When Change Becomes Crisis

Should We Be Calling Climate Change a 'Climate Crisis'?

Brian Kahn, May 21, 2019 (Gizmodo)

“…[Leading voices say it is time to move from ‘climate change’ to the more accurate ‘climate crisis’ label but some say the new label] has the potential to alienate some readers…Terms like climate crisis and emergency connote a value judgment…[They] are well borne out by the facts. Climate change is creating crises around the world…But the terms still blur the line between subjective and objective, a move that could have unintended consequences…People who don’t share the opinion that climate change is a crisis are, by and large, conservatives, who deny the problem’s existence at higher rates than the general populace…

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Numerous lines of research show that the denial doesn’t stem from a lack of intelligence, but rather from a worldview that climate change—a global problem that requires cooperation and government intervention to solve—directly threatens…[It is not necessary to pander to conservatives but] finding terms that most people can relate to is the key way to building engagement…[There may be] terms that can convey the urgency of the issue without the added value statement…[On the other hand, change may have become a crisis because] a concerted misinformation campaign…Clearly the status quo hasn’t exactly been working…[and the new label is] a step toward being real about the situation humanity is facing.” click here for more

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