“Revolution or apocalypse”, “Ecocide continues”, “You will die of old age, but we will not be so lucky”… Reading the dark messages on the signs brandished in the streets of Montreal on Sunday, an old image came back to my mind.
It was stronger than me, these apocalyptic messages reminded me of Philippulus, the prophet of doom of The Mysterious Star from Tintin. You know, the white-bearded mad scientist who beats a gong in the street and proclaims: “This is punishment!” Do penance! The end of times has come! »
That’s it, I told myself, I’m suffering from climate fatigue. And unfortunately I’m not the only one, it seems. Barely five years ago, Earth Day brought together hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in Montreal for an unprecedented mobilization. On Sunday, there were only a few hundred.
It must be said that the prevailing catastrophist discourse about climate change does nothing to help things.
This speech basically claims that we are done – well, that we will be, literally, in a few decades. We often hear it: there is nothing more to be done to stop global warming. The die is cast, we have already lost.
We often hear it, but that’s not what climate science says.1. On the contrary, experts now assure that there is still time to limit the damage, if everyone starts doing it now.
Previously, most scientists estimated that even if all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were eliminated, the planet would continue to warm for 30 to 40 years. This is no longer the case. After revising their estimates, climatologists now believe it is possible to turn the tide in just a few years.
So all is not lost. We are not doomed. Neither do our children. We still have the power to change the course of things, provided we act quickly, decisively and effectively.
The problem is that the good news clearly hasn’t reached everyone’s ears yet…
12 years ago, American climate scientist Michael Mann fought against climate deniers. He even sued bloggers who accused him of scientific fraud for defamation. In February, after long legal disputes, he finally won his case.
Now, Michael Mann is fighting against a new form of disinformation: climate catastrophism. Like him, several climatologists now say they spend more time arguing with those that English speakers call the doomers than with climate deniers!
The latter, as we know, have long accused scientists of exaggerating the climate crisis. THE doomers, on the contrary, criticize them for minimizing it. And they are unfortunately gaining influence.
PHOTO PETE MAROVICH, THE NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVES
American climatologist Michael Mann
Michael Mann fights against this fatalistic discourse, not only because science does not justify it, but also because it discourages many people. If everything is ruined, what’s the point of trying anything?
The danger, if people don’t try anything, is to see the prophecy of doom come true: the planet will then really be ruined!
We must not believe that only defeatist ecologists make this kind of alarmist speech. Some are “fanning the flames of climate cataclysm” to discredit the efforts of those who advocate for real change, lamented Michael Mann during a conference at Harvard2At the beginning of April.
Others understood that this type of speech paid off. The New Climate Denial3, a report from the Center for Combating Digital Hate, dissects how certain content producers and social media are enriching themselves by spreading this new form of climate denial. YouTube alone makes $18 million a year…
Against fatigue, even climatic numbness, stands an army of optimistic, resolute and inspiring men and women. The Press painted the portrait of a handful of them on Monday4. “The alarmist discourse has been overused,” lamented marine biologist Anne-Marie Asselin in an interview with my colleague Valérie Simard. “People feel guilty. We need to go about it in a more constructive way and say: there is hope, here is what needs to be done. »
For his part, Étienne Leblanc, journalist at Radio-Canada, wondered: “We know today that it is possible to change the course of things and yet, we give up. My question: is the way we communicate climate information fueling our apathy? »
To answer this, the journalist specializing in the environment launched the podcast 1000 questions, one planet5. I recommend it to you: it’s calm, thoughtful and full of concrete solutions to the climate crisis. In short, it’s anything but sensationalist. The planet really needs it.
1. Read the text by Michael Mann (in English)
2. Read the article about Michael Mann’s lecture at Harvard (in English)
3. Read the report from the Center for Combating Digital Hate
4. Read the file from The Press
5. Listen to the podcast 1000 questions, one planet
reference: www.lapresse.ca