Guest essay by Eric Worrall
“We worry that overemphasis on science may hamper the design of effective climate solutions.”
Why science needs the humanities to solve climate change
August 1, 2019 10.33pm AEST
Steven D. Allison Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine
Tyrus Miller Dean, School of Humanities, University of California, Irvine…
Many people view climate change as a scientific issue – a matter of physical, biological and technical systems. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s most recent assessment report, for example, is a vast compendium of climate science, threats and potential solutions.
Yet modern climate change is also a human problem caused by the collective behaviors of people – mostly the wealthy – around the world. Japanese economist Yoichi Kayasummarizes this viewpoint in an elegant equation known as the Kaya Identity: Global greenhouse gas emissions are the product not just of energy use and technology, but also human population size and economic activity.
Of course, science is essential for understanding climate change, and technology is critical for solving the problem. But the IPCC report spends little more than 10 pages on climate ethics, social justice and human values. We worry that overemphasis on science may hamper the design of effective climate solutions.
In our view, solving the world’s climate problems will require tapping into brainpower beyond science. That’s why the two of us – an ecologist and a humanities dean – are teaming up to rethink climate solutions. Recently we developed a program to embed humanities graduate students in science teams, an idea that climate research centers are also exploring.
…
So far, scientific facts have not motivated Americans to support the huge societal transformations needed to stop climate change. Some reject the scientific consensus on global warming because it makes them feel bad or clashes with their personal experience of the weather.
…
By tapping into what moves people, the emerging field of environmental humanities can help spur climate action. Scholars of history, philosophy, religious studies, literature and media are exploring many aspects of humans’ relationship with the Earth. An entire literary genre of climate fiction, or “Cli-Fi,” depicts often-apocalyptic visions of climate impacts on humanity. Social scientists have worked out how civilizations like the ancient Maya and medieval Icelanders dealt with climate shocks.
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Read more: https://theconversation.com/why-science-needs-the-humanities-to-solve-climate-change-113832
Frankly I think they’re onto something. Imagine if IPCC conferences gave more attention to the humanities.
IPCC conferences could become a new global version of the Eurovision song contest, with continuous mainstream media coverage of performers. Artists from all around the world could compete to express their climate angst through song, dance and showers of green confetti.
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If dancing can affect the weather, why not the climate? Although that CO2-spewing campfire is streng verboten in the CACA religion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMTLs4qfJtI
Maybe Elizabeth Warren can magically dance away all those nasty, offending plant food molecules.
Call up the Hopi and Zuni medicine dancers….
at least their religious machinations are entertaining.
…clearly their abilities are equally matched.
Well, it couldn’t hurt!
First do no harm.
Indians have rain dance. No make fun of Pocahontas.
More seriously this thing keeps on evolving more and more into a pagan religion.
Like so many other Americans, Matoaka Powhatan, aka Pocahontas, happens to be an ancestress of mine.
Before converting to Christianity and becoming Rebecca Rolfe, these were her spiritual beliefs and rituals, to include dance:
https://classroom.synonym.com/the-spiritual-or-religious-beliefs-of-the-powhatan-12087579.html
We have her and her English husband John to thank for the US tobacco industry. He somehow stole from the Spanish seeds for a less nasty variety of tobacco than used in Algonquin ceremonies, and she showed him how best to grow it.
Some economic historians judge 1614 as the most important year of the 17th century. The first shipment of Virginia tobacco arrived in London then, assuring that the British colonies in North America would be profitable and flourish.
The palefaces are said to have given the Indians smallpox and other European diseases. But, they got even with us– they gave us tobacco!
And syphilis. . . .
Some would argue 1609-1610 was more important. That was the year that the Virginia colony survived the “starving time”.
Only about 60 of the 240 colonists were found alive in the spring of 1610. An ancestor of mine was one of the survivors.
Sadly the pilgrim father’s couldn’t give back “Daejeling Tea” in return for “Virginia tobacco”.
Sure history had taken an other path.
“Like so many other Americans, Matoaka Powhatan, aka Pocahontas, happens to be an ancestress of mine.”
That’s nothing. I happen to be (like so many other Americans) a descendant of Lucy, Mother of Man, whose remains were found in 1974 in the Awash River Valley in what today is Ethiopia.
What’s remarkable to me is how they figured out that her name was “Lucy.” It was one of those amazing coincidences of science which just happen to happen on occasion. During the 1978 renovation of a post office in Streetsboro, Ohio, an undelivered Christmas card was found between the mail slot and the wall. Postmarked 3,180,000 BC, it was addressed to “Lucy, Mother of Man, Awash River ET 00001”.
And the rest, as they say, is l’histoire.
Tragically, Mrs. Rolfe’s visit to her husband’s pestilential homeland ended in her death from disease. She and John had only one son, Thomas, who in turn had only one daughter, Jane, whose only son was John Bolling, who had at least seven children.
So Rebecca Rolfe’s line almost died out, but her great-grandson Major John (1676-1729) was the ancestor of the numerous “Red Bollings”, to include the second Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, formerly Edith Bolling Galt, who served as in effect Acting President after her husband’s stroke. She claimed to be the only person capable of deciphering the president’s impaired speech.
So, the historical model Trudeau used for Honey Huan, then.
Climate Change ceased being about science 20 years ago.
Irrefutable evidence of that is the 40 years of Charney Sensitivity estimation stuck at 3.0 (+/- 1.5) deg C after many countless billions of dollars (and Euros and Pounds) spent trying to nail it down. The reason it can’t/won’t get better defined, it observation says its much lower, and that is antema to the rent-seeking Climate modellers. Thus Climate Change is not about science, its about money and power. Politicized junk science is all Climate Change is today.
Humanities profs just hate to see all that money wasted on “science”. And in the case of most climate “research”, ie GIGO computer gaming, they’re right.
I have long thought that the followers of social studies suffered greatly from ‘science envy’…
Grant envy.
And Pension Envy.
Why should “scientists” get all that wonderful grant money?
Is a rain dance equally effective as a rain prayer, and more effective than humanities professor’s petitions? Do humanities progressives really believe in witchcraft?
You’ve heard of the New Age movement, haven’t you? Mother Gaia and all that? So short answer: yes.
Yes, just as effective, but the dance may be more entertaining.
No they are equally effective. (However, knowing that neither has any effect how could either have more of nothing?)
Probably yes, as they label as “witchcraft” or “magic” that which they do not understand, which leaves a pretty wide chasm to fill.
If allowed to fester they will be more dangerous to human intelligence than Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
All I can say is that alarmists arguing climate science with a ‘dance off’ would probably be more credible and scientific than the methods they are currently using.
I like the dance off idea, but would judging be subjective by the audience right after the show, or would final verdict await observable meteorological events?
BTW in Massachusetts they refer her to as “Faux-cahontas”.
Find out more about Senator Warren’s heritage here:
https://elizabethwarren.co/
A bowl of her Pow Wow Chow should help fight climate change… or something.
I can see it now. We can all do the Bascillaria paradoxa line dance to reduce global warming by encouraging diatom growth through dance.
I had a Diatom Growth once, went to the dermatologist to have it removed, nearly cost me an arm and a leg the dirty scum
I demand a lead role in the Met production of Rigoletto
Well, I guess “Chicken Little” could be considered performance art.
“We worry that overemphasis on science may hamper the design of effective climate solutions.”
Translation: Our science is so weak we have to jump to humanities, philosophy, marketing and a bunch of psychics in the back room to sell the scam.
The University of California used to be a good school.
Which one?
Berkeley.
Speaking of HughManatees
http://www.quickmeme.com/img/cf/cf3569158cdf91e4c8fd8758e1570d43600333d6d62b9dd3f70d73bedffef4a3.jpg
That was my thought too. Got to appeal to the emotions.
Perhaps the Humanities will add a few new courses to their syllabuses:
Divination
Environmental Expressionism
Pyrotechnic Virgin Sacrifice
Entrails Examination
Omens in Ossicles
The degree afforded will be “Witchhdoctor of Philosophy”
Love that!
Ph.WD.
Maybe Wiccan instead of the pejorative “witch”. Warlocks also need recognition, despite their inherent male privilege.
Imagine the infighting over choosing a theme song.
Safety Dance ~ Men Without Hats
Money ~ Pink Floyd
Radioactive ~ Imagine Dragons
the choices are endless…
Money for Nothing – Dire Straits
Too Many People – Paul McCartney
More like
Imagine ~ John Lennon
Imagine all the people,
Having the top two floors of the Dakota all to themselves.
Don Ho’s “Tiny Bubbles”?
I’m guessing that “Here Comes the Sun” is out.
Sorry, it’s got to be ” Money for nothing (and chicks for free)” Dire Straits
Most appropriate:
Oohhh. Australia is not allowed to see that hat dance. We of course are a precious bunch, and should not see such lude dances.
The only thing nutty enough for this would be akin to this:
When my kids were little I heard that (by actual count) 80 bagillian times. AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
The Money Song – Monty Python
[“It’s accountancy makes the world go round”]
Error! Here is the Python link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNeB6qRvF3Q
Climate change has become the ULTIMATE post modern term and thought, these people are just INFATUATED with it.
What does “climate change” even mean, and what is the climate problem and do we need a climate solution?
“Some reject the scientific consensus on global warming because…”
There is no scientific consensus.
There is a political consensus, and some reject that because science doesn’t support the conclusion that humans are the major cause of climate change or that CO2 is a major contributor to climate change.
The lede of their article is:
“Large wildfires in the Arctic and intense heat waves in Europe are just the latest evidence that climate change is becoming the defining event of our time. Unlike other periods that came and went, such as the 1960s or the dot-com boom, an era of unchecked climate change will lead to complex and irreversible changes in Earth’s life support systems.”
The lede is supposed to draw people in and make them want to read the entire story, not make them laugh and shake their head at the authors’ ignorance.
That’s they key thing that I noted. In every statement made by Allison, Miller, et al, the assumption was that “climate change” was the Truth and could not be questioned. Every attempt to question it could only be motivated by some evil cause, or stupidity, since it is “settled science”. They totally reject the possibility of the “settled science” being wrong.
“the emerging field of environmental humanities “, Say what?
If they relegated it to making sand candles, organic basket weaving and flower pressing it might retain some rational value.
Enough wind chimes could power a planet.
r pressing means the natural world is denuded of flowers.
That cannot be permitted.
Auto [/Sarc!]
Beats me, Kevin. That’s another one of those phrases where you are now dumber for having read it.
I suppose it made sense to them while they were tripping on acid, but now they are just ashamed to admit they have no clue, either.
“Artists from all around the world could compete to express their climate angst through song, dance and showers of green confetti.”
Isn’t this what happened this week in Italy? Except the green confetti was ?
Why not jump on the Climate Alarmist Government-funded Gravy Train? Most of the physical science folks have sold out like cheap whores on that count … may as well let the dancers, painters, sculptors, poets, and infinite variety of performance artists join in the groveling for global warming dollars. Given that they are all furiously engaged in fictional creative writing, why not let the real artists join in?
This approach has potential for slightly mitigating the large differentials between pay scales and job opportunities in the STEM fields (sciences etc.) and the humanities. Students in the latter fields have college loans to pay off too, with substantially lower incomes to do so.
It’s not surprising that a dean in the humanities is on board with this. It is a bit strange that it took this long to try to get on the gravy train.
First they tried “science communication”, for which no actual knowledge of science was required. Indeed, the less understanding, the better.
This is the same folks who want to bridge the gap between STEM and the arts by academic committee.
The key component of STEM and STEAM is integration. Instead of teaching disciplines in independent subject silos, lessons are well rounded, project and inquiry based, with a focus on interdisciplinary learning. Making it an exceptional way of instructing and learning.
Alternatively, STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.
Frankly, this is as lame as a three legged steer.
I’d say they aren’t cheap. With Billions of Dollars being tossed around, the word ‘cheap’ will never be used.
A professional scientist’s major asset in life is their credibility. Selling that for equivalent of the biblical “twenty pieces of silver” is pretty cheap whoring.
wait a sec. i thought the physical science whores WERE performance artists.
FTA: Social scientists have worked out how civilizations like the ancient Maya and medieval Icelanders dealt with climate shocks.
You mean there were climate shocks before there were SUV’s?
Can anyone here tell me how the Mayans dealt with climate shocks? Does anyone here believe that there is enough information available about the ancient Mayans to be able to accurately answer such a question?
They dealt with it by human sacrifice, constant warfare and finally abandoning their cities.
And by dying. There are probably fewer people in the Petén now than there was in 800 AD.
That might well true of Peten, although in this century the department’s population has roughly doubled to about 700,000.
For the whole Classic Maya world however, the best estimate is two million, versus some six million speakers of Maya languages today.
We’re doomed, that’s all there is to it. I am going to try my best to forget this report. Maybe some chemicals will help?
I take the opposite view. Crap such as this fills me with hope.
Statements such as “So far, scientific facts have not motivated Americans to support the huge societal transformations needed to stop climate change” tell me they are desperate for ideas and ideas such as what is presented here tell me that, at root, these people are really quite stupid.
I use to believe these people had lost their minds. Now I understand it is simply a Progressive game of outrageous oneupmanship.
Chemicals won’t fix them but it will allow you to suffer their lunacy with less pain which, I take it is your point.
Only the right chemicals in Liberal Doses
Lucky for me they say resveritrol in red wine is good for you.
That’s the EtOH talking.
A leading cause of pregnancy and fatherhood since time immortal.
It would be more fruitful to put a physics major on every dance team. Someone that has studied force and momentum, dynamics, and kinematics would be able to help dancers improve their leaps and arabesques with greater certainty than any influence dancers are likely to have on modifying ‘climate change’.
Nothing new here.. Climate Science already has plenty of clowns, (data) jugglers, Illusionists and lots and lots of Dancing (around the facts)
The reality is that, based on the paleoclimate record and the work done with models, the climate change we are experiencing today is caused by the sun and the oceans over which mankind has no control. Despite the hype, there is no real evidence that CO2 has any effect on climate and there is plenty of scientific rationale to support the idea that the climate sensitivity of CO2 is zero. As far as climate justice is concerned, the responsible party is Mother Nature. Lots of luck collecting on a judgement against Mother Nature.
The strong/overwhelming temptation is to disrespect the humanities. That might not entirely be fair.
People with a PhD in the humanities may feel that they have accomplished a Herculean task. My observation is that they have a rocky path, full of angst, b.s., and tears.
In comparison, a science or engineering PhD usually seems more straightforward. In fact, one of my buddies sailed through his PhD and complained that he didn’t get enough guidance from his advisor. I’ve never heard that complaint from a humanities student.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t swear that the differences weren’t due to the personalities, both student and advisor, of those involved.
Maybe the humanities think they have something to prove. The introduction to one first year psychology course went something like this:
Insecure much?
Well, yeah, that could be a problem.
“There’s this lime green snow or confetti falling from the dancers’ hands. Nothing in nature is like that.”
Uhhh – limes?
I’m afraid I would have to go with the Gallagher theme. 🙂
An appeal to empathy/emotion through performing arts.
From a letter to my uncle on a related matter, April 20:
“At the end of the day though, all of this must either stand up to experimental scrutiny or be dismissed as snake-oil hogwash. He and his kind would just say, ‘oh, but that’s the OLD paradigm of science, perpetuated by patriarchal imperialist capitalists! The new, shiny paradigm is that we don’t NEED to present proof!'”
Surprisingly, it’s not much fun being right all the time.
That reminds me of:
“Social scientists have worked out how civilizations like the ancient Maya and medieval Icelanders dealt with climate shocks.”
NO, they haven’t. They have speculated on how these ancient cultures might have collapsed while superimposing speculation regarding what past climates were.
If I’m not mistaken, it was pointless, stupid, ego-driven intertribal warfare. You know: the kind that still goes on in the developing world, and that our leftist moral superiors would like to see us return to and are promoting heavily throughout the West right now.
They keep using the word “Science.” I do not think it means what they think it means.
As climate change is a substitute for religion, why not music and art?
If you can’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle. The climate steaks’ sell-by date, unfortunately for them, has long expired. But heck, some people might still buy the sizzle. Worth a try.