What We Talk About When We Talk About Climate Change

In the United States the national dialogue around climate change remains enormously polarized, which has stifled support to combat it. This problem persists largely because of the spread of misinformation about the issue. “There is no scientific consensus on climate change.” “It still gets cold in the winter, so the planet can’t be warming.” “Environmental regulations kill jobs and hurt the economy.” These statements and others aim to mislead the public and cloud understanding of anthropogenic climate change. This in turn stifles progress toward implementing policies to combat climate change. Misinformation strategies are often funded and implemented by corporations that would be impacted by these new policies. This chapter debunks these myths while also exploring the motivations behind the spreading of misinformation. Strategies to combat this misinformation and enact change are discussed throughout.