The debate around climate change has been framed as a war of science, when in fact it is a war of opposing perspectives.
Let me explain.
Those who believe that climate change is real base that belief on scientific evidence, while those who dismiss climate change do so based on, you guessed it, scientific evidence.
Wait, what?
You might have heard that 99% of scientists believe climate change is a real threat, but that leaves 1% who aren’t convinced.
So which scientists do you believe? The 99%? Or the 1%?
It is easy to say that clearly 99% of scientists should be believed over the other 1%, just like it is easy to say that climate change scientists only get funding if they create an emergency so of course they are crying wolf.
The problem is that the two sides dismiss each other, each one claiming the moral and enlightened high ground.
We have stopped talking to each other like human beings.
I mentioned in a previous post that climate change has been assumed as a “liberal” position, which makes it a target for people who consider themselves “conservative”.
Even though both sides use science to back up their positions, the battle is not one of science but of ideological leanings and personal perspective.
Climate change advocates claim that “real science” points to the reality of climate change, but climate change deniers say the exact same thing.
Until we recognize that science can be employed to support or undermine personal perspectives, we will never build a consensus around this world-changing issue.
The science may be definitive, but science will never convince everyone; we need to move beyond pure science and begin to find a way to speak to each other’s personal perspectives.
Is there an absolute truth when it comes to climate change? I believe so.
But we will never be able to address climate change as a whole society until we humble ourselves enough to accept and discuss different perspectives and engage on the topic rather than shut down debate because of close-mindedness.
For my next post, I was inspired by someone who reached out on Instagram to write more about free speech and the battle of moral absolutes on university campuses. You can reach me on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook at @kylewierks.