Convincing Conservatives Who Don’t Care About The Climate Crisis
By: Christyl Rivers
Tags: Relationships, Nature, Self Improvement, Climate Change, Communication

I know several people who don’t seem to care much about the climate crisis.

To be fair, it’s not exactly true that they don’t care. When it is their own flood damage, they are rightfully annoyed.

When it is their own flight delay due to storms, they’re as disgruntled as anyone would be.

But they shrug these things off as “what nature has always done.” And, it’s easy for them to get annoyed that others link everything to climate change.

However annoyed, or even devastated, by climate events they may be, the conservatives, and Trump supporters who I know and love, do care, but very often feel it is either “God’s Plan” or unrelated to climate.

Why God’s Plan feels off to the rest of us

Remember that time it was God’s plan that we drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and nothing out of the ordinary happened? Or when we burned witches, went on murderous crusades, decimated native populations, or invaded whole continents to pillage? How about that whole slavery, or Jim Crow thing?

Well, when I hear a well-meaning person (usually a member of my own family) describe that God works in mysterious ways, and we just don’t “get His plan” all of these sorts of things come to mind.

They DO, in fact, care what happens to others. They just don’t think it is unplanned. They believe these are occasions for us to learn love and compassion. I used to believe this, and still do, in many respects.

This is in large part, why, even though I am still a Christian, I am a Christian Pagan rationalist, who sees science and fact as the best tools we have to understand life, the universe, and everything.

Self-delusion is human

One of those things I study extensively is human self-delusion, or confirmation bias. I have it. So do you. It’s human.

Above, I facetiously — maybe even offensively — detailed how nothing out of the ordinary happened when America ended World War II by bombing Japan. That is because when I try to use facts, or logic, to demonstrate the things that we take action upon, do, in fact, affect reality, people can say that’s delusional hubris. We do in fact impact the Earth. Europe was forested once. Other hominins roamed our planet, as well as millions of megafauna.

We do a disservice when we teach our children that humans do not have great power. This is because our power can also influence improvement.

But back to my conservative family. As no human being is immune to self bias, a roadblock is set directly in front of sensitive communication. We can try to add humor, to show non-aggression, or comradery, but this sometimes fails.

In a twisted, and outdated George Carlin kind of way, people insist that Earth has survived tons of crap. George Carlin famously argued that Earth will go on, it is humans that will die. Well, yes. And, no.

We need to examine our generational influence apart from a larger geologic influence

Earth will survive, but with diminished biodiversity and habitability. And since we’ve added billions in humans since Carlin, our species will be here,but few other species will be here to provide life support. No no one is arguing that Earth isn’t a resilient and impressive body. Only that we can do better.

Instead, what we are trying to show conservatives (and everyone) is that non-toxic is a better choice than toxic. This threatens some conservatives, because ‘non-toxic’ also means politically correct in our social climate. More on this later, as it is key to education and communication.

In short, it is the job of leaders, educators, parents, and communities to help people understand that every voice has value, but true and false are misleading. Every fact may or may not have meaningful substance. Throwing facts at disbelievers seldom, if ever works.

Human psychology does not often allow for us to observe, or be concerned, with one hundred years from now, especially if you fully expect to be somewhere even more paradisiacal.

Facts do not work against faith

When I say that our world, by every measure is warming at an accelerated, human-impacted, rate, my beloved conservatives invariably remark about how that’s how “earth cycles have always done.”

When I mentioned once that animals are going extinct at an alarming, Koala bear -on-fire sort of way, my sis said: “We all are going to die. That’s how life works.”

I work very hard to keep calm, and not get argumentative, because I genuinely wish to understand. Sis is right. We all die. But, she is dismissing my point: The numbers dying this time, are affected by our choices.

With her, I can’t insist that this climate change is man-made because all the other climate changes were not and there is no proof (that they can accept.)

What I have come to understand is that although people believe choice matters when you choose salvation, they don’t always see that choice matters as to what garbage we put in the air — or elsewhere.

The choice to be saved? Yours. The choice to save,or destroy? God’s. The choice to vote for leaders? Your choice. The choice as to who is pre-ordained by heaven to be leader? God’s choice. And so, on.

I have read many accounts of people who can stop climate change deniers by simply directing them to the verifiable facts. I think these smart writers do not break bread with my family.

Facts do not persuade at all when the people in question feel their belief system, their very faith, is under attack. A fact says that we are in the Sixth Extinction. But their facts point out that there have been several extinctions. A fact says that polar bears are disappearing due to the Arctic melting so rapidly. But their equally valid facts say that every species disappears over time. Even our own species will end, after all. For those of faith the end of the world is, again, God’s weird, and incomprehensible plan.

Facts also, cannot compare to the rewards of faith. When you are not living for this sad world, but for the next, much nicer harp music filled one, what good are unfortunate facts? It’s easier to deny what you don’t look at, and who wants to look at suffering cows, polluted Delhi, ecosystems, or dead forests?

Empathy has to start at home

For conservatives, you must first acknowledge their pain. Find out how they feel. They may feel, for example, that liberals do not really care about them, or climate change, but only about equality, inclusion, and “an agenda.”

When they hear the term “non toxic” they are wary, as masculinity has been called “toxic.” Of course not all masculinity is toxic any more than all pills are red, but, the damage is done in our social climate. Their pride on societal progress feels threatened when others don’t express gratitude for “how far we have come.”

In every classroom, we should encourage talk about call out culture, and cancel culture, and censorship. To change polarization into unity, people must find their voices, and their common ground.

They are not listening to anything that may feel to them like you do not have empathy for their pain. Trump won the election after all, by convincing people that they and their lifestyle, jobs, country — etc. are at risk of being lost.

Conservatives and progressives all care more about core concerns, but feel threatened by “the other side.” To end this, we must end “sides.”

Creating equality and a green, thriving economy, IS, in fact, a dream for many. But people of every faith, color, gender, and class do accept we should do all we can to, if not to “save the Earth” but to help one another.

Facing the truth of the climate crisis is non-partisan, it must remain that way. It must appeal to optimism, love, and not to fear.

People who fear change are not going to believe that we should stop burning witches for fuel. Okay. That was a joke, my husband’s actually, to give credit. But seriously, conservatives do not believe that drastic change from the only way they have ever known is advisable.

Not all progressive policies have made their lives better. Some of them haven’t made any lives better. And, it’s true, even progressives have had benefit from fossil fuels.

We all profited from an industrial revolution driven by fossil fuels. (It’s true that the decimated and enslaved who died under extraction and exploitation did not always profit, but that’s another “FACT” and therefore, useless in this context.)

What wealth and modern conveniences we do have did come with the advent of fossil fuels and artificial fertilizers and land use domination.

For those who manifest destiny and western domination brought affluence and health, we need much more than just scolding them to make any headway in our arguments.

Unite the right

We need to unite the right, not unite the right-wing supremacists, (those guys are nuts) of course, but unite what is Right. That is, the right side of history.

I am convinced that Christian Love, or even atheist love, is one of the many, many tools we have to persuade left and right-wing people of sincere goodness to join the crusade for a better, united world.

What we teach about others is crucially important. Teach always, that we are more powerful when we all help one another. And teach always that we all belong together.