Dear Umbra,
I need a good stick-it-to-ya comeback to friends who, while they acknowledge global warming and hear me rattle off all that is bad about it, are liking the direct effects, which right now are sunnier and warmer days. What can I do or say to get them to snap back into reality, especially when some of these folks are addicted to tanning and the sun?
Kate Semmens
Perkiomenville, Pa.
Dearest Kate,
What about hitting them on the head with a stick?
Just kidding. Violence is never the answer.
Oh Betty, isn't climate change tan-tastic?
Photo: iStockphoto.
I've been puzzling myself over the problem of how to talk about climate change, and I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. Part of it is my own experience being driven crazy by zealot friends who are more farsighted and more annoying than I. Face facts: your friends are sunbathing, and that is, in some locales, an excellent side effect of experiencing five record-hot years since 1998. If they are enjoying themselves, and you make some buzzkill comment, what's the point? It is sunny, and they can't do anything about it right then but enjoy. If you insist on misery during nice weather, comfort yourself the way my Catholic coworkers did -- it all comes around, one way or another.
Today I'm thinking the way to go is to dribble little facties into conversations. My little facty of the week comes from hearing journalist Elizabeth Kolbert speak in Seattle recently. Kolbert wrote three long pieces on climate change for The New Yorker last year, and has just released a book based on them, Field Notes From a Catastrophe. Get ready, because it's about to be required reading (I hope you're all caught up on The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices). She's a great writer, and can explain complex science clearly.
Since I saw her speak, I've said this every day: "Kolbert says average global temperatures are estimated to rise 5 to 8 degrees by the end of the century. She said, to give us some context, during the last ice age the average global temperature was only 10 degrees cooler than now." There are a few handy aspects to this facty. One is, I attribute it to another person, an expert, and I don't have to pretend to be a know-it-all who's doing everything right. Another is, I'm terrible at remembering specific numbers, so it's nice to know I'm correct somewhere within a range.
I haven't used this sentence to temper sunbathing enthusiasm, so it's untested on that front, but I suspect it'll work fine. I imagine if you use it, or one you prefer, you would get a feeling that you at least had tried to inject sobriety into the situation. Get her book, hunt around in Grist's archives for climate stories, or look over the United Nations climate site to find a few little facties of your own.
It's hard to be left feeling you should have said something but didn't, and we might as well practice with sunbathers. Teasing sunbathers is much easier than criticizing people's cars. That's the big one I want to figure out. How do we talk to people -- our parents and dear friends -- about harmful actions they are taking? I must find a way.
Determinedly,
Umbra
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kmp Posted 5:41 am
05 Apr 2006
For example, I am friends with a couple who are both avid mountain bikers, kayakers and hikers. They care about the outdoors, and hence, the environment, since they spend so much time and get so much enjoyment from it. However, they both own big, gas-guzzling trucks. This is a situation you see a lot, because, kayaks, mountain bikes, climbing gear... it is all easier to carry in a bigger vehicle. Also one of them has a snow plow business in the winter, and you can't exactly hitch a plow to a Prius. Instead of admonishing them - "How can you stand to drive that gas guzzler when you know what it's doing to the environment?" - I try to offer helpful solutions. I told them about TerraPass, and they were surprised to learn how cheap it is to offset your emissions for a year. We had a long discussion about bio-diesel, converting the trucks to diesel, and running on homemade SVO. The conversation was very hopeful in tone, and left them both feeling inspired that there is something they can do, short of buying new cars, which they can't afford.
Another friend is having his kitchen completely remodeled - I let him know that there is such a thing as wood that is certified as sustainably harvested, and that he should simply ask his architect about it. He had no idea. He thought that meant "salvage" wood and his wife would hate it if it looked "old."
A girlfriend was teasing me about my addiction to clothing/gear made by Patagonia. I gave my standard answer about how, not only does their clothing fit me well and perform well, as a company they try to be very sustainable and "tread lightly" as it were. We ended up having a long convo about organic cotton - she had no idea how destructive conventional cotton farming was, and now tries to buy organic cotton when she can.
I sent a card from Native Energy to my Mom, just to say "hi", from one of their windfarm projects. She called me up to ask me all about it and was fascinated - thought it was the coolest thing, and had me send her the link to the website because she wants to send a bunch of cards to her friends.
All small changes... but then again, a pebble tossed in a pond will eventually create a big wave. FWIW, the vast majority of these "facties" I picked up here at Grist, so if we are ALL dropping pebbles in the pond.... we can create a tsunami - a good one this time.
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caniscandida Posted 4:09 pm
05 Apr 2006
But then, you have your Catholics, as you say: there is some fun in this world, true, but it is not nearly so much fun as what awaits us "in Paradiso." The Irish branch of the family have a charming expression, dealt out to anyone in any sort of discomfort or misery or deprivation: "Offer it up."
Kaela's wisdom is as always remarkably good. I would present to her and to you, dear Umbra, a peculiar relationship of my own: A cousin, father of a godson of mine, is a petroleum chemical engineer working with Sun Oil for many many years. I had been sending my godson all sorts of endangered-wildlife stuff, for a bit, then I thought that was vaguely subversive, and stopped. I love my cousin dearly (whom I do not see very often: weddings, funerals, baptisms), and all his family, but you know how it is. I would gladly bet that since each of us started voting, we never once voted for the same person.
Well, never mind, this is tricky. Please know, though, I have often asked what my eco-responsibilities are toward my godson.
He will figure out for himself what it is worthwhile to think about on the beach.
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juddfranklin Posted 1:55 pm
06 Apr 2006
Here is what I would say to these people:
Have a great time tanning. Enjoy the heat now. When you get a chance, help us make sure that it doesn't get too hot or too unpleasant (too much ultraviolet in the sunlight) to truly enjoy. If you ever get thirsty, help us make sure that there are always good sources of clean water for people, even in a hotter world.
The key is not to be a bummer. If you are freaked out about global warming and huffing and puffing at a bunch of people who love the phenomenon, you are just going to get made fun of by your friends and just feel more frustrated and frightened.
Just get yourself headed in the right direction. Get onboard the express train to coexistence with the Earth, cause that's the train to be on. Then offer them a ticket onboard.
Give them some way to help.
We don't want a world full of people reporting fires and nobody putting them out.
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