How Climate Denial Works, in One Handy Chart

If you know much about climate change, then you know that there are plenty of people who would rather never address the fact that it exists. Mostly, those who profit by burning fossil fuels, and those who find the solutions to climate change ideologically distasteful. And you likely know that these people routinely dole out a healthy helping of what we call 'climate denial', which is aimed especially to the American public. What you might not know is just how all this denial works, and where it comes from.

This graph shows how the climate denial machine works.

The thing itself is pretty self-explanatory, and relatively accurate. It does a solid job of displaying the various groups that play a pointed role in attempting to sculpt public opinion on the climate issue, and shows how, for example, a coal company can go through credible-looking channels to seed anti-climate messages in the mainstream media (labeled the 'echo chamber' above).It's not rocket science. Parties with an interest in stoking disarray on the climate issue work through think tanks, lobbying groups, and front organizations to move bits of credible-looking climate denial into the national conversation. (Groups fighting for climate action work through their own channels, think tanks, and so forth, albeit in a much less united, more fractured manner ...) The useful thing about this chart is how it reflects the media's role -- once a juicy bit of climate denial enters that echo chamber, it's liable to stay there, bouncing around and snowballing with other scraps of misinformation. Just consider Climate Gate, the 'natural cycles' gibberish, or any number of skeptic talking points. Then consider the fact that the organizations with more funding, resources, and political influence (ie, the US Chamber of Commerce) will be more likely to successfully transport messages from the fringe groups and think tanks into the mainstream. This should help us understand the disadvantages faced by those working to build greenhouse gas-reducing laws in a political system so swayed by corporate influence.

I find it fascinating and depressing in equal measure that so many here on ATS have fallen for the most well funded and organized conspiracy of all time climate change denial. Deniers have fallen hook, line and sinker to all the corporate propoganda, and would rather listen to phony politicians who are paid up stooges of the denial machine, than believe solid evidence from hard working and honest scientists doing they're best to alert the world to the dangers we face.

I own a non-profit website aiming to raise awareness on climate change and various other topics and I have noticed that a few people have been denying all the facts and figures the website provides claiming that they are a false!

This is what our leaders have done to us... We are constantly suspicious of any information given out to us!

Okay. I don't believe we do as much damage as everyone thinks.
I believe these changes occur naturally, without any help from man.
Can you please explain to me how they have found tropical plant fossils under the ice in Greenland?
Just one of many examples I have studied.

I'm not saying we don't do some damage, but mother earth does way more than we ever could.

Q) Is Climate Change real?
A) Yes.

Q) Are Humans the cause?
A) NO!

Q) Is Climate Change a naturally occuring phenomenon thats been happening since the beginning of time?
A)Yes.

Q) Is there ANYTHING humans can do to stop it?
A) Not a chance in HELL!!

I hate the phras "global warming"
The earth has cooled and warmed by its self for ever, and will continue to do so for as long as were here, and after were all gone

I read climate depot every day, as its emailed to my inbox, lots of articles to do with 'the weather' and the personnel connected to 'the weather' makes interesting reading..
Again, can anyone tell me how CO2, at less than one percent of the total atmosphere, can do so much damage? its actually 0.393% of the atmosphere. There is more Methane, and that is 20 times worse than CO2,

I'm no scientist, but the way look at it is, if governments, the media and corporations are banging on about climate change, then it makes me suspect its not happening or its not as bad as they make out.

Also, I don't like the label climate change "deniers" sounds a bit like another type of deniers (Holocaust).
Which I suspect was done on purpose, so to squash any argument against CC.

people i understand what your saying, that climate change has been going on before humans.
but
if there is already a natural process, why alter it if we dont know the effects?

stop arguing about this people
if someone brings up global warming
just say:
it is irrelivant, the real issue is the fact we could be using efficent renewable energy but we dont because of a corporate monopoly on oil.

Well, not as big believer in human driven climate change, not an adamant opponent either mind you, but there is absolutely no way to get off fossil fuels this century, even if we go through a massive revolution and pour massive amounts of resources in trying to do so(which we are not) Our entire civilization is based on fossil fuels, until people start coming up with real solutions rather than silly carbon taxes and wind turbines there is little point in getting worked up over it. I will say again though that i am not convinced by the arguments.

The religious like extremism is also annoying, environmentalists seem to like stroking their own egos far more than offering any practical solutions. The earth has been through worse than we can throw at it, best we can do is try to adapt or we will join the very long list of species to become extinct.

I agree, the sooner we start using Hydrogen powered cars the better... try telling that to shell and BP though

There is climate change and humans are contributing a small portion of it...it truly amazes me that we all look at each other when we should be looking up and seeing the sun is a MAJOR contributor to climate change...Earth is not the only planet experiencing this change but I'm sure there are SUVs on Mars, right??

Let's also look at the poisonous arsenics being sprayed in our skies!! That traps heat on the surface of the Earth!!! So who is really responsible for this? I live in the NE of the US..and last winter didn't seem like global warming to me...what happened to Al Gore's rising water prediction?? BS!! Hmmm...I also love he takes footage of icebergs melting in the SUMMER!!! Duh,,,,I'm not a brainwashed zombie that believes everything these elitists sell us....tell Al Gore to sell his many mega-mansions that suck up $10,000/month in electricity if he's so concerned.

There is a rather large difference between acknowledging climate change and the willingness to spend trillions of dollars fighting it and charging each one of us taxes for causing it.

The Earth's climate has fluctuated greatly over the last hundred million years or so. In fact, these periods of fluctuation -- ranging from an entirely ice covered Earth to an average temperature in the upper 70s -- is exactly what has ushered in new species, furthered evolution, and very well may be the only reason we stand here today.

Trying to prevent climate change is ridiculous. Rather, in my opinion, we should be spending money and resources figuring out how to thrive despite it.

Seems like the topic of climate change is almost as controversial as
religion or abortion. I've heard both sides and I can't say that I know the
truth. I don't think anyone on this thread does either.

What I'd like to know is why did the CIA (of all government agencies)
open up the Center on Climate Change and National Security? No
one can get any information from them through FOIA because everything they
do is classified.

If the CIA is involved you can bet it's not in our best interests. They serve
the banks and corporations. So whatever the truth might be, it's being
deliberately kept from us.

Fracking, drilling for oil, pollution, creating weather events, oil spills, machines deep within the earth spinning unknown particles and the list goes on and on.

I do not know how all of the above, if any of the above causes harm to the Earth but speculation and research leads me to believe Man is a complete fool for messing with the Earth the way he has.

The Earth is living.

We are depleting her blood (oil) and one day she may not be able to compensate with us inhabiting her and she may very well deplete us so she can sustain her own life. Like getting rid of a cancer so to speak.

We are taking away her natural resources and placing an alternative into deep fracking holes. Sad.

We trash her oceans and spill oil ....the dangers to the Oceans imo have been downplayed. The oceans are telling us they are ill. Ice caps melting, more methane, rising and warming oceans are not a good thing.

We know very little about our planet, oceans, and solar system. We are in an infancy stage in regards to what we truly know to be facts.

It doesn't seem as though we have much respect for where we live and in the long run we may just wish we had taken better care of our home.