cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/40004729
Against that backdrop, only 63 per cent of Canadians understand that climate change is real and caused by humans — a drop from 71 per cent in 2021, according to a poll published by the Angus Reid Institute Friday.
Many feel the reverse, that global warming is accurate and unequivocal, while “change” is merely a weasel word that allows demagogues to obscure causes and minimize effects.
Yes regional changes may differ. The planet getting hotter is what kills us all, though.
Luckily we don’t need to guess or invent a history of the terms based on anecdotal experience, we have a real one.
Yeah, thanks! In terms of usage I always advocate that we are contextual and varied depending on both accuracy and audience, including terms like crisis, catastrophe, etc.
From the linked history article:
“When referring to surface temperature change, Charney used “global warming.” When discussing the many other changes that would be induced by increasing carbon dioxide, Charney used “climate change.””
Climate Collapse would have probably been more accurate.
Yea, all these labels are true. I think the point many are missing about naming is that these terms can ideally be used rhetorically, i.e. to help people pay attention to a risk, by tailoring the terms to the context.
Risk Communication is an interesting field, and we’ll all be needing to understand it better shortly.