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Book

What we think about when we try not to think about global warming : toward a new psychology of climate action

Call Number

  • 363.73874 S8749 (CEN)

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Publication Information

White River Junction, Vermont : Chelsea Green Publishing, [2015]

Physical Description

xxi, 290 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Summary

Today, about 98 percent of scientists affirm that climate change is human made, and about 2 percent still question it. Despite that overwhelming majority, though, about half the population of rich countries, like ours, choose to believe the 2 percent. And, paradoxically, this large camp of deniers grows even larger as more and more proof of climate change has cropped up over the last decades. This disconnect has both climate scientists and activists scratching their heads, growing anxious, and responding, usually, by repeating more facts to "win" the argument. But, the more climate facts pile up, the greater the resistance to them grows, and the harder it becomes to enact measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare communities for the inevitable change ahead. Is humanity up to the task? It is a catch-22 that starts, says psychologist and climate expert Per Espen Stoknes, from an inadequate understanding of the way most humans think, act, and live in the world around them. With dozens of examples, he shows how to retell the story of climate change and apply communication strategies more fit for the task.

Contents

  • Introduction: Battering one another
  • The psychological climate paradox
  • "Climate is the new Marx": The many faces of skepticism and denial
  • The human animal, as seen by evolutionary psychology
  • How climate facts and risks are perceived: Cognitive psychology
  • What others are saying: Social psychology
  • The roots of denial: The psychology of identity
  • The five psychological barriers to climate action
  • From barriers to solutions
  • The power of social networks
  • Reframing the climate messages
  • Make it simple to choose right
  • Use the power of stories to re-story climate
  • New signals of progress
  • The air's way of being
  • Stand up for your depression!
  • Climate disruption as symptom: What is it trying to tell us?
  • Re-imagining climate as the living air
  • It's hopeless and I'll give it my all.

Subjects