I believe after 20 years of climate change science publicity, we have enough evidence for a verdict.

Umm, that would be a "no".

[Cf. also - evolution, belief in god, etc.]

IMHO, the mindset changes after the rest of that stuff changes. Trying to change mindset directly (by what? persuasion?) is futile. Change the constraints, change the material circumstances, and the mindset will change to adapt to it. Start with the tangible, I say.

grist.org

How do you change material constraints without changing mindsets?

Investment. Legislation. Litigation. Price incentives. Tax policy. Social pressure. You name it.

I guarantee Americans' mindset didn't suddenly change midcentury in such a way that people woke up and said, hey, I want to cover the nation in pavement and live way out far from the city in an anonymous, cheap box from which I have to drive anywhere I go and where I never see anyone not exactly like me and from which I can nurse paranoid fantasies about Others who want to take away a form of life that largely consists in pursuing and purchasing consumer items from China with which to fill my anonymous box. They see that way of life as sacrosanct now, but not because they were persuaded, but because they were channeled there by the material imperatives of America's corporate class. They could be channeled elsewhere.

grist.org

That is given that the rich seem to like stuff the way it is, how do get it changed without people creating the pressures to put forth those changes? Don't you need a popular movement, which in turn means you need a change in mindset? Or do you think legislatures will do this out of sheer noble-mindedness, and corporations make changes out of sheer ability to think about long term profits?

"Mindset" can easily be changed by a good PR man from the majority of us preferring "A" into wanting "B" but can just as quickly be changed back by another good PR man.

But science deals with actual truth, not perceptions nor opinions nor preferences.  Only science showed the medical profession that washing their hands between patients could save lives.  Only science could put instant communication wirelessly between people on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

And only science can prove that Global Warming is real, is dangerous, and will affect all of us sooner than we think.  If people's "mindset" cannot be changed by truth, what's the point of thinking?  Might as well eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.  

Des Emery

...but it doesn't persuade the majority of people, because you just aren't going to get them to think like you do.

That's just the way it is.  You have to meet people where they are.  Put it in terms they can relate to:  

Patriotism:  energy made in America

Fuel efficiency:  good old American ingenuity

Gas prices:  will only come down when we use less oil.

Jobs:  energy efficiency and local power mean more jobs in communities that need jobs.

..and so forth.  Come on, people.  It's not that hard.  Get off your high horses.

DR's formulation that "we" (presumably, educated people like us!) make change by altering the material conditions of society is interesting, but too Marxian in my view. In my view the best way to make long-lasting and deep change is to present ordinary people with the information and options and let them come to their own conclusions. (Mind you, I agree with Marx that people do make free choices but not under conditions of their own choice.)

But I do think there is something true in what DR said. This sort of reminds me of all the feminist ideological battles of the 70's/80's (radical vs. liberal vs. socialist vs eco vs anarchist). As I look at the landscape today, I think the socialist-feminists were right in emphasizing that it was the material gains of women (particularly access to good jobs and wages) that have had the longest-lasting effects. (No doubt the other approaches had effects also.)

The world is no more of a rational place today than it was when Candide was driven from Westphalia.

The reason?  I place a large percentage of the blame on a single book that has held the minds of the western world in the mental rut of Stone Age "pie in the sky" philosophy for the last 2,000 years.  At every turn, the priests have tried to destroy reason and rational thought with faith.

Does it surprise anyone that the most faithless of countries are the ones leading the way now?

Il faut cultiver notre jardin.

Science? Seriously?

The effects of global emissions has been in academics since the 40's. Government measuring monitoring regulations have been tracking our impact for three decades filling buildings with supporting documents and viable options to stop what has become our current reality.

Social media driven perception has always become the reality that trumps strong logical scientific efforts.

Logic, common sense and science are tools for the elite and have always been ignored for a more "passionate or interesting, feel good" stories about "things we already know and want to hear".

The current candidate options are a prime example of this (rehashed carter era stuff).

Every good scientific environmental and energy plan this month will be trumped a 1000 fold by paris's mock energy plan of McCain further proving the over obvious point of mine.

Collective mindset changes in a viral fashion.

Seeing is believing, so yes the mindset follows the example.  A neighbor puts up a solar panel, shows the other neighbors his lower power bill.

A video on youtube shows the neighborhood going solar, it's viral I tell you.

Sure DR is right the mindset change needs a substantial change in the reality of how power is generated, with solar.  And then the example changes the mindset.

It's a fractal phenomenon, how the herd or school of fish changes course collectively is determined by simple rules governing the interaction of the individual fish, or people.  Seeing is believing, saving money of power (and being green) is smart, smart is status.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin