{"id":15385,"date":"2017-05-17T06:37:36","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T10:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/?p=15385"},"modified":"2017-05-17T06:37:36","modified_gmt":"2017-05-17T10:37:36","slug":"cognitive-dissonance-on-climate-the-ny-times-op-ed-page-has-been-terrible-long-before-bret-stephens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/cognitive-dissonance-on-climate-the-ny-times-op-ed-page-has-been-terrible-long-before-bret-stephens\/","title":{"rendered":"Cognitive Dissonance on Climate: The NY Times Op-Ed page has been terrible long before Bret\u00a0Stephens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An very useful in-depth article by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@ashiksiddique\">Ashik Siddique<\/a> (Digital organizer with The Climate Mobilization) on the New York Times&#8217; dealings with climate change &amp; its opinion writers\u00a0from medium.com, which I permit myself to reproduce here:<\/p>\n<div class=\"postArticle-content js-postField js-notesSource js-trackedPost\" data-post-id=\"b546e59d64f4\" data-source=\"post_page\" data-collection-id=\"1714705f4241\" data-tracking-context=\"postPage\" data-scroll=\"native\">\n<section class=\"section section--body section--first section--last\">\n<div class=\"section-content\">\n<div class=\"section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn\">\n<figure id=\"f185\" class=\"graf graf--figure graf-after--h3\">\n<div class=\"aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked\">\n<div class=\"progressiveMedia js-progressiveMedia graf-image is-canvasLoaded is-imageLoaded\" data-image-id=\"1*Bwr1-hgnqm4KzgVkzzsKLQ.jpeg\" data-width=\"528\" data-height=\"400\" data-scroll=\"native\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressiveMedia-image js-progressiveMedia-image aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*Bwr1-hgnqm4KzgVkzzsKLQ.jpeg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*Bwr1-hgnqm4KzgVkzzsKLQ.jpeg\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"3aaa\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--figure\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">In recent weeks, the <em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">New York Times <\/em>Op-Ed page has faced intense furor over its hiring of climate \u201clukewarmer\u201d Bret Stephens. His specious arguments, and those of the NYT editors attempting to defend him, have been thoroughly dismantled. (See Joe Romm <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/the-ny-times-promised-to-fact-check-their-new-climate-denier-columnist-they-lied-72ad9bdf6019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/the-ny-times-promised-to-fact-check-their-new-climate-denier-columnist-they-lied-72ad9bdf6019\">at ThinkProgress<\/a>, Ryan Cooper at <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/theweek.com\/articles\/695761\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/theweek.com\/articles\/695761\">The Week<\/a>, David Roberts <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2017\/5\/1\/15482698\/new-york-times-bret-stephens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2017\/5\/1\/15482698\/new-york-times-bret-stephens\">at Vox<\/a>, Emily Atkin <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/142421\/rise-kinder-gentler-climate-change-deniers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/142421\/rise-kinder-gentler-climate-change-deniers\">at the New Republic<\/a>, and <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/gizmodo.com\/an-embarrassment-scientists-react-to-the-nyts-climate-1794797008\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/gizmodo.com\/an-embarrassment-scientists-react-to-the-nyts-climate-1794797008\">a slew of<\/a> <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rahmstorf\/status\/857625862933540864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rahmstorf\/status\/857625862933540864\">climate<\/a> <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/kencaldeira.wordpress.com\/2017\/04\/29\/climate-of-risk-and-uncertainty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/kencaldeira.wordpress.com\/2017\/04\/29\/climate-of-risk-and-uncertainty\/\">scientists<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p id=\"2162\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Suffice it to say that, at a time when our president openly denies that climate change is real, let alone the most consequential challenge we face, the NYT screwed up by hiring yet another columnist to cast doubt on the scientific consensus that immediate action is necessary to avoid the collapse of human civilization.<\/p>\n<p id=\"3d4c\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">But Bret Stephens is just the latest and most egregious offender. Almost to a man (and only two women), the 11 recurring columnists seem unable to integrate the New York Times\u2019 own climate reporting into their political worldviews. This makes them about as irrelevant to actual policy discussions about our rapidly worsening crisis as Stephens.<\/p>\n<p id=\"650f\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">While touting ideological diversity, the <em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">Times<\/em> opinions page is in fact \u201cawash in out-of-touch, mediocre columnists who are badly out of sync with the era in which we live,\u201d as Sarah Jones wrote in the <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/142439\/bret-stephens-isnt-problem-new-york-times-op-ed-page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/142439\/bret-stephens-isnt-problem-new-york-times-op-ed-page\"><em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">New Republic<\/em><\/a>. <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Together, they co-create the complacent liberal elite fantasy that we can wait for gradual action against a growing emergency, and embody the cognitive dissonance about climate change in the mainstream American media imagination<em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">. <\/em><\/strong>They fail to consider the possibility that dangerous impacts of global warming may happen sooner than they think\u200a\u2014\u200aor how that might change what\u2019s considered a reasonable response to it.<\/p>\n<p id=\"8ec6\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">__________________________<\/p>\n<p id=\"8475\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">If your views on climate action are mostly shaped by skimming the Times op-ed page, you know plenty about Republicans\u2019 willful ignorance, intransigence, and sociopathy on climate action.<\/p>\n<p id=\"fa4d\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">But you might not have seen many of the increasingly stark details of what preeminent climate scientists now suggest is possible\u200a\u2014\u200afor example, that without rapid decarbonization, we may actually be facing sea level rise of <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2016\/mar\/22\/sea-level-rise-james-hansen-climate-change-scientist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2016\/mar\/22\/sea-level-rise-james-hansen-climate-change-scientist\">multiple meters<\/a> in the next 50 years, not just one meter by 2100.<\/p>\n<p id=\"5446\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">You may not know that we\u2019re probably on track to cross the \u201cdanger\u201d threshold of 2\u00b0C average global warming in just <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/scientificamerican.com\/article\/earth-will-cross-the-climate-danger-threshold-by-2036\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/scientificamerican.com\/article\/earth-will-cross-the-climate-danger-threshold-by-2036\/\">20 years<\/a>, not decades longer, as commonly assumed.<\/p>\n<p id=\"d9a2\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">You might never have heard that if we can only count on using proven technologies, the world must reach net zero emissions within a decade for a very strong chance of avoiding climate catastrophe. The longer we put it off, the more unpredictable (and likely awful) the consequences.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"8972\" class=\"graf graf--figure graf--iframe graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<div class=\"aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked\">\n<div class=\"progressiveMedia js-progressiveMedia is-canvasLoaded is-imageLoaded\" data-scroll=\"native\">\n<div class=\"iframeContainer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15386 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/C-6GyTxXkAAAEyo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"499\" height=\"625\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/C-6GyTxXkAAAEyo.jpg 499w, https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/C-6GyTxXkAAAEyo-240x300.jpg 240w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 499px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 499\/625;\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"01c2\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--figure\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">That means a whole-society mobilization of the economy on the scale of the American <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/2016\/09\/22\/if-theres-a-world-war-ii-style-climate-mobilization-it-has-to-go-all-the-way-and-then-some\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/2016\/09\/22\/if-theres-a-world-war-ii-style-climate-mobilization-it-has-to-go-all-the-way-and-then-some\/\">effort during World War II<\/a>. It\u2019s quite a bit more aggressive than the fuzzy optimism you get from Paul Krugman or Nicholas Kristof that economic growth can continue safely for decades without drastic changes, just with more solar panels and wind turbines. It\u2019s certainly more direct than platitudes like \u201cclimate change is real!\u201d and \u201cwe should do\u2026something!,\u201d which are about as much as you\u2019re ever likely to get from Gail Collins or Frank Bruni. It won\u2019t be easy, to put it mildly. But it\u2019s necessary, and at this point the main responsibility of principled people is to work to somehow <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theclimatemobilization.org\/blueprint\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.theclimatemobilization.org\/blueprint\">make the necessary possible<\/a>, through whatever means available to them.<\/p>\n<p id=\"d63d\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">To different degrees, all the recurring columnists are entrenched so deeply in the narrow band of neoliberal thinking that has dominated mainstream American discourse over the past four decades that they are unable to absorb information that rubs the wrong way against a lifetime of received biases about political economy. They can\u2019t or won\u2019t seriously engage with the dire implications of climate science by considering how to build a politics beyond gradualist, market-based solutions. The result is that, instead of really educating readers about what should be done, they rhetorically teach them how to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem while effectively teaching them how to ignore it in order to preserve the status quo.<\/p>\n<p id=\"17be\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s no surprise that Stephens\u2019 fellow right-wingers on the Opinions page are resistant to climate action that appropriately matches physical reality.<\/p>\n<p id=\"b634\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Ross Douthat<\/strong>, who elsewhere espouses devout Catholic morality (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/douthat.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/10\/28\/why-i-am-a-catholic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/douthat.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/10\/28\/why-i-am-a-catholic\/\">10\/28\/14<\/a>), found tortured reasons to doubt Pope Francis\u2019 magisterial encyclical on climate change, \u201c<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/laudatosi.com\/watch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/laudatosi.com\/watch\">Laudato Si\u2019<\/a>,\u201d which wholly endorses \u201cthe radical change which present circumstances require\u201d (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/06\/21\/opinion\/sunday\/ross-douthat-pope-francis-call-to-action-goes-beyond-the-environment.html?rref=collection%252Fcolumn%252Fross-douthat&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=opinion&amp;region=stream&amp;module=stream_unit&amp;version=search&amp;contentPlacement=2&amp;pgtype=collection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/06\/21\/opinion\/sunday\/ross-douthat-pope-francis-call-to-action-goes-beyond-the-environment.html?rref=collection%252Fcolumn%252Fross-douthat&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=opinion&amp;region=stream&amp;module=stream_unit&amp;version=search&amp;contentPlacement=2&amp;pgtype=collection\">6\/20\/15<\/a>). After a long-winded explanation of why he and other self-proclaimed \u201creform conservatives\u201d are ok with doing essentially nothing against climate change, not even bothering to figure out a market-based solution, Douthat at least admitted that \u201cwe could be badly wrong, in which case we\u2019ll deserve to be judged harshly for misplacing priorities in the face of real perils, real threats\u201d (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/douthat.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/06\/24\/reform-conservatism-and-climate-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/douthat.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/06\/24\/reform-conservatism-and-climate-change\/\">6\/24\/14<\/a>). They probably are, and if we\u2019re stuck with their nonexistent plans, they will. Douthat, the baby of the Opinions page at only 37 years old, might even live to see 4\u00b0C global warming <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2010\/nov\/29\/climate-change-scientists-4c-temperature\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2010\/nov\/29\/climate-change-scientists-4c-temperature\">by 2060<\/a>, a Mad Max future that\u2019s \u201cincompatible with an organized global community\u201d and likely \u201c<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/grist.org\/climate-change\/2011-12-05-the-brutal-logic-of-climate-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/grist.org\/climate-change\/2011-12-05-the-brutal-logic-of-climate-change\/\">beyond adaptation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"5cb9\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">David Brooks<\/strong>, even more <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/03\/31\/opinion\/the-strange-persistence-of-guilt.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/03\/31\/opinion\/the-strange-persistence-of-guilt.html\">relentlessly<\/a> <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/04\/12\/opinion\/sunday\/david-brooks-the-moral-bucket-list.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/04\/12\/opinion\/sunday\/david-brooks-the-moral-bucket-list.html\">prone<\/a> to <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/05\/opinion\/a-question-of-moral-radicalism.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/05\/opinion\/a-question-of-moral-radicalism.html\">moralizing<\/a> on the individual level, dismissed the all-encompassing morality of \u201cLaudato Si\u2019\u201d by arguing, essentially, that greed is good (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/06\/23\/opinion\/fracking-and-the-franciscans.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/06\/23\/opinion\/fracking-and-the-franciscans.html\">6\/23\/15<\/a>). Ideologically unable to entertain much deviation from market fundamentalism, Brooks asserted that all comprehensive climate approaches are \u201ceconomically suicidal\u201d (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com\/2013\/06\/05\/is-this-a-government-which-i-see-before-me\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com\/2013\/06\/05\/is-this-a-government-which-i-see-before-me\/\">6\/5\/13<\/a>)\u200a\u2014\u200anotwithstanding that at this point, anything short of a comprehensive approach is actually suicidal, as Pope Francis <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/worldviews\/wp\/2015\/11\/30\/pope-francis-the-world-is-near-suicide-on-climate-change-its-now-or-never\/?utm_term=.e78604a4aaa9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/worldviews\/wp\/2015\/11\/30\/pope-francis-the-world-is-near-suicide-on-climate-change-its-now-or-never\/?utm_term=.e78604a4aaa9\">suggested<\/a>. To his credit, Brooks has admitted that market-based carbon reduction schemes are unlikely to reduce emissions fast enough to affect the global climate, and rightfully criticizes the Paris Agreement for being too gradualist and noncommittal (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/12\/01\/opinion\/the-green-tech-solution.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/12\/01\/opinion\/the-green-tech-solution.html\">12\/1\/15<\/a>). Unlike Douthat, he advocates government-funded support for some useful innovations: CO2 removal from the atmosphere, battery and smart-grid research, more efficient renewable energy transmission, increased vegetation. But his role for government stops short of actually deploying clean energy technology and carbon-negative methods we already have at the scale and speed necessary to transform our systems, and making sure everyone has access. He also touts gas fracking as a CO2-reducing solution, ignoring that it spews the even more potent greenhouse gas <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/environment\/2016\/03\/did-fracking-ruin-obamas-climate-legacy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/environment\/2016\/03\/did-fracking-ruin-obamas-climate-legacy\">methane<\/a>. At least he doesn\u2019t deny the need for some kind of climate action. But one would hope that someone who spends so much recurring column space going on about the crises of Western civilization (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/21\/opinion\/the-crisis-of-western-civ.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/21\/opinion\/the-crisis-of-western-civ.html\">4\/21\/17<\/a>) might acknowledge the global crisis of climate change as such.<\/p>\n<p id=\"5e54\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">While the conservative columnists evade aggressive climate action, the liberals on the page shrink from acknowledging what\u2019s actually necessary, or entertaining what kind of politics might make it possible. As <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Naomi Klein <\/strong>suggests in her groundbreaking book <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/thischangeseverything.org\/book\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/thischangeseverything.org\/book\/\"><em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">This Changes Everything<\/em><\/a>, liberals, too timid to build their politics around the disruptive climate policies that could actually be effective, are in some ways less engaged with the reality of global warming than climate deniers on the right, who overreact and tar them as alarmists anyway.<\/p>\n<p id=\"30a5\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s easy to react against the \u201chard\u201d climate denial that has infected ideological conservatives\u200a\u2014\u200aall the columnists do so regularly, and it\u2019s certainly necessary to keep hammering home how farcical and deadly it is for the Republican Party to hold the United States hostage to their ignorance and greed. But that\u2019s just one problem.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7def\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Like <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.resilience.org\/stories\/2014-11-26\/six-myths-about-climate-change-that-liberals-rarely-question\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.resilience.org\/stories\/2014-11-26\/six-myths-about-climate-change-that-liberals-rarely-question\/\">many liberals<\/a>, every current liberal NYT columnist remains stuck in various states of <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/neweconomicperspectives.org\/2016\/10\/pocket-handbook-soft-climate-denial.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/neweconomicperspectives.org\/2016\/10\/pocket-handbook-soft-climate-denial.html\">\u201csoft\u201d climate denial<\/a>, which policy analyst Michael Hoexter defines as acknowledging that climate change is real and threatening, then responding with hand-wringing or embracing ineffectual solutions that fail to decisively meet the threat.<\/p>\n<p id=\"62d1\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Maureen Dowd <\/strong>only mentions climate change in passing, most often in personality-driven quips in narratives about politicians (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/05\/14\/opinion\/dowd-the-speakers-sand-trap.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/05\/14\/opinion\/dowd-the-speakers-sand-trap.html\">5\/13\/14<\/a>). <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">David Leonhardt <\/strong>brings up climate change to point out Republican ineptitude (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/29\/opinion\/campaign-stops\/the-dog-ate-my-planet.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/29\/opinion\/campaign-stops\/the-dog-ate-my-planet.html\">9\/29\/16<\/a>), then suggests that we do something\/anything short of calling for what\u2019s actually necessary (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/21\/opinion\/climate-change-is-now.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/21\/opinion\/climate-change-is-now.html\">4\/21\/17<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p id=\"b8f6\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">In <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">\u201c<\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/06\/08\/opinion\/sunday\/dear-millennials-were-sorry.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/06\/08\/opinion\/sunday\/dear-millennials-were-sorry.html\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Dear Millennials, We\u2019re Sorry<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">\u201d <\/strong>(6\/7\/14), <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Frank Bruni <\/strong>wrote a generational apology to anyone who intends to survive beyond midcentury, in which he accepts future catastrophe as nearly inevitable because of congressional spending patterns. While Bruni gets credit for pushing back on the millennial-bashing so common among the complacent baby boomers among his Op-Ed peers, this feels fairly inadequate given how little space he uses in his columns to imagine a politics that might not leave those younger than him with a scorched Earth. In this column, his sanctimony is belied by the lazy way he pits millennials\u2019 material interests against \u201centitlements\u201d of the elderly, like Social Security. It\u2019s a pity he\u2019s unable to imagine tax increases, or cuts to bloated military and defense spending, to reverse the excesses of the generation currently in power. At least he admitted that President Obama\u2019s climate policy was insufficient.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7ca0\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a representative column (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/10\/04\/opinion\/gail-collins-the-walrus-and-the-politicians.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/10\/04\/opinion\/gail-collins-the-walrus-and-the-politicians.html\">10\/3\/14<\/a>), <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Gail Collins<\/strong> cleverly describes the real impacts of global warming in Alaska, calls out Republican denial, and chides Democratic Senator Mark Begich for being forthright about terrible climate effects, but dodgy about what to do about it\u200a\u2014\u200athis could well describe Collins herself, who tends to limit her advocacy to narrowly constrained policies like raising the gas tax (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/01\/22\/opinion\/gail-collins-where-the-road-meets-the-walrus.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/01\/22\/opinion\/gail-collins-where-the-road-meets-the-walrus.html\">1\/21\/15<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p id=\"c36d\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Collins is also responsible for milquetoast banter in the one-on-one \u201c<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/the-conversation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/the-conversation\">The Conversation<\/a>\u201d columns with conservatives, including fellow columnist David Brooks, and another Brooks, Arthur C. of the American Enterprise Institute, a fossil fuel industry-funded think tank with a <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/global-warming\/climate-deniers\/front-groups\/american-enterprise-institute-aei\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/global-warming\/climate-deniers\/front-groups\/american-enterprise-institute-aei\/\">long history <\/a>of promoting misinformation about climate science. Predictably, global warming doesn\u2019t come up often, and Collins doesn\u2019t push it. When it once did (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com\/2013\/06\/05\/is-this-a-government-which-i-see-before-me\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com\/2013\/06\/05\/is-this-a-government-which-i-see-before-me\/\">6\/5\/13<\/a>), she tried gently prodding David Brooks to admit that greenhouse gases are a serious threat to future generations\u200a\u2014\u200ahe deflected by saying that healthcare costs are a bigger threat (!), that all comprehensive climate approaches are \u201ceconomically suicidal\u201d and that he preferred to wait until a \u201cbetter scientific solution\u201d magically presents itself, and made an incredibly lame joke about dumping cottage cheese into the oceans to soak up carbon dioxide (!). Collins, unable to muster the confidence to push back on his ridiculous, morally bankrupt train of thought, just admits despair.<\/p>\n<p id=\"6987\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Charles Blow<\/strong> comes closest on the Opinions page to articulating an effective climate politics. In 2008 he endorsed a \u201ccoordinated war against climate change\u201d (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/05\/31\/opinion\/31blow.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/05\/31\/opinion\/31blow.html\">5\/31\/08<\/a>), and over the years lamented about voter apathy to the reality that we\u2019re \u201cspiraling toward cataclysmic, irreversible climate change\u201d (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/04\/10\/opinion\/blow-we-should-be-in-a-rage.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/04\/10\/opinion\/blow-we-should-be-in-a-rage.html\">4\/10\/14<\/a>), celebrated the rising wave of activism since the later Obama years (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/12\/08\/opinion\/charles-blow-from-eric-garner-and-michael-brown-to-the-ballot-box.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/12\/08\/opinion\/charles-blow-from-eric-garner-and-michael-brown-to-the-ballot-box.html\">12\/8\/14<\/a>), and last year called for a \u201cwar for global jobs\u201d to counteract global warming and preempt terrorism (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/03\/24\/opinion\/dangerous-world-serious-leaders.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/03\/24\/opinion\/dangerous-world-serious-leaders.html\">3\/24\/16<\/a>). More recently he celebrated the \u201cpower of disruption\u201d against the Trump administration, and suggested how the resistance might grow into a muscular progressive politics (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/02\/13\/opinion\/the-power-of-disruption.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/02\/13\/opinion\/the-power-of-disruption.html\">2\/13\/17<\/a>). The Opinions page could benefit from much more frequent exploration of the realities of grassroots activism, and more engagement with specifics about what a \u201cwar on climate\u201d would actually entail. It\u2019s also worth noting that Blow is one of the youngest columnists, and the only person of color\u200a\u2014\u200ait doesn\u2019t seem incidental that he\u2019s most in tune with the kind of politics we need, and highlights why readers would benefit from greater diversity among the NYT\u2019s columnists.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7a64\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Paul Krugman <\/strong>often acknowledges that climate change is the most important issue facing America and the world, happy to admit that \u201cclimate change could be really, truly, civilization-ending bad\u201d (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paulkrugman\/status\/859455397274550273\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paulkrugman\/status\/859455397274550273\">5\/2\/17<\/a>), and calls to put it front and center in popular media (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/10\/07\/opinion\/what-about-the-planet.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/10\/07\/opinion\/what-about-the-planet.html\">10\/7\/16<\/a>). But he insists that it can be solved by gradual, market-based solutions, merely reducing emissions over many decades. Obama\u2019s climate policies were enough (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/29\/opinion\/planet-on-the-ballot.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/29\/opinion\/planet-on-the-ballot.html\">2\/29\/16<\/a>). The Paris Agreement is fine (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/12\/14\/opinion\/hope-from-paris.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/12\/14\/opinion\/hope-from-paris.html\">12\/14\/15<\/a>). Nothing about actually reaching zero emissions, or a timeframe for it\u200a\u2014\u200acertainly not a timeframe in line with the strongest risk avoidance.<\/p>\n<p id=\"b412\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Krugman insists that tackling climate change will be cheap (for civilizational survival, so what if it\u2019s not?), and can actually fuel \u201cgreen\u201d economic growth as we know it (David Roberts, <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/grist.org\/climate-energy\/hey-paul-krugman-heres-the-real-argument-about-climate-change-and-economic-growth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/grist.org\/climate-energy\/hey-paul-krugman-heres-the-real-argument-about-climate-change-and-economic-growth\/\">10\/8\/14<\/a>)\u200a\u2014\u200acontrary to the conclusions of physical scientists. Krugman deflected criticism that accused him of being oblivious to the limits to growth, an idea which seems to have borne out <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2014\/sep\/02\/limits-to-growth-was-right-new-research-shows-were-nearing-collapse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2014\/sep\/02\/limits-to-growth-was-right-new-research-shows-were-nearing-collapse\">unsettlingly well<\/a> since introduced in the 1970s, by asserting that the concept was \u201cdemolished so effectively\u201d 40 years ago by his old mentor, the economist William Nordhaus (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/krugman.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/10\/07\/slow-steaming-and-the-supposed-limits-to-growth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/krugman.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/10\/07\/slow-steaming-and-the-supposed-limits-to-growth\/\">10\/7\/14<\/a>). Krugman\u2019s argument was systematically <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.postcarbon.org\/paul-krugman-and-the-limits-of-hubris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.postcarbon.org\/paul-krugman-and-the-limits-of-hubris\/\">dismantled<\/a> by Richard Heinberg of the Post Carbon Institute (with no subsequent acknowledgment by Krugman), but his association with Nordhaus is telling.<\/p>\n<p id=\"8853\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nordhaus, notably responsible for entrenching the dangerously high goal of 2\u00b0C as an upper limit for \u201cacceptable\u201d global warming decades ago, also popularized gradualist market-based policies, like a modest carbon tax, as the \u201csensible\u201d solution. Krugman doesn\u2019t appear to have acknowledged Nordhaus\u2019 <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/view\/articles\/2017-01-31\/a-climate-change-economist-sounds-the-alarm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/view\/articles\/2017-01-31\/a-climate-change-economist-sounds-the-alarm\">admission<\/a> earlier this year that he\u2019d been underestimating the negative effects of climate change all along. But too little too late: in the same breath, Nordhaus also shifted neatly from decades of advising gradualism to <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/12\/14\/opinion\/hope-from-paris.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/12\/14\/opinion\/hope-from-paris.html\">resignation about the inevitability<\/a> of devastating global warming, concluding that it\u2019s now too late to do anything about it\u200a\u2014\u200areal change is too hard.<\/p>\n<p id=\"a33a\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another liberal columnist, <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Nicholas Kristof, <\/strong>laudably uses his space to focus on the fact that in much of the world, climate change is already devastating\u200a\u2014\u200ain drought-stricken Madagascar and elsewhere, children are starving and dying (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/01\/06\/opinion\/sunday\/as-donald-trump-denies-climate-change-these-kids-die-of-it.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/01\/06\/opinion\/sunday\/as-donald-trump-denies-climate-change-these-kids-die-of-it.html\">1\/6\/17<\/a>). But when it comes to solutions, won\u2019t somebody please think of the markets? Kristof can suggest only sticking with the Paris Agreement and President Obama\u2019s Clean Power Plan, as well as putting a price on carbon and investing in renewable energy R&amp;D\u200a\u2014\u200aall of which put off the goal of reaching zero emissions by decades, during which time climate change may well become globally catastrophic and begin irreversibly accelerating, harming ever more women and children for the humanitarian Kristof to <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/thebaffler.com\/salvos\/marketpiece-theater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/thebaffler.com\/salvos\/marketpiece-theater\">try saving<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"904a\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">His critics may be surprised to find that <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Thomas L. Friedman<\/strong> is the current columnist who has in the past taken the technicalities of aggressive climate action most seriously. In his 2011 column \u201c<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/06\/08\/opinion\/08friedman.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/06\/08\/opinion\/08friedman.html\">The Earth is Full<\/a>,\u201d Friedman accepts former Greenpeace director Paul Gilding\u2019s call for a rapid WWII-scale economic mobilization to reach zero emissions\u200a\u2014\u200athough his spin is basically accelerationist, assuming that economic and ecological forces will keep intensifying until they crash in converging crises, forcing drastic action as things fall apart. The mobilization will apparently just <em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">happen<\/em>, with nothing said about the role of mass political action in making it possible, or likely\u2014perhaps the world\u2019s <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/features\/taibbi-reviews-thomas-friedman-book-thank-you-for-being-late-w453529\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/features\/taibbi-reviews-thomas-friedman-book-thank-you-for-being-late-w453529\">taxi drivers<\/a> will whisper it into being. In \u201c<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/07\/opinion\/we-are-all-noah-now.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/07\/opinion\/we-are-all-noah-now.html\">We Are All Noah Now<\/a>\u201d (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/07\/opinion\/we-are-all-noah-now.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/07\/opinion\/we-are-all-noah-now.html\">9\/7\/16<\/a>), Friedman also advocates conservationist E.O. Wilson\u2019s radical \u201cHalf Earth\u201d proposal to set aside half the planet\u2019s surface for wildlife conservation in order to reverse the sixth mass extinction that\u2019s currently underway. However, Friedman also shows incredible cognitive dissonance as a leading proponent of corporate trade deals and unrestricted global capitalism\u200a\u2014\u200aforces that clearly <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.ei.columbia.edu\/2016\/10\/06\/its-time-to-align-trade-deals-with-the-paris-climate-agreement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/blogs.ei.columbia.edu\/2016\/10\/06\/its-time-to-align-trade-deals-with-the-paris-climate-agreement\/\">drive up greenhouse gas emissions<\/a>\u200a\u2014\u200asuggesting that he\u2019s unable to absorb the full implications of climate reality.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7138\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Similarly, <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Roger Cohen<\/strong> writes often about the politics of global climate impacts, like the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef and Australia\u2019s avoidant response to the loss of its incredible national treasure (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/05\/27\/opinion\/coral-vs-coal.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/05\/27\/opinion\/coral-vs-coal.html\">5\/26\/16<\/a>), but is a relentless cheerleader for trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/06\/03\/opinion\/the-right-asian-deal-trans-pacific-partnership.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/06\/03\/opinion\/the-right-asian-deal-trans-pacific-partnership.html\">6\/2\/16<\/a>), failing to acknowledge environmentalists\u2019 serious concerns that such deals are <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/environmentalists-the-trans-pacific-trade-agreement-is-a-disaster-for-climate-change-f427318c9bd4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/environmentalists-the-trans-pacific-trade-agreement-is-a-disaster-for-climate-change-f427318c9bd4\">disastrous for climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"b58a\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cohen also appears to confuse the personal with the political\u200a\u2014\u200aon <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/04\/08\/opinion\/the-politics-of-me.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/04\/08\/opinion\/the-politics-of-me.html\">4\/7\/16<\/a>he published \u201c<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/04\/08\/opinion\/the-politics-of-me.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/04\/08\/opinion\/the-politics-of-me.html\">The Politics of Me<\/a>\u201d, a column about millennial consumer habits that\u2019s written so inexactly in the voice of a young hipster who reduces environmental politics to personal consumption that it\u2019s hard to gauge whether it\u2019s meant to be sincere or satirical, and what Cohen is actually advocating. Is the point that millennials are obsessed with consuming products ethically, while delusionally believing systemic political change is unnecessary? That\u2019s rich, coming from a baby boomer who came of age with the most narcissistically <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Generation-Sociopaths-Boomers-Betrayed-America\/dp\/0316395781\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Generation-Sociopaths-Boomers-Betrayed-America\/dp\/0316395781\">consumption-driven generation<\/a> in history, to a generation that <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4299321\/millennials-bernie-sanders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4299321\/millennials-bernie-sanders\/\">voted overwhelmingly<\/a> for systemic political change in 2016 and increasingly <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/wonk\/wp\/2016\/04\/26\/a-majority-of-millennials-now-reject-capitalism-poll-shows\/?utm_term=.b4278443b8fd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/wonk\/wp\/2016\/04\/26\/a-majority-of-millennials-now-reject-capitalism-poll-shows\/?utm_term=.b4278443b8fd\">identifies itself<\/a> as anti-capitalist.<\/p>\n<p id=\"0ee8\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">The constant here: a fundamentalism about how markets should function, and a refusal to expand one\u2019s sense of political possibility to accommodate moral necessity. The risk here is that well-meaning liberals keep advocating political solutions that don\u2019t have a chance of meeting the unforgiving demands of physics, and risk backlash from the masses as harmful climate impacts keep intensifying and the purported solutions <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jacobinmag.com\/2017\/05\/third-way-environment-third-stage-environmental-defense-fund-neoliberalism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.jacobinmag.com\/2017\/05\/third-way-environment-third-stage-environmental-defense-fund-neoliberalism\">don\u2019t meaningfully improve their lives<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"1e69\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s worth mentioning that until he left in 2015, the NYT Opinions page had a thoughtful and consistent proponent of serious climate action in <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Mark Bittman<\/strong>, who specialized in food, nutrition, and agricultural systems, but often expanded to systemic economic and political analyses. Bittman didn\u2019t just catalog the horrors of climate change and ocean acidification\u200a\u2014\u200ahe also regularly looked to American history for examples of sustainable behaviors worth reviving today, like <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com\/2008\/08\/01\/victory-gardens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com\/2008\/08\/01\/victory-gardens\/\">victory gardens<\/a> during WWII (8\/1\/08). He was direct in his critiques: in \u201c<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/opinion\/mark-bittman-lets-reject-the-inevitable.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/17\/opinion\/mark-bittman-lets-reject-the-inevitable.html\">Let\u2019s Reject the Inevitable<\/a>\u201d (9\/16\/14), he explicitly named neoliberalism as the central problem, and called out hopelessness, defeatism, and ineffectual Obama-style compromises, as well as blind faith in technology, as barriers to real action. He didn\u2019t minimize his justice and morality-based worldview: in \u201c<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/12\/14\/opinion\/sunday\/mark-bittman-is-it-bad-enough-yet.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/12\/14\/opinion\/sunday\/mark-bittman-is-it-bad-enough-yet.html\">Is It Bad Enough Yet?<\/a>\u201d (12\/13\/14) he displayed a clear perspective of overlapping and intertwined systemic issues, and the potential for grassroots social movements to shift the political landscape to address them. He had the wherewithal to ask big questions like \u201c<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/02\/11\/opinion\/mark-bittman-what-is-the-purpose-of-society.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/02\/11\/opinion\/mark-bittman-what-is-the-purpose-of-society.html\">What is the Purpose of Society?<\/a>\u201d (2\/11\/15), and to actually conclude that politics can move us to an economy based on human rights and universal well-being, not just business and profits.<\/p>\n<p id=\"8118\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">In one of his later columns, Bittman even asked <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/03\/22\/opinion\/sunday\/why-not-utopia.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/03\/22\/opinion\/sunday\/why-not-utopia.html\">Why Not Utopia?<\/a>(3\/20\/15), suggesting big ideas to combat economic inequality and apocalyptic climate change like universal basic income, decentralized energy systems, worker ownership, and shorter workweeks. He even declared confidently that \u201cin the long run we know that we\u2019ll make the transition from capitalism to some less destructive and hopefully more just system. Why not begin that transition now?\u201d It\u2019s hard to imagine any of the current columnists conceding this point, which underscores the need for voices willing to expand the range of acceptable views on the most urgent and complex issues we face.<\/p>\n<p id=\"e90b\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">__________________________<\/p>\n<p id=\"dead\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">This isn\u2019t to say that all the current columnists are wrong, exactly. It\u2019s worth debating whether and how our current political and economic relations can continue if we try to seriously address climate change. But the only sides of the debate consistently represented are the ones that just can\u2019t imagine things changing much from the way they\u2019ve always been, accelerating carbon curves be damned.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"045c\" class=\"graf graf--figure graf--iframe graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<div class=\"aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked\">\n<div class=\"aspectRatioPlaceholder-fill\">\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=15387\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-15387\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15387 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.29.14-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"473\" height=\"196\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.29.14-AM.png 1514w, https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.29.14-AM-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.29.14-AM-768x319.png 768w, https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.29.14-AM-1024x425.png 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 473px) 100vw, 473px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 473px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 473\/196;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"progressiveMedia js-progressiveMedia is-canvasLoaded is-imageLoaded\" data-scroll=\"native\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"fe8a\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--figure\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Climate change is an incredibly complex problem, and a platform as far-reaching as the NYT should represent <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/grist.org\/climate-energy\/everybody-needs-a-climate-thing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/grist.org\/climate-energy\/everybody-needs-a-climate-thing\/\">all kinds of perspectives<\/a> on it to reach different people. It\u2019s negligent not to regularly include voices grounded in a strong understanding of the implications of climate science, which are genuinely alarming. While their Op-Ed page often does publish one-off columns from respected scientists, environmentalists, and writers who get it, there\u2019s nothing like the space that marquee columnists get to address a built-in audience.<\/p>\n<p id=\"8544\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">In an article suggesting <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/thenearlynow.com\/i-told-the-new-york-times-its-time-for-a-whole-new-approach-to-climate-journalism-450f41fd2ff5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/thenearlynow.com\/i-told-the-new-york-times-its-time-for-a-whole-new-approach-to-climate-journalism-450f41fd2ff5\">a new approach to climate journalism<\/a> at the NYT, writer Alex Steffen offered suggestions that apply even more to the Op-Ed page: serving readers who are already highly informed about climate change by focusing on real solutions to reach zero emissions, and providing honest, fresh perspectives.<\/p>\n<p id=\"e851\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are plenty of smart, thoughtful writers who can write with clarity and conviction about climate change from different angles and intersections with other urgent issues, without the generational blinkers that the present slate of NYT opinionators might end up taking to the grave. In our current political media landscape, those writers necessarily <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/inthesetimes.com\/article\/20092\/new-york-times-bret-stephens-climate-denial-racism-single-payer-krugman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/inthesetimes.com\/article\/20092\/new-york-times-bret-stephens-climate-denial-racism-single-payer-krugman\">tend politically left<\/a>, simply because they\u2019re not ideologically blinded by right-wing economics to the possibility of appropriately radical collective action. (Some suggestions: <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.naomiklein.org\/main\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.naomiklein.org\/main\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Naomi Klein<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/rebeccasolnit.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/rebeccasolnit.net\/\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Rebecca Solnit<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.billmckibben.com\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.billmckibben.com\/index.html\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Bill McKibben<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/authors\/david-roberts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/authors\/david-roberts\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">David Roberts<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/authors\/jeet-heer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/authors\/jeet-heer\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Jeet Heer<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/inthesetimes.com\/community\/profile\/322171\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/inthesetimes.com\/community\/profile\/322171\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Kate Aronoff<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/theweek.com\/authors\/ryan-cooper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/theweek.com\/authors\/ryan-cooper\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Ryan Cooper<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/sarahljaffe.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/sarahljaffe.com\/\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Sarah Jaffe<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dissentmagazine.org\/author\/jedediah-purdy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.dissentmagazine.org\/author\/jedediah-purdy\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Jedediah Purdy<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/authors\/emily-atkin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/authors\/emily-atkin\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Emily Atkin<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">, <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/authors\/rebecca-leber\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/authors\/rebecca-leber\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Rebecca Leber<\/strong><\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p id=\"d112\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the Trump era, the New York Times is explicitly branding itself as a trustworthy provider of the truth. Yet its opinion writers and editors keep avoiding climate truth, preferring to remain firmly embedded in modes of thinking that are under assault by physical reality. Worse still, they seem to be doubling down on their <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.philly.com\/philly\/blogs\/attytood\/The-big-problem-with-NY-Times-climate-isnt-what-you-think.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.philly.com\/philly\/blogs\/attytood\/The-big-problem-with-NY-Times-climate-isnt-what-you-think.html\">increasing irrelevance<\/a> by insisting that actually, their readers are wrong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=15388\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-15388\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15388 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.30.52-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"406\" height=\"780\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.30.52-AM.png 1166w, https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.30.52-AM-156x300.png 156w, https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.30.52-AM-768x1477.png 768w, https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-17-at-6.30.52-AM-533x1024.png 533w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 406px) 100vw, 406px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 406px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 406\/780;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"9133\" class=\"graf graf--figure graf--iframe graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<div class=\"aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"26d8\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--figure\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">At a time when Donald Trump seems likely to set American climate progress back even further by pulling out of the Paris Agreement and dismantling the EPA, and Democrats struggle to articulate a <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/theweek.com\/articles\/663506\/why-democrats-need-radical-climate-change\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"http:\/\/theweek.com\/articles\/663506\/why-democrats-need-radical-climate-change\">political alternative<\/a> that addresses the real needs of Americans, it\u2019s more critical than ever for citizens to be informed of the real stakes.<\/p>\n<p id=\"9117\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Will the NYT adjust, or keep hunkering down in ideological delusions? If the paper of record keeps choosing not to publish writers who reflect the reality that\u2019s increasingly obvious to much of its readership, it\u2019s totally reasonable to expect that those readers will just\u2026 not read the columns. They\u2019ll find better sources.<\/p>\n<p id=\"edec\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p graf--trailing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Given the extreme urgency and civilizational risk of climate change, America\u2019s most influential opinions page has a responsibility to help the public understand how to deal appropriately and defend themselves against the grave danger we all face. They should be opining about climate change pretty much all the time, and from a variety of perspectives based on observable reality. But when the recurring columnists do, their thoughts almost always fall well short of any understanding based in physical science and any basic sense of justice. In the long run, readers suffer for that failure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An very useful in-depth article by\u00a0Ashik Siddique (Digital organizer with The Climate Mobilization) on the New York Times&#8217; dealings with climate change &amp; its opinion writers\u00a0from medium.com, which I permit myself to reproduce here:&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1931],"class_list":["post-15385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate-change","tag-ashik-siddique"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15385"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15391,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15385\/revisions\/15391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pierrejoris.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}