Why Is the Global North Sleepwalking into Climate Catastrophe?
The American media needs to radically change its definition of “disaster”
This “new post” is basically what used to be the second half of my last post, which I have shortened accordingly. I think the issues I raised there are worth considering separately. Why don’t people care as much about climate change as they obviously should? A big part of the answer, I believe, can be found in how the media treats climate issues and events. Sure, several elite media outlets do excellent jobs keeping us informed of the unfolding climate crisis, but let’s be honest: how many people really read the New York Times, the Washington Post, or The Guardian? Not enough to make a dent in public opinion, that’s for sure.
What’s going to change the mutually reinforcing cycle depicted above? I fear only one thing: an absolutely undeniable, epic, unprecedented climate catastrophe that the world will simply be unable to ignore — no matter where it occurs. We had a chance to do this the easy way …
Is anybody listening?
As documented in my last post on “why looking at average temperatures is a bad way to think about climate change”, the world is burning, drowning, and dying all around us. Yet:
