The March for science is taking place over this weekend, with it around the corner our table talk was centered around it. There were many ideas discussed, as a non science major I found it very interesting. However, what intrigued me the most was some of the data we discussed.
This data captivated my interest since I assumed the public and scientists agreed that the cause for climate change was caused by human activity. Yet, after seeing this data I began to think why is there a disparity between the view of the public and the scientists. I believe that there are two main causes for this disparity. Firstly, this gap between the view of the public and scientists occur due to the education system. Most people including myself only learnt and understood the severity of climate change and its causes in college. I was not taught about the climate change and the fact that it such a serious problem in present society until I began college. Therefore, I also may have contributed towards the human activities that cause climate change. The solution to this problem is that all students should be educated about climate change and the serious threat it poses to our society at much earlier stage in life than post-secondary education. Those who are unable to attend school should be educated in other ways such as the media about climate change. Therefore, I believe that one cause for such a disparity exists between the public and scientists is due to the education system.
Secondly, I believe most scientist do not speak out to alert and educate the public about their research and findings. There is more information that scientists have about climate change that the general public does not have. This gap in information also adds to the disparity between the public and scientist on climate change. The solution to this problem is for scientist to make more information about climate change public and in simple laymen terms that are easily understood by people with all different levels of education. This will help more people understand that it is in fact human activity that is causing the plant to get warmer and that we need to all try to reduce activities that harm the planet.
In conclusion, I believe that the main cause for the disparity between the view of the public and scientist is due to the flaws in the education system and the existence of asymmetric information about climate change that the scientists are aware of but the public is unaware.
I agree with your point about the education system being the reason for this disparity. My high school barely touched on climate change and I have only learned more about it through friends, online articles, and some in my college experience. I think that there are many topics like this that are rarely discussed in high schools that lead to a misinformed public. I wonder if curriculum will change in the future to include important topics, or if there would be a better way to inform the public.
I liked your point about the education system being the root of the disparity. I think that the language many scientists use makes them seem “unsure” to undereducated individuals. I think it is important to address this language discrepancy and encourage all citizens through public education to take science seriously. I also believe that the growing distrust of the system of government in the US has extended to a distrust of scientists, both which could represent the detachement and power hierarchies present in our society from and ideological standpoint. I look forward to attending the march myself to support the presence of science in government!
I think another factor is the influence of special interests, such as oil companies, which do not benefit from climate science, and thus seek to undermine it. They have disproportionate influence over our lawmakers, especially in states dependent on the energy industry, like Texas, Louisiana, and North Dakota, who then signal to their voters top-down that global warming isn’t real. Unfortunately, unless we tackle this industrial-political complex, there may be difficulty changing the situation.
I agree with your view of using education to empower the society about climate change. Compared to many people around the world, especially those living in developing countries, I believe that Americans at least hear about the impact of climate change over the media. How many of us pay attention and are willing to take action is another question. I think we haven’t seen the worst effects of climate change yet. So people might not understand the consequence even unless they experience it or witness others experience it. It is sometimes hard to convince people about the future, but definitely as you said educating the public can make a big difference.
I think it’s important for the scientific community and the media to deconstruct climate change into real tangible issues that affect people: droughts, flooding, dirty air, and heat waves, to name a few. Ithaca had a pretty bad drought this past summer. When I visited Taughannock Falls, it wasn’t there!