Global Warming Denial Rears Ugly Head Around the World, In English

Research overwhelmingly identifies global warming trends, pointing to humans as the leading cause. But a handful of corporations and politicians in advanced economies profit mightily from the status quo in energy. The US, UK, Australia, Russia, Poland, Japan and Canada have the highest percentages of climate skeptics, reports Dana Nuccitelli for the Guardian. The skeptics are small minorities in each country, but carry excessive influence with media that prioritize balance over understanding. So, a powerful few deliberately and systematically misrepresent and reject the science, fending off attempts to pursue alternative energies or impose carbon taxes that could cover the mounting environmental and health costs associated with climate change or the infrastructure investments needed to adapt. The skeptics compare researchers to zealots, vaguely suggesting that adaptation, unfunded and unplanned, can come to the rescue. “However, as people continue to directly experience more intense and frequent extreme weather events,” Nuccitelli concludes, “this will inevitably change.” So far, a small group manages to delay action even as disease, drought, flooding, wildfires and other threats yet unknown compound. – YaleGlobal