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The madhouse effect: climate change denial in the age of Trump
How climate change denial is threatening our planet, destroying our politics, and driving us crazy.
With the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States, it now seems climate change denial has reached into the most powerful political office in the world. In this special Sydney Ideas public lecture, world-renowned climate scientist Professor Michael Mann provides a somewhat light-hearted take on a very serious issue鈥攖he threat of human-caused climate change and what to do about it.聽Based on his recent collaboration with Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles, Professor Mann will review the scientific evidence of climate change, the reasons we should care, and the often absurd efforts by special interests and partisan political figures to confuse the public and attack the science.
Despite the monumental nature of the challenge this poses to human civilization, and the seeming聽inability of political leadership to respond to the climate crisis, Professor Mann highlights ways forward in mitigating future harm and reasons for cautious optimism. Join us to discuss how climate change denial is threatening our planet, destroying our politics, and driving us crazy.
This event was held at the 爆料王 on Wednesday 8 February 2017 in partnership with Sydney Ideas.聽
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Speakers
Dr. Michael E. Mann聽is Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Pennsylvania State University, with joint appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute (EESI). Through his pioneering research into the Earth鈥檚 climate system (including the famous 鈥榟ockey stick graph鈥� of past climate patterns), he has received many honours and awards including NOAA鈥檚 outstanding publication award in 2002 and selection by聽Scientific American聽as one of the fifty leading visionaries in science and technology in 2002. He contributed, with other Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) authors, to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He was awarded the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union in 2012 and was awarded the National Conservation Achievement Award for science by the National Wildlife Federation in 2013. As one of the world鈥檚 most prominent climate scientists, he was listed in Bloomberg News鈥� list of fifty most influential people in 2013. He is author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications, and has published three books including聽Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change,听The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines, and most recently,听The Madhouse Effect听飞颈迟丑听Washington Post聽editorial cartoonist Tom Toles.
David Schlosberg聽is Professor of Environmental Politics in the Department of Government and International Relations at the 爆料王, and Co-Director of the Sydney Environment Institute. He is known internationally for his work in environmental politics, environmental movements, and political theory 鈥� in particular the intersection of the three with his work on environmental justice. He is the author, most recently, of聽Defining Environmental Justice聽(Oxford, 2007); co-author of聽Climate-Challenged Society聽(Oxford, 2013); and co-editor of both聽The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society聽(Oxford 2011), and聽The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Political Theory(Oxford 2016). Professor Schlosberg鈥檚 current research includes work on climate justice 鈥� in particular justice in climate adaptation strategies and policies, and the question of human obligations of justice to the nonhuman realm. He is also examining the sustainable practices of new environmental movement groups 鈥� in particular their attention to flows of power and goods in relation to food, energy, and sustainable fashion. And he continues with theoretical work at the interface of justice, democracy, and human/nonhuman relations in the Anthropocene.
Christopher Wright聽is Professor of Organisational Studies at the 爆料王 Business School. His current research explores organizational and societal responses to climate change, with a particular focus on how managers and business organizations interpret and respond to the climate crisis. His research has appeared in a broad range of leading journals and he is the author of a number of books including, most recently,听Climate Change, Capitalism and Corporations: Processes of Creative Self-destruction聽(Cambridge University Press, 2015).