Essay by Eric Worrall
“… If we use technologies like aircon to avoid dealing with the root causes of climate change, we are in denial. …”
The new climate denial? Using wealth to insulate yourself from discomfort and change
Published: February 7, 2023 3.48pm AEDT
Hannah Della Bosca
PhD Candidate and Research Assistant at Sydney Environment Institute, University of SydneyWhile the days of overt climate denial are mostly over, there’s a distinct form of denial emerging in its stead. You may have experienced it and not even realised. It’s called implicatory denial, and it happens when you consciously recognise climate change as a serious threat without making significant changes to your everyday behaviour in response.
Much research has focused on how we intellectually distance ourselves from the unpleasant realities happening around us. What requires greater attention is how we may engage in climate denial by seeking out spaces of sensory comfort and using them to shield ourselves as the world unravels outside our window.
Denial, thought of in this way, is entirely sensible. My colleagues and I asked residents around the Western Sydney suburb of Penrith – famously the hottest place on Earth during the Black Summer of 2019-20 – about their experiences during heatwave conditions. Unsurprisingly, sensory denial is central to how they cope with extremes – primarily by using air conditioning.
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Why does this matter?
If we use technologies like aircon to avoid dealing with the root causes of climate change, we are in denial.
As the world heats up, demand for air conditioning has skyrocketed. The International Energy Agency has estimated that by 2050, up to two-thirds of the world’s households will have installed aircon, particularly in China, India and Indonesia.
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Read more: https://theconversation.com/the-new-climate-denial-using-wealth-to-insulate-yourself-from-discomfort-and-change-199101
Is wearing clothes or lighting a fire to stay warm in winter also a form of sensory climate denial?
If we were all truly exposed to our local climates, without clothes or blankets or any other form of personal climate modification, I suspect most of us would rapidly conclude the planet is way too cold for humans.
Correction (EW): h/t Nick – The Conversation, not SMH. I blame Climate Change… 🙂
Typical ChatGPT errors. The OpenAI website has a ChatGPT detector.
Hannah Della Bosca is obviously a, “True Believer,” who has been writing and rewriting the same tired drivel since she was in second grade. Hannah is a, “Catch 22.”
Gaia: What have you done today to earn your place in this crowded world, Hannah?
Hannah: I died.
Man discovers fire.
Fire makes steam engines go.
Productivity skyrockets.
Fossil fuels enable astounding mobility.
Electricity changes everything for the better, including heating and cooling.
Coincidentally, the world emerges out of a cold spell.
Man blames himself, hating even the core reasons for his good fortune.
Things go badly off the rails for man.
It shouldn’t have to end like this. So let’s keep pushing back against the insane denial of the benefits of modern appliances and the sources of energy that make it all possible.
(And yes, I am using “man” in the sense of all humankind. :))
Is this a dare for skeptics in the Huxley science tradition?
Making and consuming clean water – denying the reality of infections that kill young children
Industrial agriculture – denying hunger
Having children – denying death
Making fine art and music – denying futility of life
Building relationships – denying loneliness
Making peace – denying the inevitability of war
Exploring space – denying our powerlessness
I could go on and on – denial is an appropriate motive force of positive change when paired with good intention and critical thinking. It makes us human.
So I suppose that to avoid engaging in sensory denial she goes outside and stands in the rain?
today I denied the hot and humid air mass outside by turning on my air conditioner.
The Nut: “… If we use technologies like aircon to avoid dealing with the root causes of climate change, we are in denial. …”
Eric: “Is wearing clothes or lighting a fire to stay warm in winter also a form of sensory climate denial?”
Only using AC is “denial”. But it is selective denial. Just like Climate “Justice”, Racial “Justice”, etc.
They get to define the terms and select just what supports or hinders The Cause.
apparently carved this into a self-dug sandstone block using her glue-on fake fingernails…
Pure dingbat through and through.