NYT Op-Ed: Al Gore One Reason People Don't Take Global Warming Seriously
Fear-based approaches do more harm than good
4.9.2014
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Albert Merrick |
An opinion piece published on the New York Times website Thursday said that fear-based approaches to climate change arguments fail to achieve their intended result, and cited Al Gore as an example.
The piece, "Global Warming Scare Tactics" predicted that a new Showtime series which links dramatic and dangerous weather events to man's impact on the environment will do more harm than good, in terms of trying to convince skeptics of the dangers of climate change. Citing a decade's worth of research, the article warns that "there is every reason to believe that efforts to raise public concern about climate change by linking it to natural disasters will backfire."
As evidence, authors Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger cite the former Vice President and noted global warming alarmist, whose ascension to the forefront of the debate has coincided with an ebb in public support for the issue:
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For instance, Al Gore’s 2006 documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” popularized the idea that today’s natural disasters are increasing in severity and frequency because of human-caused global warming. It also contributed to public backlash and division. Since 2006, the number of Americans telling Gallup that the media was exaggerating global warming grew to 42 percent today from about 34 percent. Meanwhile, the gap between Democrats and Republicans on whether global warming is caused by humans rose to 42 percent last year from 26 percent in 2006, according to the Pew Research Center.
http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/nyt-op-ed-al-gore-one-reason-people-dont-take-global-warming-seriously
