BUSTING THE MYTH OF AMERICAN CLIMATE INDIFFERENCE
At the exhibition, after taking in David Opdyke's remarkable climate mural and before being invited to think about their own climate agency—their own ability to take meaningful action on climate—visitors are guided to a wall about climate opinion in the US with recent findings that are surprising, empowering, and actionable.
Listen and read along below.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER
Why aren’t we dealing with it?
Climate change poses an existential, encompassing threat to humans’ physical, economic, and social well-being. It jeopardizes the civilization and indeed the web of life we inhabit, which are exquisitely attuned to the climate and coastlines of the last 12,000 years. Both are starting to destabilize.
American leadership, for better or worse, is needed for progress. Fortunately, in the US, there is a bipartisan supermajority for climate action and climate justice.
Sixty-six percent of Americans support an ambitious “Green New Deal” accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy with a focus on justice. 69% favor federal financial support for the communities of color and low-income white communities that have been treated as sacrifice zones for fossil fuel expansion.
This is landslide-level support! Just compare polled support for abortion rights: 61% (per Pew Research in March 2022) and unqualified voting rights: 57% (per Pew Research in July 2021).
Yet as a nation, not only do we lack policy for global leadership, our whole public culture is still quiet on climate. Even privately, and even as news coverage of climate-fueled disasters increases, most of us don’t discuss it with family or friends. We feel ourselves sleepwalking toward the catastrophe depicted in David Opdyke’s mural.
WHY THE DISCONNECT?
Americans supporting major climate policy outnumber opponents 2 to 1. But we perceive the opposite. We think we’re outnumbered 2 to 1. In every state, residents underestimate support for transformative action.
In New York state, 72% of residents are climate concerned. Residents estimate 44% are concerned.
In Mississippi, 61% are climate concerned, but residents believe it is only 33%.
The myth of American climate indifference is so exaggerated that researchers are calling it a “false social reality.” It stymies us, locks us in a mental cage of isolation and overwhelm, and prevents us from demanding what we need and deserve.
BUSTING THE MYTH
WHAT’S THE ORIGIN OF THIS MYTH?
The fossil fuel industry spends hand over fist to convince us that it is essential to our well-being; that it’s a well-intentioned, responsible sector; and that we’re the guilty ones. Their marketers invented and popularized the idea of an individual’s “carbon footprint,” trying to shift the blame to us.
A Congressional investigation recently uncovered a trove of internal fossil fuel communications. These private statements contrast starkly with the industry’s projected public image. In 2020, for example, a Shell email said its highly hyped announcement of a pathway to “net zero” emissions “has nothing to do with our business plans.”
“Net zero” refers to the moment at which a company or nation—or the world—is no longer pumping planet-warming fossil fuel pollution into the atmosphere. It’s a crucial goal that is often invoked emptily, or even deceptively, as it was here.
IT’S TIME FOR US TO CONTROL THE NARRATIVE
The fossil fuel industry controls the narrative around climate policy. They dishonestly legitimize themselves and delegitimize us, the climate supermajority. And it’s in their interest for us to feel outnumbered.
TOGETHER, WE CAN CHANGE THE STORY
In the next part of the exhibition, visitors are invited to bust the myth of American climate indifference by recognizing their climate agency and committing to climate action alongside a community of others. They leave feeling empowered as described in the feedback the Museum has received:
“A thought-provoking and inspiring call to action.”
“A great place to start your climate activism journey.”
“Inspiring, informative, immersive.”
“Don’t miss this! Spend just 30 minutes here and your life will be changed.”
___________
The supermajority.
Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, et al. Politics & Global Warming, April 2022. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2022).
The myth.
Sparkman, G., Geiger, N. & Weber, E.U. Americans experience a false social reality by underestimating popular climate policy support by nearly half. Nature Communications 13, 4779 (2022).
The net zero lie.
Tabuchi, Hiroko. “Oil Executives Privately Contradicted Public Statements on Climate, Files Show.” The New York Times, September 14, 2022.
