p>There's also the <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/best-mattress/best-organic-mattresses" target="_blank">durability factor of a certified organic mattress</a>, writes SleepFoundation.org. Compared to an organic mattress, there could be several years difference in how long a traditional mattress lasts before wear and tear or loss of support forces a replacement purchase. And because an organic mattress has high-quality materials that maintain its support and shape, you're likely to report better sleep patterns for longer.</p><h2>Final Thoughts on Avocado</h2><p>If your quest to find the best organic mattress has led you to Avocado, it's a good place to start. The brand has a verifiable commitment to sustainability, uses natural and non-toxic materials, and even donates a share of its revenues to nonprofits with a similar mission and vision. </p><p>Whatever direction you go in for your next purchase, we encourage you to think about how your purchases impact the world. Small choices over time add up, and we can all shop a little smarter.</p>
Avocado Vegan Mattress
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg1MzAzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDkwMDMyMX0.zu1arLxCzFa1-qq7Lg_nJMSuyqvxC6DIx715xpqmQqs/img.jpg?width=980" id="54fb0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0720ceac909ef550c9bb977027ae721b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Avocado
<ul><li>GOLS organic certified latex</li><li>GOTS organic certified cotton</li><li>1,000+ pocketed support coils </li><li>No polyurethane foams, polyester, or toxic fire retardants</li><li>Replaces all cotton with wool</li><li>Vegan certified</li><li>PETA-approved</li></ul>
$899
Alpaca Wool Plush Mattress Topper
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg1MzA4MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NzMwNTI5OH0.LEx4dUTi1np_XCFc1taoy9y3Wgu43HoWF3p0Q1PITPY/img.jpg?width=980" id="bff7b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="165eaa5fed1d9c5f64cc03b51c9e147d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Avocado
<ul><li>Certified organic and natural materials</li><li>Natural alpaca and GOTS organic certified wool and cotton</li><li>Soft, plush feel that's more "luxurious" than most common products</li><li>Elastic straps to hold it in place</li></ul>
$449
Avocado Green Pill
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg1MzMwMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMjY3NTczMn0.GynsxBf0E3Nvl0192XtWsB9-JrKywFLT7UhSwkX_VXw/img.jpg?width=980" id="a9604" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="29f27629674202517662576d32a7d547" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Avocado
<ul><li>GOLS organic certified latex and GOTS organic certified kapok</li><li>Organic jersey cotton liner that's machine washable </li><li>GOTS organic certified quilted cotton cover</li><li>GREENGUARD Gold certified, vegan, and handmade in Los Angeles</li></ul>
$89
Organic Superfine Suvin Cotton Sheets
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg1MzExOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODE2Njc0OX0.6e0zVUOdjW0FuEC3tPvpBOvil1gN8CE3teZ8VVnwTDE/img.jpg?width=980" id="11382" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="091acb792fe57f4663a76438044b9e74" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Avocado
<ul><li>GOTS organic certified Indian Suvin Cotton</li><li>1,000 thread count per inch weave </li><li>Sateen finish</li></ul>
$349
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Exxon Mobil Refinery is seen from the top of the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on March 5, 2017. WClarke / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 4.0
Exxon Mobil will lay off an estimated 14,000 workers, about 15% of its global workforce, including 1,900 workers in the U.S., the company announced Thursday.
<p>Analysts said the layoffs are part of an effort by the beleaguered company to maintain its stock dividend despite sharply reduced demand during the coronavirus pandemic. </p><p>While other oil majors have leaned into reducing emissions and building out renewable energy, Exxon has doubled down on oil. </p>
<p>It plans to <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VXkl_C7Kdv9sW2hPj8t2QWZy2W9ccHTJ4hPvlPN3NdJHk3p_9LV1-WJV7CgMmCW3LS1-t3pMmTrW2dBgj85Xb1R7W2nJ0st59tx0YW3465Bp1TbXg1W37nfX23g4lYBN4P7T8rKXz0fW3PGr6f47tYZ5W1DBtjn6R3xbmW8gw91P9jrw7MW86gmKM6DwN1BW1C-w167TjNdkW1WsKvK75dTdQW8j1G351DdpMhW1bdhGw7FyJnJN6KRmSlnBH4BW1Kfvq762ghcjW7HHmDy3vvvNgW6LDqfL74bg6WW3rLBnB8y8rvyW5GmhVM4v7PG_W4Q4Xz08HJnz7W4nBy-y3XbRx0W9gHpcj8NXKzJW8zXmHf8GBP1yW5sXMCS6zgH1_W1N7t5b6QDm47W6-vPC94QPy9zW5rFKdc753Y1H344X1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increase its greenhouse gas pollution</a> in the coming years.</p><p>News of the layoffs comes as a former Exxon employee, who consistently received strong performance reviews and was widely respected by his colleagues, says he was pushed out of the company after he raised Exxon's climate denial in a Q&A session with company executives.</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/exxonmobil-layoffs/exxon-to-cut-14000-global-jobs-including-1900-in-u-s-as-pandemic-hurts-demand-idUSKBN27E30U?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=98644484&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9uQprMXUg6iyvoNDLff_7apAyEj6b_6aCMkPoE4YUVI7X6DDtZ7s_uanjL-rMxsFWeLsrkDyp-33vvACTMCqrtmUJSr5Ern4GlegWIVNLH_W3G724&utm_content=98644484&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Reuters</a>, <a href="https://login.politicopro.com/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fsubscriber.politicopro.com%2Farticle%2F2020%2F10%2Fexxon-mobil-to-cut-1900-us-jobs-as-pandemic-chokes-fuel-demand-2015160%3Futm_campaign%3DHot%2520News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=98644484&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9HSBwxvAIMrWjyFmy_2-j3gQF2u5Fxs1xg8MwGiKmx4OhWGCpFn3UkHH7RclPer5Gq-9W46J48imDmhpiwKLaLdg47faZ9GyhNYfBxxU9gLoXqwV8&utm_content=98644484&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Politico Pro,</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-29/exxon-cutting-1-900-u-s-jobs-in-response-to-virus-driven-slump?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=98644484&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8iqy_Nsx6C0BcQ9tP75IeFhTFP5_INuh0OMuCAtUVQrje6pFkVJCTd_M9VfPBpT4daRhqaSU1GlzZPm9pvcKlBMUHskzL0ErH0Zjm-Hb_2bCu6amM&utm_content=98644484&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-to-lay-off-1-900-u-s-employees-as-pandemic-wreaks-havoc-on-oil-demand-11603986398?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=98644484&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9IISEDbrdgzTXs-yRl4dbvWlN-fnWX3KU6w6xocquxtprMAMPnR7W-WfRwHma9E9tBvykPVjyQPwA5_Q1hU-7g3AE4c5Ix2TcqTZHn5zbmEe-Hy50&utm_content=98644484&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a>, <a href="https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Exxon-To-Cut-1900-Jobs-In-The-US.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=98644484&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8MkQCEX3jVp_A4EB7PIQxvaG5UXc_qewcnViGhUULlzhqte5miAogpby0K2A70nf2NZCrtx6iLtZkrL8Au6zTYuVvzoDinl3IUeBokSWRriiB0agc&utm_content=98644484&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Oil Price</a>, <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Exxon-lay-off-1900-US-employees-mostly-in-Houston-15685353.php?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=98644484&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_T_wesrkbPA54TVqsNMVOVy-DVtOjcxn3Vq3U5i6OP_zh0Rzxlj-H6jX64nUVZbRgZroVfYsPWt0OLkwqhJGcGigIy7qQ7LYqVat1wWak4UhJzk0k&utm_content=98644484&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Houston Chronicle</a>; Employee retribution: <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvx84q/exxon-silences-staff-alarmed-by-the-climate-crisis-says-former-employee-enrique-rosero?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=98644484&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--pCb8jL0WB6VcsJbgX_Ej_YSk_VbYV5aju-qis2s0D7aA6zyHTnWaUxKl-8RzO8eIEQI2x8FqLEiMWPjwAOoIBGtUKZMroZZGq3nGbMXx27Tb1gSM&utm_content=98644484&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Vice</a><br/></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>. </em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Trending
A meteorologist monitors weather in NOAA's Center for Weather and Climate Prediction on July 2, 2013 in Riverdale, Maryland. Mark Wilson / Getty Images
The Trump White House is now set to appoint two climate deniers to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in one month.
<p>First, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/david-legates-noaa-2647660690.html" target="_self">David Legates</a>, a University of Delaware professor who has questioned the scientific consensus that human activity drives the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> and has argued carbon dioxide emissions are actually beneficial, was named deputy assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation. Now, the Trump administration is in the process of appointing meteorologist Ryan Maue to serve as the agency's chief scientist, two NOAA officials confirmed to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/21/noaa-chief-scientist-maue/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Washington Post Monday</a>. Maue, who runs the site <a href="http://weathermodels.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">weathermodels.com</a>, does accept that the burning of greenhouse gases is impacting the global climate. However, he has spoken out against worst-case-scenario climate predictions and criticized activists for using <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather" target="_self">extreme weather</a> events to argue for reducing the burning of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuels</a>.</p>
<p>"For the second time this month, a person who misrepresents, distorts, and disagrees with climate science is being placed in a science position at NOAA," professor <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/katharine-hayhoe-climate-change-2550366098.html" target="_self">Katharine Hayhoe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KHayhoe/status/1308235952381362178" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a> in response to the news.</p><p>Maue previously served as an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank that questioned mainstream climate science, The Washington Post pointed out. He co-wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal challenging the climate predictions of NASA scientist James Hansen, which have been supported by peer-reviewed studies. Most recently, he has lashed out against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his supporters for linking the climate crisis to the state's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/wildfires-california-washington-oregon-photos-2647585008.html" target="_self">record-breaking wildfire season</a>.</p><p>"Seems the Democrats have coordinated their efforts to use the devastating California fires as an opportunity to score political points in the upcoming election by blaming them solely on climate change (and Trump)," he wrote in a deleted tweet recovered by The Washington Post.</p>
<p>However, a number of studies have shown that changes to the climate are making the state's fires more frequent and more intense.</p><p>As chief scientist, Maue would influence NOAA's research agenda for oceanic and atmospheric science, as well as its scientific integrity policy. He still has to pass ethics and security reviews, but would not require Senate confirmation.</p><p>Other scientists questioned whether Maue had the credentials for the role.</p><p>"Normally, when people are chosen for high-profile positions relating to climate change, I've heard of them. I have no idea who this person is, other than I've seen him saying things about climate that are wrong on social media and in op-eds. I suspect that he has the one and only necessary qualification for the job: a willingness to advance the agenda of climate deniers," Texas A&M climate scientist Andrew Dessler <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewDessler/status/1308241184234631168" target="_blank">tweeted</a> in reaction to Maue's likely appointment. "To me, this emphasizes how thin the climate deniers' bench is. I'm sure they'd prefer to have someone with actual credentials take the job, but this shows that credentialized experts who dispute mainstream climate science simply don't exist."</p>
<p>Maue told <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/climate-science-critic-be-chief-scientist-key-us-climate-research-agency" target="_blank">E&E News</a> he believes in "lukewarming."</p><p>"Lukewarming is not climate denial," Maue said. "Most of us on this side of the issue believe in lower climate sensitivity. We don't believe there's going to be 5° of warming; we figure it's at the lower end of 1.5°."</p><p>However, most scientists think the world could hit 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels within the next two decades and then continue to heat up.</p>
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Patagonia's current logo. Ajay Suresh / CC BY 2.0
Eco-friendly outdoor brand Patagonia has a colorful and timely message stitched into the tags of its latest line of shorts. "VOTE THE A**HOLES," it reads.
<div id="9552f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b2fa13e0488f5bc698dfdbb0b7393780"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1304825415010320391" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">PATAGONIA’s New Tag! https://t.co/llY71SwsQG</div> — Outlander Magazine (@Outlander Magazine)<a href="https://twitter.com/StreetFashion01/statuses/1304825415010320391">1599929596.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The new tags are already a hit online. They became a trending topic on Twitter after a photo of the message went viral, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/15/business/patagonia-voting-tags/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CNN Business reported</a> Tuesday. Company spokesperson Tessa Byars confirmed to <a href="https://www.euronews.com/living/2020/09/16/patagonia-gets-political-with-labels-saying-vote-the-a-holes-out7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Euronews Living</a> that the tags were genuine, and that "a**holes" in this case meant <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier" target="_self">climate deniers</a> specifically.<br></p><p>"It refers to politicians from any part who deny or disregard the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crises</a> and ignore science, not because they aren't aware of it, but because their pockets are lined with money from oil and gas interests," Byars said.</p>
<p>Patagonia is no stranger to taking a stand on environmental issues. Spokesperson Corley Kenna told CNN that CEO Yvon Chouinard has been saying "vote the a**holes out" for years when talking about climate-denying politicians. The company also sued President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> for his decision to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-shrinking-bears-ears-2515965614.html" target="_self">shrink</a> Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-monuments" target="_self">national monuments</a> in Utah and even <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/patagonia-ceo-politics-2613614515.html" target="_self">endorsed</a> two Senate candidates in 2018 because of their support for protecting <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" target="_self">public lands</a>. It also decided to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/patagonia-donates-10-million-2621774314.html" target="_self">give away</a> its $10 million windfall from the Trump tax cut to conservation groups.<br></p><p>The company's latest political message is sewn into its 2020 Men's and Women's Road to Regenerative Organic Stand-up Shorts collection, according to Euronews Living.</p><p>"[W]e have been standing up to climate deniers for almost as long as we've been making those shorts," Byars told Euronews Living.</p><p>The company first started making the shorts in 1973, CNN said.</p>
<p>But Patagonia is doing more to encourage voting than just sharing a cheeky message with customers, the company's director of copy Brad Wieners explained on <a href="https://twitter.com/BradWieners/status/1304818097807790081?s=20" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. The company has worked with BallotReady to design a <a href="https://www.patagonia.com/elections/" target="_blank">widget on their website</a> that helps people make a voting plan for November.</p><p>"We need to elect climate leaders," the website reads. "The 2020 US Senate races will have a significant, long-lasting impact on the strength of our nation's climate policies and the existence of our wild places."</p><p>The website also features a map where the company recommends certain candidates, such as Barbara Bollier in Kansas for her support of renewable energy and Steve Bullock in Montana for his defense of public lands.</p><p>On Election Day 2020, Patagonia will repeat its practice from 2016 and 2018 and close its stores, headquarters and distribution center to encourage voting, CNN reported.</p>
<p>But the company is going farther this year. For the first time, it will also give employees up to four days off to train and work as poll workers to address the national shortage, Patagonia told EcoWatch in an email. It is also providing information on state voting policies in its retail stores.</p><p>"Patagonia is doing our part to ensure this November's elections are accessible for all eligible voters," Patagonia general counsel Hilary Dessouky said in the email. "Already this election has been marred by misinformation about voting, roadblocks to accessible voting and threats to cut essential voting services like the US Postal Service, which allow people to vote safely and securely. Patagonia is prioritizing time off to vote, and we encourage others to vote, serve as poll workers and share localized information to help make sure all voices are heard this November."</p>
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Climate Denier Who Supports Fossil Fuel Emissions Is Named to Leadership Role at NOAA
15 September
Politics
Brent Bozell, Founder and President of the Media Research Center, former Governor Sarah Palin, Dr. David Legates and David Rothbard, Executive Producer of the film and President of CFACT, speak during the "Climate Hustle" panel on April 14, 2016 in Washington, DC. Kris Connor / Getty Images
By Julia Conley
Climate scientists were aghast Monday at the news that David Legates, a University of Delaware professor who has repeatedly questioned the scientific consensus that human activity is causing the climate crisis and has claimed that carbon dioxide emissions are beneficial, has been named by the Trump administration to a top leadership role at the federal government's climate research agency.
<p>Legates was appointed—without the knowledge of several NOAA officials, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/13/noaa-hires-david-legates-climate/" target="_blank">according to </a>one person at the agency—to serve as deputy assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction and will report directly to acting NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs.</p><p>Gretchen Goldman of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) called the appointment "a slap in the face to NOAA scientists who work daily to conduct and communicate climate science to the public and decision makers."</p><p>"Until now, NOAA has largely evaded the kind of anti-science political appointees that have devastated the EPA and Interior," Goldman<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/13/noaa-hires-david-legates-climate/" target="_blank"> told</a> the <em>Washington Post.</em> "With Dr. Legates we risk seeing the same kind of politicization of science and corruption of ethics."</p>
<div id="67907" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="07b8bffcbfbd7bd0664b0b344cd9882e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1305343823430770689" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Oh my word. NOAA taps David Legates, professor who questions the seriousness and severity of global warming, for to… https://t.co/CyvTD2OtLS</div> — Kalee Kreider (@Kalee Kreider)<a href="https://twitter.com/kaleekreider/statuses/1305343823430770689">1600053194.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Legates served from 2005 to 2011 as Delaware's state climatologist, and stepped down under pressure from former Democratic Gov. Ruth Ann Minner when it came to her attention that his views on the climate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/david-legates" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">were</a> "not aligned with those of [her] administration."</p><p>"I am directing you to offer any future statements on this or other public policy matters only on behalf of yourself or the University of Delaware, and not as state climatologist," Minner <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/david-legates" target="_blank">wrote</a> to Legates in 2007 after he wrote an amicus brief in agreement with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which opposed Delaware's attempt to force the federal regulation of greenhouse gases.</p><p>The appointment, which one anonymous NOAA official <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/13/noaa-hires-david-legates-climate/" target="_blank">referred to </a>as a surprising "midnight hire over the weekend," comes as the agency is monitoring the approach of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/14/912658940/sally-is-expected-to-be-a-hurricane-when-it-hits-gulf-coast-tuesday" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hurricane Sally</a>. The storm rapidly strengthened on Monday and was expected to cause an "extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm surge" on the Gulf Coast. </p><p>NOAA's National Weather Service has also been issuing warnings to the west coast about the wildfires that have overwhelmed the region in recent days, killing <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54130785" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 30 people</a>. Agency scientists have contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) reports on the climate crisis and the warming of the globe, including the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/10/08/un-experts-warn-climate-catastrophe-2040-without-rapid-and-unprecedented-global" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018 study</a> which warned that greenhouse gas emissions will pose an increasing threat to human life if they are not drastically reduced in the next 10 to 20 years. </p><p>The appointment of Legates to help lead the agency undermines that message, critics say, considering he counts among his climate science work a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/13/noaa-hires-david-legates-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">paper </a>called "The IPCC Reconsidered," a Heartland Institute-funded project which called for more, not fewer, fossil fuel emissions.</p>
<p>"The juxtaposition of the apocalyptic wildfires and the announcement of David Legates' appointment is mind-boggling," Jane Lubchenco, who served as NOAA administrator under President Barack Obama, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/13/noaa-hires-david-legates-climate/" target="_blank">told</a> the <em>Post</em>. "Just at the time when we need continued truth from the nation's lead climate agency, a climate denier is hired. This is a travesty."<br></p><p>In his new role, Lubchenco warned, Legates will "be in a position to squelch the free flow of accurate scientific information to the public, to distort or manipulate scientific findings, curtail monitoring and research, and create an overall chilling atmosphere for the high-quality science and scientists that the nation needs."</p><p>Other examples of Legates' work include a <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/polar-bears-and-climate-change-what-does-the-science-say" target="_blank">2007 paper</a>—partially funded by Koch Industries, the American Petroleum Institute, and ExxonMobil—which questioned whether the climate crisis is destroying polar bears' habitats as temperatures in the Arctic rise twice as fast as the global average, and sea ice vanishes at a rate of 4% per decade. </p><p>Along with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Legates spoke in 2016 at a<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/david-legates" target="_blank"> panel discussion </a>on Capitol Hill—when both chambers of Congress were controlled by Republicans—about the documentary "Climate Hustle," which called into question the existence of the scientific consensus regarding human-caused climate change. The panel addressed the question: "Are [scientists] trying to control the climate...or you?"</p><p>Brian Kahn, managing editor of <em>Earther</em>, tweeted about a talk Legates gave at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2018 in which the professor posited that the heating of the planet holds benefit for humans and wildlife, such as the growth of larger crabs.</p>
<div id="46223" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="03188a7c8cff9515eb1acde9829f0496"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1304882129633935360" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">NOAA just hired David Legates, a man who has legitimately said with a straight face that climate change is fine bec… https://t.co/AZh6AY5iaG</div> — Brian Kahn (@Brian Kahn)<a href="https://twitter.com/blkahn/statuses/1304882129633935360">1599943117.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="a0d1d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d84dab8726d0856d3476ea6eed1705c4"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1304884645583089666" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Anyways, here's the crab love CO2 slide from when he gave the talk at CPAC. This man is being paid with the public'… https://t.co/kpQ84CNkZB</div> — Brian Kahn (@Brian Kahn)<a href="https://twitter.com/blkahn/statuses/1304884645583089666">1599943717.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Legates' presentation was a "total cesspool of misinformation about how carbon dioxide is good, actually," tweeted Kahn.</p><p>"He's not just in left field—he's not even near the ballpark," Lubchenco <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/12/912301325/longtime-climate-science-denier-hired-at-noaa" target="_blank">told</a> <em>NPR.</em></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/14/travesty-climate-denier-who-has-argued-favor-fossil-fuel-emissions-named-leadership?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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New Study Finds Climate Change Denial Received Disproportionate Media Coverage for Decades
29 July
Climate
Mainstream news outlets gave disproportionate coverage to climate denial and opponents of climate action for nearly thirty years, a new study found. Dunk / Flickr / CC by 2.0
Mainstream news outlets gave disproportionate coverage to climate denial and opponents of climate action for nearly thirty years, a new study found.
<p>The <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VWBlt-2J6XS7W1lpH6s6XJdkzVkMXxJ4d31d-N8Vtb7Z3p_9rV1-WJV7CgZJ5VwxcsD3_mLHzN8p11YZzzNrhMsB-tL-GL39W3Xl14j6tVQRvW4rkg4Z3x9F45N4RSzL_L8n9fW99C-zL74LjF2W4PG4YX52wvrBVwkCW47D6yWQN3PTT0ZP6hNCW7xczbT6VmJhPW3b36K256-DVbW5dw5NY60BSKVW63MKlV14XmkGW2r4w965z49yQW552Mmr7Jd1gWVmPGnB2XYxdKF8JWD_nxk-FW6jNWjd6X4JwMW38bpKz8bXJ6-W2HtlmM12r12RW79lLl65CL9TsW54-4Pz7hcbCMW74vZ4q39BcNyW5mZgh-6pnvn7N8QLQm78N4pr3khc1" target="_blank">research</a>, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used plagiarism detection software to detect coverage of 1,768 press releases from 1985-2013 across nearly 35,000 articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. </p><p>"The way climate change has been covered in the media could help us understand why there's so much public disengagement on this issue," Rachel Wetts, the study's author and an assistant professor at Brown University's sociology department, told the Independent. </p>
<p>Even though just 10% of all press releases contained messaging against climate action, they were twice as likely to garner coverage. </p><p>Edward Mailbach, director of the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communications, called the study's conclusions unsettling. </p><p>"Rather than marginalize self-interested voices and give prominence to expert voices, these papers did just the opposite," he told Grist.</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-crisis-newspaper-coverage-science-denial-a9640706.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=92156159&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8NX06pRZlyWhLQ20Z65ejydb_1XdQi1RtiE_UJnIK7AMToesasvCNHn1eS7sLXVXVr51lylXuLeEf2g4ZbCLQDp3RprMP1TrYeVX2ZC6O1sdgZpeY&utm_content=92156159&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Independent</a>, <a href="https://grist.org/climate/the-curse-of-both-sidesism-how-climate-denial-skewed-media-coverage-for-30-years/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=92156159&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_gnrtFekTRIFAQJGurbLGj5TSgtlmqcNze5iVlP6lCMd14DAqCHTsdbKVpborZHPlviIOuT0l8pGZWhRDxNBMJUzfMiMv3FiJ6HNpfTkCE4EdRx5w&utm_content=92156159&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Grist</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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President Donald Trump welcomes Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Sept. 19, 2019, to the Oval Office of the White House. Official White House Photo by Joiyce N. Boghosian
Update, June 29: This post has been updated to include a comment from Facebook.
Facebook is coming under fire again for aiding climate change deniers. The platform opened a fact-checking loophole that allows misinformation to spread widely, even with opposition from scientists.
<p>CO2 Coalition, a non-profit with ties to the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="_self">Trump</a> administration and <a href="https://grist.org/article/pro-trump-billionaires-continue-to-bankroll-climate-denial/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=90130554&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--JSZ_YavmXMuHDlaLAFe5aoDzat-hYbHarhx9MmTmOfBBwxiLDRzQFT-6kBOLPVFJgm-fMLiAVXKwKZNHDXCBGBw5jtQ&utm_content=90130554&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">funded in part by climate-deniers Mercer and Koch</a>, is at the forefront of the latest dispute, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/facebook-co2-coalition-fact-checking-ads-fake-content-science-climate-change-1513311" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> reported.</p><p>The conservative group believes that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate change</a> fears are overblown and that burning more <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuels</a> will ultimately help the planet. They have increasingly used Facebook to reach a bigger audience, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063436369?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=90130554&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_mCEO8iXWqqtkxGAyPXjMFWz_yifSYP3rXmRJZQwD3CSo25klFmUEGgs8MwF3t2AMO6Re8czubHbZh5VAi3uP_zebWfg&utm_content=90130554&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">E&E News</a> reported, and Executive Director Caleb Rossiter said that the current "battle" over climate-related posts serves as a microcosm in the overall "war" over how to reach an audience outside of conservative media.</p>
<p>"You can reach so many people both with your posts and your advertisements," Rossiter said in the news report. "We're kind of like Donald Trump. We're not happy with the treatment we're getting from the mainstream media, we resort to social media. That's where our action is in larger part."</p><p>While the most recent commotion was triggered by a <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/the-great-failure-of-the-climate-models" target="_blank">viral column Rossiter wrote in the Washington Examiner</a>, Facebook already had a complicated history with climate deniers and fact-checking.</p>
<p>In May 2018, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg hired a right-wing think tank known for climate misinformation to "figure out whether Facebook displays a liberal bias," <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/facebook-fact-checker-koch-climate-deniers-f5288be4c3f9/" target="_blank">Think Progress</a> reported. In July of the same year, Zuckerberg took additional steps towards allowing misinformation on his platform, saying that "while he won't block fake news from appearing on his site, his fact-checkers would stop it from spreading widely," the news report said.</p><p>In a dilution of that "check-and-balance," Facebook hired fact-checkers with conservative biases and a history of climate misinformation <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/facebook-factchecking-science-climate-denial-2635927165.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="_self">in fall of 2017 and again in April 2019</a>.</p>
<p>Climate scientists were encouraged when Facebook partnered with Science Feedback last year in an expansion of their third-party fact-checking program to bring in teams of Ph.D. climate scientists to verify the accuracy of content and to lessen the platform's role in driving viral misinformation, a <a href="https://sciencefeedback.co/science-feedback-partnering-with-facebook-in-fight-against-misinformation/" target="_blank">Science Feedback release</a> stated.</p><p>That optimism was short-lived.</p><p>In August 2019, five Science Feedback scientists reviewed a Washington Examiner <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/the-great-failure-of-the-climate-models" target="_blank">column</a> by CO2 Coalition's Rossiter and Patrick Michaels. The column, titled <em>The great failure of the climate models</em>, called climate models showing warming and increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide from fossil fuels "inaccurate," <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/facebook-co2-coalition-fact-checking-ads-fake-content-science-climate-change-1513311" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> reported.</p><p><a href="https://climatefeedback.org/evaluation/washington-examiner-op-ed-cherry-picks-data-to-mislead-readers-about-climate-models-patrick-michaels-caleb-stewart-rossiter/" target="_blank">All five scientists agreed</a> that the piece "cherry-picks data and misleads readers" and tagged it as "biased" and "inaccurate" for Facebook. The piece was blocked from sharing as "false" and the coalition was prevented from running ads, reported <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063436369?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=90130554&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_mCEO8iXWqqtkxGAyPXjMFWz_yifSYP3rXmRJZQwD3CSo25klFmUEGgs8MwF3t2AMO6Re8czubHbZh5VAi3uP_zebWfg&utm_content=90130554&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">E&E News</a>.</p><p>Then came the loophole.</p>
<p>Facebook re-labeled Rossiter's piece as "opinion," allowing it to fall under a new fact-checking exception that overruled the climate scientists' "false" finding, reported E&E News. It became shareable, promotable with advertising and went viral.</p><p>The news report claimed a "conservative Facebook employee" can be credited with opening the door for the coalition and groups that attack mainstream climate science to leverage the "opinion" label to avoid fact-checking and spread misinformation.</p><p>CO2 Coalition, which requested the successful change, is celebrating the outcome. Rossiter noted to E&E News that after the "false" label was removed from his climate models piece, the coalition was allowed to buy ads again. They have since done so, with messages distorting climate change and claiming that they are "saving the people of the planet from the people who claim they are saving the planet." Those ads have received more than 50,000 impressions, Facebook data shows, as reported by E&E News.</p>
<p>The coalition and similar groups will look to Facebook to get their message to a larger audience because traditional news media "rarely seek comment on climate science from groups that reject consensus research," Rossiter said, the news report added.</p><p>Andrew Dessler, one of the five Science Feedback climate scientists who originally fact-checked CO2 Coalition's article, criticized Facebook and other social media for exempting "opinion" articles from even basic fact-checking.</p><p>"It's a powerful way to misinform people, since these groups can't win in the actual scientific arena, so they only can win in these media environments where they can pay to promote stuff," Dessler told E&E News. "It allows people to live in a bubble where you don't ever have to confront ideas that you don't want to deal with.</p><p>In response to a request for comment, a Facebook spokesperson told EcoWatch, "Our long-standing guidance to the independent fact-checkers has been that clear opinion content is not subject to fact-checking on Facebook; unsurprisingly, that includes opinion editorials." The spokesperson explained, " As our policy states clearly, if publishers want to dispute a fact-check rating, they are to do so directly with the fact-checker. Facebook's third-party fact-checkers can rate climate-related content; there has never been a prohibition on their doing so."</p><p>Additionally, Facebook posted a company blog Thursday titled <em><a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/06/more-context-for-news-articles-and-other-content/" target="_blank">Providing People With Additional Context About Content They Share</a>. </em>A "context" button, first created in 2018, "provides information about the sources of articles in News Feed," the blog said, and is meant "to ensure people have the context they need to make informed decisions about what to share on Facebook." Notifications will include "timeliness" and "information about the source of the link."</p>
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Lee Raymond testifies before a joint hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee on energy pricing and profits on Capitol Hill Nov. 9, 2005 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
Author and climate activist Bill McKibben welcomed Friday evening what he called "a milestone moment in the history of climate action" after JPMorgan Chase announced it was ousting former Exxon Mobil CEO Lee Raymond from his longtime leadership position on the bank's board of directors.
<p>"A truly huge win today," McKibben said in an earlier tweet. "Power is starting to shift."</p>
<div id="fbd62" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f722a76597c810d7454fc49cb687fdec"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1256606012724805632" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING! #LeeRaymond DEMOTED but not DUMPED - take action now to get him OFF #JPMorgan #Chase's board:… https://t.co/pssU0dISJ0</div> — Stop the Money Pipeline (@Stop the Money Pipeline)<a href="https://twitter.com/StopMoneyPipe/statuses/1256606012724805632">1588433194.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The change was revealed in new SEC filing <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19617/000001961720000288/proxysupplementalmaterials.htm" target="_blank">documents</a> in which JPMorgan touts its "focus on refreshment" that includes having a new lead independent director by the end of this summer.</p><p>Raymond, who's earned the monikers "<a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/exxon-and-the-oil-industry-knew-about-climate-change/exxons-climate-denial-history-a-timeline" target="_blank">the Darth Vader of global warming wars</a>" and "<a href="https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/tell-jpmorgan-chase-remove-americas-1-climate-denier-from-your-board-of-directors" target="_blank">America's #1 climate denier,</a>" was a <a href="https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/tell-jpmorgan-chase-remove-americas-1-climate-denier-from-your-board-of-directors" target="_blank">target</a> of the Stop the Money Pipeline climate coalition, which <a href="https://stopthemoneypipeline.com/earth-day-wall-street/" target="_blank">urged</a> the bank's biggest shareholders to vote Raymond off the board entirely when they meet later this month.</p><p>Their demand was buoyed by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer.</p>
<p>"On Earth Day last week, we launched a campaign urging JPMorgan Chase & Co shareholders to vote against the re-election of Lee Raymond to the board, based on his role as lead 'independent' director, long tenure on the board, and ties to fossil fuels," Stringer said in a <a href="https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/statement-from-new-york-city-comptroller-scott-m-stringer-on-behalf-of-nycers-trs-and-bers/" target="_blank">statement</a> Friday.</p><p>Raymond's removal as independent leader of the board marks "a tremendous victory for shareholders and for the planet," Stringer said, adding that it stands to "ensure improved oversight of the board and the company's long-term strategy when it comes to transitioning to a low carbon economy."</p>
<p>"But our work does not stop here," he continued. "JPMorgan has been the largest global lender and underwriter to the fossil fuel sector, providing $269 billion in financing to fossil fuel expansion from 2016 to 2019. The company needs to move away from financing the dirty fossil fuels of the past and toward the big, strategic clean energy investments of the future. There must be no place for a climate change denier and former Exxon CEO on JPMorgan's board."</p>
<div id="00dfc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="69ff3095032b1b09869054cde09ee5ff"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1256606978278936576" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Send an email directly to #BlackRock, #StateStreet & #Vanguard -- tell them to vote #LeeRaymond off #JPMorgan… https://t.co/JsCqTTIZHC</div> — Stop the Money Pipeline (@Stop the Money Pipeline)<a href="https://twitter.com/StopMoneyPipe/statuses/1256606978278936576">1588433424.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Eli Kasargod-Staub, executive director of shareholder advocacy organization Majority Action, concurred.</p><p>"Shareholders have demanded that JPMorgan Chase be held accountable for its failure to address the systemic risks presented by climate change, and the announcement to remove Raymond from the lead independent director position is a clear victory for long-term shareholder value and the mitigation of climate risk," said Kasargod-Staub.</p><p>But, he stressed, "JPMorgan Chase shareholders will be best served when Raymond is removed from the board entirely."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/02/milestone-moment-jpmorgan-chase-announces-former-exxon-ceo-no-longer-be-lead" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em><em></em></p>
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Motorway A8 with a wind farm in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. The European commission's effort to transition from a high-carbon to a low-carbon emitter received input from ExxonMobil. imageBROKER / Lilly / Getty Images
The European commission's effort to transition the 27-country economic bloc from a high-carbon to a low-carbon emitter in a few decades received input from the fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil in the weeks prior to its passage, according to a watchdog that monitors lobbying activity, as The Guardian reported.
<p>As Common Dreams reported, a <a href="https://influencemap.org/report/An-InfluenceMap-Note-ExxonMobil-Lobbies-the-EU-Commission-add01200dc694b00e9ac4bebf660227b" target="_blank">report</a> released last week by InfluenceMap revealed that Exxon lobbyists met with commission officials in November to request an extension of the Green Deal's carbon pricing policy, known as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), to tailpipe emissions.</p><p>The report revealed that just ahead of the December announcement of the Green Deal, Exxon lobbyists met with Frans Timmermans, a member of the commission's cabinet, after the company avoided penalties for failing to attend a hearing on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier">climate denial</a>, as the <a href="https://euobserver.com/green-deal/147646" target="_blank">EU Observer</a> reported.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://influencemap.org/report/An-InfluenceMap-Note-ExxonMobil-Lobbies-the-EU-Commission-add01200dc694b00e9ac4bebf660227b" target="_blank">InfluenceMap</a> wrote in its <a href="https://influencemap.org/report/An-InfluenceMap-Note-ExxonMobil-Lobbies-the-EU-Commission-add01200dc694b00e9ac4bebf660227b" target="_blank">report</a>:<span></span></p><blockquote>"In the meeting, the lobbyist for ExxonMobil tried to stall an overhaul of the transportation sector. ExxonMobil representatives pushed for the EU Commission to change its approach to climate regulation in the transport sector, including removing the EU's strict CO2 vehicle tailpipe standards, in what appears to have been an effort to stall a push towards <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles">electric vehicles</a>. A direct extract from the meeting notes indicate the un-named ExxonMobil officials argued that the EU should: 'Give serious consideration to extending ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) beyond stationary sources. Tail pipe emission legislation should be substituted with power plant to wheel emission regulation.'" </blockquote><p>According to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/06/exxonmobil-tried-to-get-european-green-deal-watered-down-claims-climate-lobbying-watchdog" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, the maneuver aimed to tamp down knowledge about the carbon footprint of driving a combustion engine running on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a>. And the lobbying effort seems to have worked, since the European Commission did not include plans to phase out combustion engines. It also did not include cars running on fossil fuels in its carbon-pricing plan.</p><p>Furthermore, the move aims to create unrest that would be politically unfeasible. The only way for a carbon-pricing plan for tailpipe emissions to be influential is for it to make greenhouse gas emissions very expensive. Yet, that type of action that transfers costs to consumers has been the bedrock of protests like the Yellow Vests protests in France, which stemmed from a proposed tax on diesel and gasoline, as the <a href="https://euobserver.com/green-deal/147646" target="_blank">EU Observer</a> reported.</p>
<p>Edward Collins, a director at InfluenceMap, said the document "represents yet another evidence piece" of ExxonMobil's efforts to protect its profits by thwarting meaningful regulatory action and shifting the focus to long-term technical solutions, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/06/exxonmobil-tried-to-get-european-green-deal-watered-down-claims-climate-lobbying-watchdog" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.<br></p><p>The lack of decisive and meaningful regulatory actions that would change the transportation sector and the energy infrastructure of Europe in the immediate future drew the ire of climate activists, as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/greta-thunberg-eu-climate-law-2645391457.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1">EcoWatch</a> reported. The Green Deal requires that European countries reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which many scientists say is too late to stop the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>"Net zero emissions by 2050' for the EU equals surrender. It means giving up," Greta Thunberg and 33 other youth climate activists wrote in an open letter published Tuesday and reported by <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climate-change-eu-law/eu-unveils-climate-law-thunberg-calls-it-surrender-idUKKBN20R1OC" target="_blank">Reuters</a>. "We don't just need goals for just 2030 or 2050. We, above all, need them for 2020 and every following month and year to come."</p><p>As <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/06/exxon-lobbyists-pushed-european-officials-water-down-green-deal-carbon-pricing-plan" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a> pointed out:</p><blockquote>"Exxon's attempt to further weaken the European Green Deal represents 'a shift from the propagation of climate science denial towards a range of more subtle tactics and narratives to distract policymakers and the public away from an urgent and robust policy intervention on climate on the scale recommended by the IPCC's 2018 special report on 1.5 [degrees Celsius] warming,' said InfluenceMap."</blockquote>
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415 PPM: We Are All Part of Exxon’s Unchartered Climate Experiment Now
16 May 2019
Insights + Opinion
NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii', where researchers measured atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of 415 ppm. Christopher Michel / CC BY 2.0
By Andy Rowell
Earlier this month, we collectively walked into the unknown.
We are all now a living experiment. Never before in human history have carbon dioxide levels reached 415 parts per million.
<p>These levels were last seen maybe some 2.5 to 5 million years ago, during the Pliocene, but then the earth was much warmer than it is today and it was way before us.</p><p>Back then, there was no Greenland and trees grew near the South Pole. Sea levels were much, much higher. Maybe 25 meters (approximately 82 feet) higher.</p><p>415 ppm is a grim number. It signals we are in deep, deep trouble. And in the words of <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/climate-change-mauna-loa-carbon-dioxide-measurement-834627/" target="_blank">Rolling Stone</a><em> </em>magazine: "Further evidence (as if further evidence were needed) of just how hell-bent we are on cooking the planet we live on."</p><p>To show you how much we are <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">changing the climate</a>: Every year another 2 to 3 ppm of carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere. Before the industrial revolution it was 280 ppm. And now it is 415 ppm.</p><p>We could have stopped the relentless rise of carbon dioxide, but we did not. In part the reason we collectively have failed to do so is the power of the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/big-oil">oil companies</a> and one of the most sophisticated public relations exercises ever undertaken to deny and obfuscate the truth.</p><p>The oil companies could have acted and kickstarted the renewable revolution, but they did not. But they knew. #ExxonKnew.</p><p>As <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/exxon-predicted-high-carbon-emissions-954e514b0aa9/" target="_blank">Think Progress</a> noted this week, one of the documents obtained by InsideClimate News into its investigation into what <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/exxon">Exxon</a> knew about climate science decades ago was an internal 1982 document from the Exxon Research and Engineering Company.</p><p>In this document the oil company mapped the "growth of atmospheric CO2 and average global temperature increase" over time.</p><p>Amazingly, as <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/exxon-predicted-high-carbon-emissions-954e514b0aa9/" target="_blank">Think Progress</a><em> </em>highlights, "the company predicted that that, by 2020, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would reach roughly 400 to 420 ppm. This month's measurement of 415 ppm is right within the expected curve Exxon projected under its "<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/documents/1982%20Exxon%20Primer%20on%20CO2%20Greenhouse%20Effect.pdf" target="_blank">21st Century Study-High Growth scenario</a>."</p><p>Exxon not only predicted the future, it also knew how bad it could be.</p><p>Not only did Exxon predict the rise in emissions, it also understood how severe the consequences would be, including warning of "considerable adverse impact" of rising carbon dioxide levels, including flooding and the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet.</p><p>Exxon knew all this, but instead of acting, went on to pour tens of <a href="https://exxonsecrets.org/html/index.php" target="_blank">millions of dollars into a massive disinformation</a> campaign that we still see today being spouted by President Trump and Fox News.</p><p>No wonder climate scientists are alarmed at us reaching 415 ppm.</p><p>Professor Michael Mann told <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/exxon-predicted-high-carbon-emissions-954e514b0aa9/" target="_blank">Think Progress</a><em>,</em> "If you do the math, we'll cross 450 ppm — which likely locks in dangerous planetary warming of more than 2°C/3.5°F — in just over a decade".</p><p><a href="https://www.inverse.com/article/55792-keeling-curve-hits-its-highest-point-to-date?refresh=89" target="_blank">Peter Gleick</a>, the president emeritus at the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security added: "Not that we need it, but the latest numbers are further evidence of the massive impact humans are having on our atmosphere and climate … We are entering an era never before experienced by humans."</p><p>Meteorologist and journalist Eric Holthaus noted on Twitter:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is the first time in human history our planet's atmosphere has had more than 415ppm CO2.<br><br>Not just in recorded history, not just since the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago. Since before modern humans existed millions of years ago.<br><br>We don't know a planet like this. <a href="https://t.co/azVukskDWr">https://t.co/azVukskDWr</a></p>— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/1127681719216353280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>We don't know a planet like this. We don't know what will happen, except that climate chaos will get worse. We do know the answers, though.</p><p>As <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2019/05/15/report-uk-oil-gas-drilling-incompatible-with-climate-emergency/" target="_blank">Oil Change International</a> pointed out yesterday, in yet another groundbreaking report, we have to stop drilling. It really is that simple. Not tomorrow. Not today. But yesterday. We need a just transition now.</p><p>Predictably, the denial in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/15/interior-secretary-david-bernhardt-c02" target="_blank">Trump Administration</a> continues: This week, Donald Trump's interior secretary said he had not "lost sleep over" over the 415 ppm figure.</p><p>David Bernhardt, who is a former oil and gas lobbyist, said, "I believe the United States is number 1 in terms of decreasing CO2." He added: "I haven't lost any sleep over it."</p><p>Meanwhile, just as Exxon warned that Antarctica would be in trouble, there is new research published showing just how bad things are.</p><p>According to new academic research published in <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/16/thinning-of-antarctic-ice-sheets-spreading-inland-rapidly-study" target="_blank">Geophysical Research Letters</a>, </em>warming of the Southern Ocean now means that ice is being lost from Antarctic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glaciers">glaciers</a> five times faster than in the 1990s.</p><p>It is yet another sign we are in deep, deep trouble.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Global Banks, Led by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JPMorganChase?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JPMorganChase</a>, Invested $1.9 Trillion in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FossilFuels?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FossilFuels</a> Since Paris Climate Pact <a href="https://t.co/wpqF2b6Myb">https://t.co/wpqF2b6Myb</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DeSmogBlog?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeSmogBlog</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BusinessGreen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BusinessGreen</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/1108940125986119680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2019/05/16/415-ppm-we-are-all-part-of-exxons-unchartered-climate-experiment-now/" target="_blank">Oil Change International</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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- Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Levels Are at Their Highest in 23 Million Years - EcoWatch ›
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On May 3 New York City students joined their counterparts from around the world demanding that elected officials, including NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio put on end to the climate crisis. Gabriele Holtermann-Gorden / Pacific Press / LightRocket / Getty Images
Awareness of climate change is growing in the U.S., but the country still has some catching up to do when compared to other wealthy nations.
<p>A 23-country poll found that the U.S. led rich nations in the percentage of people who said that climate change was not caused by humans, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/07/us-hotbed-climate-change-denial-international-poll" target="_blank">The Guardian reported Wednesday</a>. Thirteen percent of Americans agreed with the statement that climate change was happening, "but human activity is not responsible at all." An additional five percent denied climate change all together. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/01/populism-what-is-yougov-cambridge-globalism-project-methodology" target="_blank">YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project</a> is an annual survey conducted by You Gov and Cambridge University with the help of The Guardian. The 2019 survey asked questions of 25,325 people around the world in February and March. Of those surveyed, only Saudi Arabia and Indonesia had higher percentages of respondents who denied a human role in climate change, at 16 percent and 18 percent respectively. The U.S. also led Western countries for the percentage who said they were not sure that climate change was happening or if humans were responsible, also at 13 percent.</p>
<div id="f76c8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="C0UNZF1568219130"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1126416223451983872" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Out of 23 big countries, Only Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have higher proportion of climate change doubters than the… https://t.co/hJGZy9GCrY</div> — YouGov (@YouGov)<a href="https://twitter.com/YouGov/statuses/1126416223451983872">1557393530.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The prevalence of climate denial in the U.S. is out of step with other high-emitting countries. In the UK and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/china" target="_self">China</a>, only six percent of the population doubts that humans are behind global warming, <a href="https://earther.gizmodo.com/surprise-new-poll-shows-americans-lead-the-developed-w-1834613479" target="_blank">Earther pointed out</a>. The site crunched the numbers, and calculated that the five percent of people in the U.S. who are outright <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier" target="_self">climate deniers</a> corresponds to around 58 million individuals.</p><p><a href="https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/" target="_blank">Climate Mobilization</a> Founder and clinical psychologist Margaret Klein Salamon explained to the Guardian why the U.S. is such an outlier:<br></p><blockquote>"The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/26/koch-brothers-americans-for-prosperity-rightwing-political-group" target="_blank">Koch brothers</a> and the fossil fuel industry have put billions of dollars into lying to the American public, even sending literature to science teachers in schools," Salamon said. "They are so well organised and have managed to turn climate change into a controversial subject that gets shut down. It's clearly working.<br><br>"There is also the issue of American individualism, remnants of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Manifest-Destiny" target="_blank">manifest destiny</a>, that don't set us up well for understanding that we are part of the web of life. The American dream is quite self-involved. We need a new American dream."</blockquote><p>Another factor is that beliefs about climate change are strongly linked to political ideology in the U.S., something that separates it from most other countries, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-denial-conservatism-2567319606.html" target="_self">a 2018 study found</a>.</p><p>"We found that in approximately 75 percent of the countries surveyed, conservatives didn't show any more skepticism of climate change than other people," study author and University of Queensland Prof. Matthew Hornsey said at the time.</p><p>The link between political affiliation and climate denial in the U.S. was reflected in the YouGov poll. Seventeen percent of Americans agreed that "the idea of manmade global warming is a hoax that was invented to deceive people," an ideal popularized by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has called it a Chinese hoax. But the number who answered yes to that statement rose to 52 percent among Americans who described themselves as "very rightwing," The Guardian reported.</p><p>However, 4 in 10 Americans do believe the climate change is at least partly human-caused, according to the YouGov survey. Another survey in January from the <a href="http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/" target="_blank">Yale Program on Climate Change Communication</a> and the <a href="http://climatechangecommunication.org/" target="_blank">George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication</a> found that a record number of Americans, 72 percent, said that climate change is "personally important" to them.</p>
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