Why Aren’t We Doing Something About Global Warming?

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Here is the reality: Climate scientists virtually all agree that the earth is warming and that human action, such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other activities, is a primary cause. In short, we are like the proverbial frog in the pot, which is slowly warming to the boiling point.

So, if this is the reality, why aren’t we doing more about it?

Psychological processes are largely to blame for the lack of action in this looming crisis. A big part of the problem is that people are naturally resistant to change, and doing something significant about global warming requires a great deal of change. Here are some of the psychological processes that are inhibiting action.

Denial

This very common psychological defense mechanism is in full display. In fact, “climate change deniers” is used to describe that portion of the population that denies the scientific evidence of global warming (“This is not really happening”; “It’s a hoax”). Until a supermajority of people accept the scientific facts, stop the denial, and decide to take action, little will be done to mitigate climate change.

Rationalization

Another very “human” defense mechanism allows people to counter-argue against reality (“Some climate scientists disagree…” Not really! “If it was really such a crisis, the government would be doing something about it.” “Someone will figure out a solution and fix the problem for us.”).

Diffusion of Responsibility

This is what keeps individuals from taking personal action to conserve resources and adopt sustainable technologies. (“The Chinese are far bigger polluters than the U.S.” “If other nations aren’t taking action, why should we?”). Research shows that until individuals realize that they need to take action in an emergency situation, they will simply wait for someone else to do something.

Egocentrism

Face it, many people are simply unwilling to sacrifice or change their behavior due to self-interests. The very powerful “Commons Dilemma” experiments/demonstrations show that people in a collective with limited, but slowly renewing resources (e.g., adding a few M&Ms to a bowl every few minutes as participants take turns grabbing and eating some) quickly deplete those resources as everyone tries to get what they believe is their share. In the same way, we are rapidly depleting our energy resources, to the detriment of the planet.

So, what is it going to take to stave off the impending environmental disaster?

We have to fight against these fundamental psychological principles that are at the heart of our collective inaction. This means:

1. Accepting the scientific evidence that human activity is contributing to the crisis and deciding to do something about it, both personally and collectively. Make this a personal priority, contact legislators, sign petitions, etc.

2. Take personal responsibility. Decide how you can contribute by reducing energy consumption. What can you do personally to “go green”? Here is a simple resource that is quite helpful.

3. Encourage organizations that you are a part of to do their part and conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.