Climate Change Denial
{{Short description|2011 book by Haydn Washington and John Cook}}
{{about|the book on climate change denial|the article on the broader topic|Climate change denial}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand
| image = Climate Change Denial - Heads in the Sand.jpg
| alt = Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand
| caption = Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand
| author = Haydn Washington and John Cook; foreword by Naomi Oreskes
| cover_artist = Rogue Four Design
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| subject = Climate change denial
| genre = Science
| publisher = Earthscan from Routledge
| pub_date = 22 April 2011
| media_type = Hardcover
| pages = 192
| awards = Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge
| isbn = 978-1-84971-336-8
| oclc = 682903020
| dewey = 363.738/74
| congress = {{LCCN|2010046147}}
| followed_by =
| notes =
| website ={{url|1=http://www.skepticalscience.com/Climate-Change-Denial-book.html|2=Author website}}
}}
Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand is a 2011 non-fiction book about climate-change denial, coauthored by Haydn Washington and John Cook, with a foreword by Naomi Oreskes. Washington had a background in environmental science prior to authoring the work; Cook, educated in physics, founded (2007) the website Skeptical Science, which compiles peer-reviewed evidence of global warming. The book was first published in hardcover and paperback formats in 2011 by Earthscan, a division of Routledge.
The book presents an in-depth analysis and refutation of climate-change denial, going over several arguments point-by-point and disproving them with peer-reviewed evidence from the scientific consensus for climate change. The authors assert that those denying climate change engage in tactics including cherry picking data purported to support their specific viewpoints, and attacking the integrity of climate scientists. Washington and Cook use social-science theory to examine the phenomenon of climate-change denial in the wider public, and call this phenomenon a form of pathology.
The book traces financial support for climate-change denial to the fossil-fuel industry, asserting that its companies have attempted to influence public opinion on the matter. Washington and Cook write that politicians have a tendency to use weasel words as part of a propaganda tactic through the use of spin, as a way to deflect public interest away from climate change and remain passive on the issue. The authors conclude that if the public ceased engaging in denial, the problem of climate change could be realistically addressed. Climate change denial is a serious threat to the planet and needs to be addressed urgently, as the consequences of inaction are dire.{{Citation |doi=10.1007/1-4020-3266-8_109 |chapter=Intergovernmental Panel in Climate Change (IPCC) |title=Encyclopedia of World Climatology |series=Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series |date=2005 |last1=Oliver |first1=John E. |page=429 |isbn=978-1-4020-3264-6 }}
For his research on the book, and efforts in communicating the essence of climate-change science to the general public, John Cook won the 2011 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge. Climate Change Denial received a positive reception in reviews from publications including: The Ecologist, ECOS magazine, academic journal Natures Sciences Sociétés, the journal Education published by the New South Wales Teachers Federation.
Background
The book was coauthored by Australian environmental science researchers Haydn Washington and John Cook.{{cite news |access-date=3 January 2016 |title=Apps Help Argue the Case for Peer-Reviewed Climate Science |magazine=ECOS |date=1 June 2011 |last= Considine |first= Mary-Lou |url=http://ecosmagazine.com/paper/EC10134.htm |oclc=696106998}} Washington worked for over 30 years as an environmental scientist prior to writing the book.{{cite book|title=Sustainable Futures: Linking Population, Resources and the Environment|pages=xvi–xvii|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4863-0189-8|editor1-first=Jenny|editor1-last=Goldie|editor2-first=Katharine|editor2-last=Betts|oclc=876846499}} His previously published books on the subject of environmental science include: Ecosolutions (1991), A Sense of Wonder (2002), and The Wilderness Knot (2009). In 2015, Washington was a visiting fellow with the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales.
Cook's education includes a background in physics. Prior to his work on the book, Cook founded the website Skeptical Science, which compiles peer-reviewed evidence of climate change. He placed on the site the most common assertions made by individuals arguing against the scientific consensus for climate change, with evidence to refute each point they made. After the publication of Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand, Cook coauthored another book on the subject, Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis: Volume 1 – The Physical Climate (2013).{{cite book|title=Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis: Volume 1 – The Physical Climate|year=2013|first1=G. Thomas|last1=Farmer|first2=John|last2= Cook|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-94-007-5756-1|oclc=811000063}} In 2015, Cook served as the climate communication fellow at the University of Queensland.{{cite news |last=Cook |first=John |publisher=CNN |at=Editor's Note |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/22/opinions/cook-techniques-climate-change-denial/ |access-date=31 October 2015 |title=The 5 telltale techniques of climate change denial |date=22 July 2015 |archive-date=24 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724220405/http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/22/opinions/cook-techniques-climate-change-denial/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news|first=John|last=Cook|title=John Cook: Climate scientists offer clear evidence|access-date=31 October 2015|work=Winona Daily News|date=9 April 2015 |url=http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/opinion/columnists/other/john-cook-climate-scientists-offer-clear-evidence/article_7a6cb0dc-bcfb-5d8d-a6ff-24327de7ad4b.html}}
Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand was first published in 2011 by Earthscan, a division of Routledge. Both hardcover and paperback editions were released in April 2011.{{cite book|title=Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand|date=22 April 2011|edition=Hardcover|first1=Haydn|last1=Washington|authorlink=Haydn Washington|first2=John|last2= Cook|isbn=978-1-84971-335-1|publisher=Routledge|oclc=811083269}}{{cite book|title=Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand|date=24 April 2011|edition=Paperback|first1=Haydn|last1=Washington|authorlink=Haydn Washington|first2=John|last2= Cook|isbn=978-1-84971-336-8|publisher=Routledge|oclc=712480631}} It was released the same year by the publisher in an electronic book format.{{cite book|title=Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand|year=2011|first1=Haydn|last1=Washington|authorlink=Haydn Washington|first2=John|last2= Cook|isbn= 978-1-136-53005-0|edition=eBook |publisher=Routledge|oclc=811083269}} A second eBook release was published by Routledge in 2012.{{cite book|title=Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand|year=2012|first1=Haydn|last1=Washington|authorlink=Haydn Washington|first2=John|last2= Cook|isbn= 978-1-136-53005-0|edition=eBook|publisher=Taylor & Francis|oclc=815973237}}{{cite book|title=Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand|year=2012|first1=Haydn|last1=Washington|authorlink=Haydn Washington|first2=John|last2= Cook|isbn= 978-1-84971-335-1 |edition=eBook|publisher=Routledge|oclc=682903020}} The book was made available via Kindle by Amazon.com in May 2013.{{cite book|title=Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand|first1=Haydn|last1=Washington|authorlink=Haydn Washington|first2=John|last2= Cook|publisher=Routledge|edition=Kindle|year=2013}}
Contents summary
{{multiple image
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|width1=1712|height1=2174|image1=Haydn Washington.jpg|caption1=Haydn Washington|alt1=Man with beard and sweater
|width2=1326|height2=1836|image2=John Cook pic hirez.jpg|caption2=John Cook|alt2=Man in striped collared dress shirt
|footer=Coauthors of Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand, Haydn Washington and John Cook
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Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand presents a detailed analysis and refutation of climate change denial.{{cite book|page=245|title=Making Sense of Nature|first=Noel |last=Castree|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-54550-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UptAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA245}} In her foreword to the book, Naomi Oreskes writes that people fall victim to the phenomenon of denial due to feeling frightened.{{cite news|first=Jo|last=Chandler|access-date=31 October 2015|url=http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/forget-facts-its-personality-that-rules-reactions-to-climate-change-20110527-1f8dl|title=Forget facts, it's personality that rules reactions to climate change|work=The Age|date=28 May 2011|archive-date=31 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031032437/http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/forget-facts-its-personality-that-rules-reactions-to-climate-change-20110527-1f8dl}} The book examines several arguments against global warming, and uses peer-reviewed evidence from the scientific consensus to back-up rationale for disputing the validity of each argument. The methodology of those denying climate change is assessed, including: cherry picking data purporting to support their specific viewpoints, maintaining a high bar for evidence of climate change by those denying it, and criticism of the values of climate scientists themselves. The book puts forth an explanation of why certain individuals, and the wider public, have a tendency to deny the scientific consensus for climate change.{{cite news|access-date=31 October 2015|url=http://blogs.abc.net.au/nsw/2011/05/climate-change-discussion.html|title=Climate Change discussion|first=Chloe|last=Walker|date=17 May 2011|work=Afternoons with James Valentine|publisher=702 ABC Sydney|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814022313/http://blogs.abc.net.au/nsw/2011/05/climate-change-discussion.html|archive-date=14 August 2014}}
The authors discuss the broader concept of denial using social science theory, noting its occurrence appears in society when individuals are frightened or ashamed of their actions. They write that these motivations, when expanded from an individual to wider society, present themselves as a form of disease. The book identifies climate change denial itself as a pathology afflicting the culture of the planet. The authors lament that an inverse relationship exists between an increasing scientific consensus regarding climate change, and a simultaneous increase in denial within the greater public about the same issue.
The book identifies a corporate underpinning influencing public opinion by way of companies which derive profit from the fossil fuel industry. Washington and Cook write that politicians often use weasel words as a form of spin and propaganda, in order to act as if they are going to do something about climate change, while in actuality remaining passive on the issue. The authors go on to identify a greater level of denial—within the wider public itself. They argue that society enables denial of climate science through inaction and resistance to the scientific consensus. The authors conclude that if the public stopped denying climate change, the problem itself could realistically be significantly addressed.
Reception
The book's coauthor John Cook won the 2011 Eureka Prize for Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge, awarded by the New South Wales Government as part of the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes, and was honoured for his role in communicating the essence of climate change science to the general public.{{cite news|url=https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2011/09/top-honour-uq%E2%80%99s-eureka-prize-winners|work=UQ News|publisher=University of Queensland|title=Top honour for UQ's Eureka Prize winners|access-date=31 October 2015|date=7 September 2011|archive-date=22 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022225858/http://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2011/09/top-honour-uq%E2%80%99s-eureka-prize-winners}}{{cite news|url=https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2011/08/eureka-moment-leading-climate-change-communicator|access-date=31 October 2015|title=Eureka moment for leading climate change communicator|date=24 August 2011|work=UQ News|publisher=University of Queensland|archive-date=19 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019114542/http://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2011/08/eureka-moment-leading-climate-change-communicator}} Director of the University of Queensland Global Change Institute, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, cited Cook's research and authorship of Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand as the rationale behind him winning the award.
The Ecologist reviewed the book and described it as: "well researched and painstakingly footnoted".{{cite journal|journal=The Ecologist|access-date=31 October 2015|url=http://www.theecologist.org/reviews/books/885054/climate_change_denial.html|title=Climate Change Denial|first=Jeremy|last=Williams|date=12 May 2011|issn=0012-9631|oclc=263593196|archive-date=15 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915060448/http://www.theecologist.org/reviews/books/885054/climate_change_denial.html}} The review concluded: Climate Change Denial is a wise and timely book. ... It deserves an audience". Writing for ECOS magazine, Mary-Lou Considine wrote that the book "dissects objections to the peer-reviewed science" in "forensic detail". Considine recommended the book to those who had previously visited the website Skeptical Science and subsequently wanted to learn more about the wider topic discussed on the site.
In a review of the book by the academic journal Natures Sciences Sociétés, the authors' thesis was praised for its ability to bring reason to their analysis: "This book shows how we can break through denial, accept reality, and thus solve the climate crisis". Natures Sciences Sociétés recommended the work for multiple stakeholders, concluding: "It will engage scientists, university students, climate change activists as well as the general public seeking to roll back denial and act".{{cite journal |journal=Natures Sciences Sociétés |title=Sélection thématique de livres §Changement climatique |language=fr, en |type=review |date=October 2011 |volume=19 |issue=4 |page=474 |issn=1240-1307 |doi=10.1051/nss/2011153 |doi-access=free}}
Janine Kitson reviewed the book for the journal Education, a publication of the New South Wales Teachers Federation.{{cite journal|journal=Education: Journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation|publisher=New South Wales Teachers Federation|first=Janine|last=Kitson|issn=0013-1156|oclc=225337865|page=36|date=8 August 2011|title=Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand}} Kitson described the work as timely and important within the context of a need for the public to act before a point of no return: "This is a crucial book to read before runaway climate change is truly beyond our control". Her review concluded: "One can only hope that this book will be read by climate deniers so we can start the challenging journey to an ecologically sustainable future".
See also
- Merchants of Doubt
- Merchants of Doubt (film)
- Climate Change Denial Disorder, satirical parody film about a fictional disease
- Fear, uncertainty and doubt
- Global warming controversy
- List of books about the politics of science
- Media coverage of climate change
- Watts Up With That?, a blog that promotes climate change skepticism or denial
- Triumph of Doubt (2020 book)
References
{{Reflist|33em}}
Further reading
- {{cite book|title=As the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial|first1=Derrick|last1=Jensen|authorlink=Derrick Jensen (activist)|first2=Stephanie|last2=McMillan|year=2007|publisher=Seven Stories Press|isbn=978-1-58322-777-0|oclc=154705030|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/asworldburns50si00jens}}
- {{cite book|title=Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change|year=2014|first=George|last=Marshall|authorlink=George Marshall (environmentalist)|publisher=Bloomsbury USA|isbn=978-1-62040-133-0|oclc=885302594}}
- {{cite book|title=Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life |year=2011|first=Kari Marie |last=Norgaard|authorlink=Kari Norgaard|publisher=The MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-51585-6|oclc=727944942}}
- {{cite book|title=Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming|first1=Naomi|last1=Oreskes|authorlink=Naomi Oreskes|first2=Erik M. |last2=Conway|author2-link=Erik M. Conway|year=2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Press|isbn=978-1-60819-394-3|oclc=461631066}}
External links
{{commons category|Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand}}
- {{cite news|url=http://www.skepticalscience.com/Climate-Change-Denial-book.html|access-date=31 October 2015|title=Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand|date= 29 April 2011|first=John|last=Cook|work=Skeptical Science|archive-date=22 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922164630/https://skepticalscience.com/Climate-Change-Denial-book.html}}
- {{cite news|access-date=31 October 2015|url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6811.htm|title=Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|date=2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402053127/http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6811.htm}}
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