For The Planet
Know Your History, Save Your Planet
Climate Science Is Old News but the Fossil Fuel Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know
If good climate science alone could compel folks to act on its findings, addressing climate change would have been yet another feather in the cap of the oh-so-capable boomer generation. Unfortunately, the history of climate science tells a wildly different story.
Much of the conversation surrounding climate science revolves around the last few decades. But this isn’t because the science is new. This was the intended result of calculated campaigns on behalf of the fossil fuel industry to cast doubt on what is fairly simple physics and chemistry, established as far back as 1955.
Canadian physicist, Dr. Gilbert Plass, was known amongst his contemporaries for his pioneering work studying the greenhouse effect, specifically the role of carbon dioxide. Although unknown by many today, Plass published his findings in 1955 in a paper titled, “The Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climatic Change.” His investigation attributed the gradual warming of the planet seen over the previous century to the significant increase of atmospheric CO2 as a direct result of the industrial revolution.
Uncontroversial at the time, Plass’ work demonstrates the almost annoying simplicity of climate science: CO2, along with other greenhouse gases (GHG), traps solar radiation within the atmosphere, which causes the planet’s surface temperature to rise. Adding fuel to the fire, the industrial revolution meant human activity was now contributing significantly more CO2 than any other time in modern history and at a faster rate. If the trend were to continue, warned Plass, the planet would change dramatically. Unfortunately, Plass wasn’t the only person to recognize the implications of these findings. What followed was one of the most successful disinformation campaigns aimed at sullying the emerging field of climate science and spreading doubt amongst the public at large.
Harvard professor and science historian, Naomi Oreskes, specializes in the history of environmental science, focusing on public consensus and dissent. While many vocal climate activists advise the public to follow the money, Oreskes’ work illustrates that, while not incorrect, the reality is more nuanced. Connecting players that worked to sew doubt on behalf of big tobacco and those aiding big oil, Oreskes is keen to point out, “It wasn’t just about money. It was also about political ideology.”
Following the post-WWII economic boom of the fifties and sixties, politicians and economists alike began wondering why the global economy was beginning to stall. Out of this growing concern emerged the neoliberal ideology and myth that over-regulated markets were to blame; giving rise to a popular phrase, “Let the market do its magic.” A perspective that received bipartisan support championing the power of free markets.
Afraid regulations intended to protect citizens from the downstream ills of tobacco or fossil fuels would “lead to a kind of creeping communism, a sort of socialism through the back door,” Oreskes points out these coordinated disinformation campaigns against climate science are symptomatic of a fear of government expansion first, money second. Unfortunately, our understanding of the science on issues such as acid rain or the depletion of the ozone layer coincided with this period of massive deregulation; leading to significant friction between the solutions science put forth and the political winds of the day.
In the decades since, climate activists have fought tooth and nail just to advocate for the once common sense policies of scientists like Plass. While something of a victory for those who hope to thwart government intervention, climate change has only worsened in the years since. But rather than try to wrap our heads around the whole of the climate crisis today, climate psychologist Dr. Margaret Klein Salamon suggests we shift our focus to the “power that we all have to not just address, but actually participate in this change.”
Founder and executive director of The Climate Mobilization, Salamon is a fervent advocate for getting politically active as an antidote to anguish. Encouraging folks to think about the problem on a systems level rather than getting bogged down in the personal guilt that often follows recognizing one’s own complicity in the system. During an appearance on the Rich Roll Podcast, Salamon put it succinctly, “It’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility. No one asked to be born into this. [But] we need a political solution here, at emergency speed.” And with the 2022 midterms right around the corner, it is incumbent upon each of us to identify local and national candidates who are willing to name climate change for what it is: a f*cking emergency!
Further helping individuals to cope with being born into a system not of their choosing, Oreskes draws parallels to American abolitionists. “They knew that their clothes were made by slaves and the cotton was picked by slaves but, they knew they had to change the system, not their clothes.”
So, with a better grasp of the history, where do we go from here? Salamon encourages individuals to share your fear with each other. 80% of young people consider global warming a major threat to life as we know it and yet there is still very little personal conversation about it. Perhaps because many feel unable to offer solutions. But there is no obligation to know the solution first. Leave that to the scientists. Next, find out what’s happening locally. And finally, find your place within the movement and get political!
As Salamon is fond of saying, “Let’s cancel the apocalypse!”
