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Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand

Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand
Author	Haydn Washington and John Cook; foreword by Naomi Oreskes
Cover artist	Rogue Four Design
Language	English
Subject	Climate change denial
Genre	Science
Publisher	Earthscan from Routledge
Publication date	22 April 2011
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Hardcover
Pages	192
Awards	Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge
ISBN	978-1-84971-336-8
OCLC	682903020
Dewey Decimal	363.738/74
LC Class	LCCN 2010-46147
Website	Author website

Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand is a non-fiction book about climate change denial, coauthored by Haydn Washington and John Cook, with a foreword by Naomi Oreskes. Washington had a background in environmental science prior to authoring the work, and Cook was educated in physics and founded the website Skeptical Science which compiled peer-reviewed evidence for global warming. The book was first published in hardcover and paperback formats in 2011 by Earthscan, a division of Routledge.

The book presents an in-depth analysis and refutation of climate change denial, going over several arguments point-by-point and disproving them with peer-reviewed evidence from the scientific consensus for climate change. The authors assert that those denying climate change engage in tactics including cherry picking data purported to support their specific viewpoints]], and attacking the integrity of climate scientists. They use social science theory to examine the phenomenon of climate change denial in the wider public, and call this phenomenon a form of pathology.

The book traces financial support for climate change denial to the fossil fuel industry, asserting these companies have attempted to influence public opinion on the matter. Washington and Cook write that politicians have a tendency to use weasel words as part of a propaganda tactic through use of spin, as a way to deflect public interest away from climate change and remain passive on the issue. The authors conclude that if the public ceased engaging in denial, the problem of climate change could be realistically addressed.

For his research on the book and efforts in communicating the essence of climate change science to the general public, John Cook won the 2011 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge. Climate Change Denial received a positive reception in reviews from publications including The Ecologist, ECOS magazine, academic journal Natures Sciences Sociétés, the journal Education published by the New South Wales Teachers Federation, and Independent Australia. An article in The New American was critical, describing the labels of "deniers" and "denialists" as cruel and forms of character assassination.

Background

The book was coauthored by Australian environmental science researchers Haydn Washington and John Cook. Washington has a background as an environmental scientist and worked for over 30 years in the field prior to authoring the book. His previously authored books on the subject of environmental science include: Ecosolutions (1991), A Sense of Wonder (2002), and The Wilderness Knot (2009). In 2015, Washington was a Visiting Fellow with the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales.

Cook's education included a background in physics. Prior to his work on the book, Cook founded the website Skeptical Science, which compiled peer-reviewed evidence for climate change. He placed on the site the most common assertions made by individuals arguing against the scientific consensus for climate change, with evidence to refute each point they made. After the publication of Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand, Cook coauthored another book on the subject, Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis: Volume 1 – The Physical Climate (2013). In 2015, Cook served as the Climate Communication Fellow at the University of Queensland.

Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand was first published in 2011 by Earthscan, a division of Routledge. Both hardcover and paperback editions were released in April 2011. It was released the same year by the publisher in an electronic book format. A second eBook release was published by Routledge in 2012. The book was made available via Kindle by Amazon.com in May 2013.

Contents summary

Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand presents a detailed analysis and refutation of climate change denial. It examines several arguments against climate change, and uses peer-reviewed evidence from the scientific consensus to back-up rationale for disputing the validity of each argument. Methodology of those denying climate change are assessed, including: cherry picking data purports to support their specific viewpoints, maintaining a high-bar for evidence of climate change by those denying it, and criticism of the values of climate scientists themselves. The book puts forth an explanation for why not simply certain individuals but indeed the wider public has a tendency to deny the scientific consensus for climate change.

Washington and Cook discuss the broader concept of denial using social science theory, noting its occurrence appears in society when individuals are frightened or ashamed of their actions. They write that these motivations, when expanded from an individual to wider society, present themselves as a form of disease. The book identifies climate change denial itself as a pathology afflicting the culture of the planet. The authors lament that an inverse relationship exists between an increasing scientific consensus regarding climate change, and a simultaneous increase in denial within the greater public about the same issue.

The book identifies a corporate underpinning influencing public opinion by way of companies which derive profit from the fossil fuel industry. Washington and Cook write that politicians often use weasel words as a form of spin and propaganda, in order to act as if they are going to do something about climate change, while in actuality remaining passive on the issue. The authors go on to identify a greater level of denial — within the wider public itself. They argue that society enables denial of climate science through inaction and resistance to the scientific consensus. The authors conclude that if the public stopped denying climate change, the problem itself could realistically be significantly addressed.

Reception

In August 2011, the book's coauthor John Cook was named a finalist for the New South Wales Government Eureka Prize for Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge as part of the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes. Director of the University of Queensland Global Change Institute, professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, cited Cook's research and authorship of Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand as rationale explaining his merit for the award. Cook subsequently won the Eureka Prize, and was honoured for his role in communicating the essence of climate change science to the general public.

The Ecologist reviewed the book and described it as "well researched and painstakingly footnoted." The review concluded: Climate Change Denial is a wise and timely book. ... It deserves an audience". Writing for ECOS magazine, Mary-Lou Considine wrote that the book "dissects objections to the peer-reviewed science" in "forensic detail". Considine recommended the book for those who had previously visited the website Skeptical Science and subsequently wanted to learn more about the wider topic discussed on the site.

In a review of the book by the academic journal Natures Sciences Sociétés, the authors' thesis was praised for their ability to bring reason to their analysis: "This book shows how we can break through denial, accept reality, and thus solve the climate crisis." Natures Sciences Sociétés recommended the work for multiple stakeholders, concluding: "It will engage scientists, university students, climate change activists as well as the general public seeking to roll back denial and act."

Janine Kitson reviewed the book for the journal Education, a publication of the New South Wales Teachers Federation. Kitson described the work as timely and important within the context of a need for the public to act before a point of no return: "This is a crucial book to read before runaway climate change is truly beyond our control." Her review concluded: "One can only hope that this book will be read by climate deniers so we can start the challenging journey to an ecologically sustainable future."

Writing for Independent Australia, Sandi Keane commented: "The book is a riveting read." Keane wrote that the manner in which the book skillfully traced financing of climate change deniers from interest groups including fossil fuel companies echoed the notion of "follow the money" from the film All the President's Men, and called this "Profound advice indeed."

An article in The New American was critical of the book, with contributor William F. Jasper characterising the descriptions by its authors of those who engage in climate change denial as character assassination. He wrote that the labels "deniers" and "denialists" were non-constructive and cruel. Jasper disputed the book's thesis that individuals who disagreed with anthropogenic global warming were organised and financed by the fossil fuel industry.

See also

• Fear, uncertainty and doubt
• Global warming controversy
• List of books about the politics of science
• List of scientists opposing the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming
• Media coverage of climate change
• Merchants of Doubt (film)
• Watts Up With That?, a blog that promotes climate change skepticism or denial

References

1. ^ "Top honour for UQ's Eureka Prize winners". UQ News. University of Queensland. 7 September 2011. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
2. ^ Keane, Sandi (1 April 2012). "John Cook has a Eureka Moment". Independent Australia. Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
3. ^ Williams, Jeremy (12 May 2011). "Climate Change Denial". The Ecologist. ISSN 0012-9631. OCLC 263593196. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
4. ^ Considine, Mary-Lou (1 June 2011). "Apps Help Argue the Case for Peer-Reviewed Climate Science". ECOS. OCLC 696106998. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
5. ^ "Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand". Natures Sciences Sociétés. 19 (4): 474. October 2011. doi:10.1051/nss/2011153. ISSN 1240-1307. Retrieved 31 October 2015 – via EBSCO Host. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
6. ^ Kitson, Janine (8 August 2011). "Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand". Education: Journal of the New South Wales Teachers Federation. New South Wales Teachers Federation: 36. ISSN 0013-1156. OCLC 225337865.
7. ^ Keane, Sandi (12 May 2011). "The Planet vs. East Bumcrack #2: John Cook and Skeptical Science". Independent Australia. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
8. ^ Jasper, William F. (21 May 2013). "Global Warming 'Consensus': Cooking the Books". The New American. ISSN 0885-6540. Archived from the original on 27 July 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
9. ^ Goldie, Jenny; Betts, Katharine, eds. (2015). Sustainable Futures: Linking Population, Resources and the Environment. CSIRO Publishing. pp. xvi–xvii. ISBN 978-1-4863-0189-8. OCLC 876846499.
10. Farmer, G. Thomas; Cook, John (2013). Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis: Volume 1 – The Physical Climate. Springer. ISBN 978-94-007-5756-1. OCLC 811000063.
11. Editor's Note (22 July 2015). "The 5 telltale techniques of climate change denial". CNN. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
12. Cook, John (9 April 2015). "John Cook: Climate scientists offer clear evidence". Winona Daily News. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
13. ^ Washington, Haydn; Cook, John (22 April 2011). Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand (Hardcover ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-84971-335-1. OCLC 811083269.
14. ^ Washington, Haydn; Cook, John (24 April 2011). Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand (Paperback ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-84971-336-8. OCLC 712480631.
15. Washington, Haydn; Cook, John (2011). Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand (eBook ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-53005-0. OCLC 811083269.
16. Washington, Haydn; Cook, John (2012). Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand (eBook ed.). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-53005-0. OCLC 815973237.
17. Washington, Haydn; Cook, John (2012). Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand (eBook ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-84971-335-1. OCLC 682903020.
18. Washington, Haydn; Cook, John (2013). Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand (Kindle ed.). Routledge.
19. ^ Castree, Noel (2013). Making Sense of Nature. Routledge. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-415-54550-1.
20. Walker, Chloe (17 May 2011). "Climate Change discussion". Afternoons with James Valentine. 702 ABC Sydney. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
21. ^ "Eureka moment for leading climate change communicator". UQ News. University of Queensland. 24 August 2011. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

Further reading

• Jensen, Derrick; McMillan, Stephanie (2007). As the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-58322-777-0. OCLC 154705030.
• Marshall, George (2014). Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-62040-133-0. OCLC 885302594.
• Norgaard, Kari Marie (2011). Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life. The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-51585-6. OCLC 727944942.
• Oreskes, Naomi; Conway, Erik M. (2011). Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. Bloomsbury Press. ISBN 978-1-60819-394-3. OCLC 461631066.

External links

• Cook, John (29 April 2011). "Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand". Skeptical Science. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
• "Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand". CSIRO Publishing. 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

• 2011 books
• 2011 in the environment
• 21st-century history books
• History books about science
• History books about politics
• Climate change books
• Climate change skepticism and denial
• Books about the politics of science
• Professional ethics