Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Liar, liar, we're not on fire?

Just launched is this excellent summary of Climate Change from the Australian Academy of Science. It should answer everyone's doubts or opposition to taking action. Of course it won't,

So why do we have such difficulty in learning what we most need to know to mitigate our most destructive behaviours? Dorothy Rowe, Australian psychologist and emeritus associate of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, explains that we make decisions, about what to do, from the different interpretations each of us make.

As this New Scientist article about her recent book puts it:
we cannot see "reality" directly. All we can ever know are the guesses or interpretations our mind creates about what is going on. To create these guesses, we can only draw on basic human neuroanatomy and on our past experience. ...
As a result, for global issues like climate change, no matter how much evidence we accumulate our truths will always be approximations. That is lying to ourselves about uncertainty - particularly present in issues like climate change - gives us certainty! Something we desire.

What to do? Climate Change Leadership explores motivation and we shouldn't forget there's significant advantages and profits to be had for countries and businesses that act.

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