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Why Talking About Climate Change Is So Hard
It seems so strange, not only is climate change affecting literally everyone on this very planet, but it’s also something that everyone could actively participate in stopping. Yet when it comes to communicating climate change and climate action effectively it seems like whatever is being said, goes right over everyone’s head, even when it’s simple! So why is it so hard to talk about climate change in a meaningful way?
Depressing
While the news media does indeed like to focus on violent and depressing actions taken by others, these are often things that are taking place elsewhere and to other people. While it might be trying to get the viewer to step inside their shoes, it never quite says that “we’re next”. This is why climate change is so hard to talk about, generally people don’t want to talk about things that bring them down and once you start to realize that climate change is having real negative impacts on people’s lives it becomes something of a taboo topic. So instead of listening to reason or committing to sustainable action we opt to ignore the science and the clear message by saying things like “I won’t live through it, why should I care?” or “I can’t make a meaningful impact so why should I bother?” or maybe it’s even painted in a positive light but forced onto someone else “Someone smarter than me will fix it”. All of these…
