Sheldon Whitehouse, Democratic Senator for Rhodes Island, is a climate hero. He tirelessly pushes back against the heavily-polluter-funded deniers in the Senate and elsewhere, presenting the scientific facts and the risks of climate inaction. Here is Senator Whitehouse presenting on the Senate House floor last week, talking about what’s at stake. He says:
“…many of the answers carry stakes so high, that they plead for prudent and rational choices. The down side is so deep, that the balance has to be towards precaution, if we are indeed a rational species.”
[youtube=http://youtu.be/rxEuQdPezaE]
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He makes some darn good points in this speech… kudos to Senator Whitehouse!
He’s awesome! I wish there were more of him in Washington.
Wow! To be shared far and wide.
Thanks Barry, that would be great!
Such a pity that homo fatuus brutus isn’t a rational species. What wonders it could perform!
I understand your sentiment, P, but I actually believe that western culture’s valuation of the mind/intellect over body is at the root of our many, many ills and abuses of both our own bodies and that of the earth. Now, having said that, it’s clear that the aversion to climate science on the part of deniers isn’t rational at all.
You might enjoy this article on “The Science of Why We Don’t Believe Science”: http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/denial-science-chris-mooney
A good article, yes — it shows that we are not rational animals, we are rationalizing animals. Of course, trying to persuade someone that this is the case is destined to fail, because everyone holds a deeply-held belief that they are themselves wholly rational, and not even a teensy-weensy bit irrational. Even me…
LOL, *sigh*. Exactly.