Ten years ago, if we envisioned ourselves entering into the second decade of the third millennium, we more than likely pictures ourselves more knowledgeable about the science behind climate change. Undoubtedly we have grown smarter and more aware of climate change in the last 10 years; however, within the last year, the process has been reversed and we have taken steps backward in our understanding of climate change and how we have impacted it.
The Guardian has recently published an article that reports that there has been a sharp decline in Britons’ belief that climate change is actually happening. The amount of people who believe climate change is “definitely” a reality dropped by 30% since 2009. There has been a particularly large plunge in the amount of people whom believe they have played a role in inducing climate change – 1 out of 3 people one year ago felt the problem of global warming is manmade but now only 1 out of 5 Brits believe this.
This trend is not restricted to Britain; it’s being reported throughout the world and not least in the United States. An article in Issues in Governance Studies by Rabe & Borick in January 2010 reported that less people believed in 2009, than in 2008, that the average temperature is rising and that global warming was a serious problem.
It’s depressing but not that surprising. Both polls were taken during the hacked emails debacle and cries of climategate, which have seriously undermined the authority of climate change scientists in the eyes of much of the public. Sometimes the scientists do get it wrong – the IPCC’s report that the Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035 was wrong by a factor of 10. The failure of Copenhagen has discouraged regularly enthusiastic yay-sayers and the show of the lack of political will and commitment has added to the screen of doubt that the climate change issue is a serious one. Questions pop up – ‘If the leaders of our society aren’t showing that they care maybe it’s not that serious?’ Along with this other issues have clouded the horizon – the economic climate, health care policy and international relations. Euro RSCG, a marketing communications group, has also suggested that the public is being desensitized to the natural disasters caused by climate change like atypical weather, floods and hurricanes. It doesn’t help that the 2009 hurricane season was uneventful and that Europe and the US is experiencing a very cold and snowy winter.
A writer for the Guardian Ian Katz suggests that to fix this climate scientists must commit to a greater level of openness; the case for the action needs to be reargued from the ground up, the credibility of the IPCC needs to be restored, but ultimately the push needs to come from civil society – from us. Katz has a good point – “anyone who cares about this issue must fight to keep it alive”.
We were thrilled to find out that one of our Planet Positive businesses, Jennewein is actively promoting another Planet Positive product, the Atomic Ski Boot.
Jennewein pure sports is a winter sports specialist in Austria’s renowned ski resort St. Anton am Arlberg. Offering the winter sport world’s leading brands combined with competent and friendly service on an international level, Jennewein pure sports offers customers a pure winter sport experience in every one of the pure sports shops. Jeenwein pure sports currently has three cutting-edge stores; 2 rental stops with the latest ski & snowboard models and one shop upon the mountain in the heart of the Arlberg’s skiing area.
The Atomic RENU Ski Boot boasts high environmental credentials. The Renu is central to Atomic’s campaign to Keep Winters White. Atomic has measured and reduced the carbon emissions in production and hasinvested 110% of its remaining footprint into verified carbon projects. Made from 80% bioplastic, cotton and bamboo fibre for reduced ecological footprint. Natural colour makes Renu easy to recycle. 13% reduction in embodied carbon emissions in production. 50% reduction in fossil fuel use. 58% reduction in eco-toxicity. WOW!