Empiricism

When people such as don't want the based solutions to mitigate change because they're more interested in selling and using

Or when a politician doesn't believe in climate change or hasn't got a clue how to mitigate climate change or is another deceitful business person.

Or when people on social media actually seem to believe that buying an electric car is doing their "bit" for the climate.

It's time to consider people's

Not specifically "crazy", but what are they not thinking about and what is their morality?

1+
Empiricism

Some unethical people will find this offensive 

Seriously, in the context of folk psychology & the environment they live in - the "lights" are on but nobody is "home"!

How can you educate (unethical) idiots without offending them?

3 people · Jun 21, 2023, 20:41
1
Empiricism

We can never have too much nature!

We can (do) have too much technology! Too much quantity with a poor quality.

?

1st the plan. The path to success.

2nd the action. Start walking that path (step by step)

Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015: the essentials

Sustainable development is about improving the way that we can achieve our economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being

gov.wales/well-being-future-ge


1
Empiricism

Only a battery made from non-mined & biodegradable material would be affordable (for the planet).

"Globally those in slavery, though small in absolute numbers (est. 40.2 million), contribute disproportionately to environmental destruction and carbon emissions. If modern slaves were a country, they would be the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, after China and the United States"

From forests to factories: How modern slavery deepens the crisis of climate change, Energy Research & Social Science doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.10.

0
Empiricism

preview

To quote the book "The revolutionary book, Beyond the Limits, argued that society had gone into overshoot – a state of being beyond limits without knowing it: ‘we are overshooting such crucial resources as food and water while overwhelming nature with pollutants like those causing global warming’, and ‘a sustainable future will require profound social and psychological readjustments in the developed and developing world’. I read this in 1998 and was confused. Of course, we knew this – that was what Rio was all about. But why hadn’t governments acted on the information – or did they not want to know? I was heartened by
her conclusion that there could be a peaceful restructuring of the
‘system’ to a sustainable society, but concerned that evidence and
data were ‘useful, necessary and not enough’. So what else was
needed? " janedavidson.wales/press-and-r

0
Empiricism

Walking the right path towards a sustainable culture.

Over the last ten years or so, since the information that human activities are changing the climate went more mainstream, I've noticed virtually no sign that the people I see locally are doing anything to change their activities.

The local farmers: continue to burn piles of wood on their land (CO2 emissions). The local sheep farmers continue to transport sheep using diesel vehicles (CO2 emissions). The local landscape continues to be in a deforested and sheep-wrecked ecological condition (legacy CO2 emissions. Present & future CH₄ [methane] emission). The local farmers continue to be offended if their sheep farming lifestyles are called into question (i.e., they're not changing for anyone or anything).

The people I observe locally continue to drive combustion engine vehicles (CO2 emissions). The tourists continue to pull their caravans or drive the, often increasing in size, campervans (CO2 emissions). And of course, the fossil fuel industries continue to extract and sell more fossil fuels. The logging industries continue to sell wood fuel for power stations or people's wood stoves. The national government continues to try and open a new coal mine locally. The local people continue to have coal, gas, or kerosene delivered by diesel trucks to their homes.

Generally, only over the last 10 years since environmental protestors made the mainstream pay attention to the science of climate change, nothing has generally changed locally that would mitigate climate change. The general businesses want to continue as usual, the average consumer wants to continue as usual.

What also has not changed over the previous ten years is that greenhouse gas emissions keep on rising ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-

However, there have been some noticeable changes locally over the previous ten years. There have been more frequent floods from autumn to winter and longer drier periods during summer.

I can't speak for the world. However, it's self-evident what the future is going to be for the people in my local community (they're not mitigating climate change. They're not adapting to be more climate resilient). Eventually, climate change is going to regulate their lifestyles in the most severe way. Of course, if the world (human population in general) acted to mitigate climate change (reduce their greenhouse gas emissions & restore their local ecosystems. i.e., natural habitats), my local communities' climate inaction, apathy, and virtue signaling wouldn't be so much of a problem. But, the world isn't mitigating climate change. Climate change is mitigating the world.

There is an ecologically and economically viable solution to living a low-impact lifestyle qoto.org/@Empiricism_Reloaded/

However, a sustainable lifestyle requires a change of lifestyle (for the majority). And as with all animals, (most) humans behave as if they're creatures of habit (& belief).

The path to ecological sustainability is walking the path (not only talking about it & or not only protesting about it).

0
Empiricism

Whilst folk argue & greenwash about climate change, or simply try to ignore the subject all together, they have missed the entire point of the debate.

There is a general solution! that sustains the important aspects of a modern way of life

Start promoting with the aim of living the solution.

It's enough to make someone think that many people prefer climate virtue signalling on social media. Talking the talk, though are not quite as enthusiastic when it comes to walking the walk.

janedavidson.wales/book

0
Empiricism

The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you. (GRETA THUNBERG, 2019 UN Climate Action Summit)

We hope that what does today, the world will do tomorrow. Action, more than words, is the hope for our current and future generations. (NIKHIL SETH, head of sustainable development, United Nations Development Programme)

janedavidson.wales/press-and-r

0
Empiricism

I'm looking to join a that's managed by a not-for-profit environmental organisation.

The instance must also have the option to write more than 500 characters.

0
Empiricism

What is doing today, the world will do tomorrow.

The story of how one small nation responded to global climate issues by radically rethinking public policy for future generations
janedavidson.wales/book

‘A truly pioneering Act that puts sustainability at the heart of every governmental decision combined with a country seeking to reimagine itself – the story of this revolutionary engine for change holds enormous possibility and is a true beacon of hope.’ (MICHAEL SHEEN OBE, actor and UNICEF ambassador)

0
Empiricism

Sustainability is an international, cross-disciplinary, scholarly, peer-reviewed and open access journal of environmental, cultural, economic, and social sustainability of human beings. mdpi.com/journal/sustainabilit


0
Empiricism

Can we trust the media? The written and spoken language \ information on the internet, TV, Radio, or newspapers?

Trust and understanding are not the same qualities. Some people have learned (understand) how to perform heart surgery and some people trust that some people understand how to perform heart surgery. Generally, we can demarcate the media into social information (e.g., general news & politics) and empirical evidence (science). Empirical evidence is scientific information based on experimental data. For example, anyone can (eventually) develop a basic scientific experiment such as measuring the temperature at 12 am every day of the week & calculating the average temperature for that week (at 12 am). In that context, they'd follow a method that would mean they were personally confident of the results of the experiment (if they understood the right methods to use and the accuracy of the instruments. e.g., a calibrated thermometer). I described that example of a basic experiment as a basis to show how science (experiments) is the most accurate (reliable) method to collect real-world data.

However, there are people that are not interested in science and or don’t want other people to be informed of the science. On social media, many problems occur because there are less or more trustworthy intermediaries (agents) between that scientific information and the general audience (the population of people). So, even if a person was sincere and wanted to be informed of that data (science), a biased agent may try to misinform people about the science - as often happens with climate science because there is a lot of money, business interests, and lifestyle bias, associated with ecological degradation (i.e., corruption & biased personal agendas in general). Or laypeople may misconstrue the science they read and pass on misinformation (unintentionally).

I'd advise sincere people to go directly to the source of the science. That being the scientific publications (The abstracts provide a general overview). Or an established scientific organization's website. Science journalism may also be a credible source of information (if the articles are well-referenced with scientific publications). Be cautious of sciencey-sounding social media that does not reference scientific publications.

Science Journals peer review and publish scientists' research. Browse, search, and explore journals indexed in the Web of Science mjl.clarivate.com/home

Be cautious of science-sounding posts or toots on Twitter, Mastodon, Facebook, YouTube, etc. Especially in the context of ecological sustainability (e.g., “climate”, “ecology”), there are many social media posts from people that write science-sounding narratives. Many of these people will believe in their own sciencey-sounding rhetoric. The folk rhetoric tends to be caused by a mix of cherry-picked science (confirmation bias), personal beliefs, & biased agendas caused by a lifestyle preference (e.g., work and money-related personal biases that cause confirmation bias). Folk “science” or pseudoscience is a ratio of science journalism, wishful thinking, denial, thoughtlessness, virtue signaling, and more explicit forms of dishonesty (not including those that deny all science). Layperson bias or folk science is even more pronounced In the context of environmental sciences such as climate science. The environmental sciences' core message (consensus) is that many people, especially in technologically developed countries such as the USA (most greenhouse gases per capita), need to change their consumerism lifestyles (not a popular message). In other words, the general evidence infers that many people will have to change their lifestyles if we are to mitigate climate change (e.g., reduce greenhouse gases, etc.). On social media (i.e., the “mainstreams” social narratives) the signs are that the majority of people are, well, like the majority of countries, advocating an unsustainable lifestyle (their personal lifestyles).

How to develop a sustainable culture empiricalperspective.home.blog

The (published) evidence about climate change is the general scientific literature (the consensus). A random person's opinion or a post on social media is not a trusted source of information (they maybe trustworthy. But how do you know that? unless you know them personally). Not even a climatologist (a scientist who studies the climate) on social media should be a person's only source of trusted information about the climate. Scientists are people, and some people can be bought or adjust their views due to their own financial situation. The point is to be aware (informed) of the general scientific consensus on a subject such as climate change. And be aware that there are many people that don’t want that consensus to be generally known.

For nearly three decades, many of the world's largest fossil fuel companies have knowingly worked to deceive the public about the realities and risks of climate change. ucsusa.org/resources/climate-d

There are a few, but popular (influential), celebrity scientists or talk show hosts on Youtube that disagree with the scientific consensus on climate change. The fact that some people are believing in the opinions of individual scientists that are not even qualified in climatology just shows how people, in general, tend to believe what they want to believe. That's why many people "cherry" pick the science they like and disregard & or deny the science that they don't like (who likes the fact that human activities, for example, buying sports cars, fast fashion or the latest “must-have” technology, is damaging the planet's ecosystems, therefore, causing climate change?)

Besides science, the other source of information is generally social media (whilst science is also a social enterprise, however, fundamentally, science is the data). Social media such as news and political information. People's opinions, beliefs and views, etc., are a more or less accurate source of information. Social media news may be biased towards only reporting certain news and political agendas. However, having a broad (e.g., not only technology-related) scientific education helps in all walks of life. It's never too late to learn more science. I'd recommend that a person starts with the philosophy of science (i.e., the epistemology of science) alongside learning the subjects of science. A rudimentary understanding of chemistry, biology, ecology (life science), and physics can inoculate people against misinformation and help them make better personal choices (e.g., health-related choices). The only reason why people can be, for example, greenwashed, is because they haven't developed a sufficient understanding of the relevant science subjects and they trust those who are either misinformed themselves or out to disinform them (e.g., generally industries if the prevailing science doesn't align with their profit agendas. In the context of the environmental science, it rarely does).

The only substitute for knowledge is faith. Even in science, we have to have some faith that the paper we are reading has not been based on intentionally false data. However, as scientists we learn to cross-reference our understanding and base our understanding on multitudes of converging data sources (interdisciplinary research). For example, if I reference one scientific paper that's only because it references the general literature that I have already studied. One paper's new discovery should always be considered tentative evidence. In other words, scientists don't report a novel new discovery as a fact - if that fact is only based on one research paper. Though laypeople often do. (And possibly some naive scientists). The general scientific consensus is the most reliable source of information. Of course, new discoveries are made (science updates), however, the point is that established science is and always will be based on the consensus. For example, Darwin and Wallace independently developed a hypothesis termed evolution. At that time (1800's) evolution was a novel discovery. Now, evolution is the general scientific consensus. It would be odd for a biologist to not accept the theory of evolution as all the evidence indicates that evolution is how life evolved (But, as mentioned, the odd scientists can be bought. i.e., charlatans (go rogue) or believe in their own misunderstandings.

We could also take the same cross reference of information sources approach regarding our news feeds. Don't rely on only one source of information (e.g., one News provider). Depending on the country that could be more of a problem (e.g., state-owned media is by definition a biased and restricted source of information). That's the other important point, who owns and controls the media? (a free press is fundamental for a healthy democracy). People that only watch Fox News (USA) or only read the DailyMail (UK) are not the most informed people (to understate it). Recently, people began leaving because the new owner is explicitly using the social platform for his own business and (geo)political agenda (corporations tend to spread virtuous-sounding narratives so as to manage their social reputation). In this context, is more robust because it's connected to a less centralized network - so information can flow more freely as there isn't one corporation controlling what information is and is not regulated. Though the quality (reliability or usefulness) of information that is spread throughout the network is dependent on the people using it & the instance moderators.

As for a person's personality. A sincere person that is diligently trying to find out the facts - is what good scientists, investigative journalists, etc., are. An insincere person that is trying to spread misinformation (lies \ fraud) – is less of a useful individual (though could be very rich. e.g., a fossil fuel executive or shareholder)

1
Empiricism

Climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. The less civilization does of the former (e.g., reducing Greenhouse gas emissions), the more civilization will be forced to try and do the latter (e.g., deal with the consequences)


0
Empiricism

Have you noticed that the people that overestimate their own intelligence in a subject often implicitly reveal, to the more informed, that their brand of pseudoscience is because they're missing the required level of humility?

That's why they don't ask more informed questions (lazy learners). They actually believe they're right most of the time (but, on social media, these folk rarely if ever reference scientific publications to back up their rhetoric - because they have not read the scientific publications. They read, at best, science journalism websites).

This online social behavior is actually the norm (average) within the context of laypeople's responses to posts where the scientific subjects of ecology (inc. Climate science) are the relevant context.

They really do believe, or at least promote (like a sales pitch) that buying stuff (products) is the main solution to mitigate change. Basically, because that is what they have been indoctrinated and want to believe in (nurtured).

Wanting to believe in something is the predictable way to most probably be incorrect. Denial followed by conformation bias is one of the most predictable forms of human responses (because humans are animals. And all animal's behavior has predictable patterns)

This is due to their unknown unknowns. A person's intelligence is generally related to experience For example, a person that has studied the scientific literature on has far more experience in that subject than a layperson (but an arrogant layperson can't handle that fact. Hence the self-denial).

You would not be surprised to hear how laypeople feign their level of knowledge of . They are fundamentally only fooling themselves.

Feigning intelligence on social media is relatively easier. Feigning knowledge is due to social status-seeking behaviors. The layperson (with a tone of arrogance. I.e., personality) feels like (emphasis on the emotional heuristic) they're being clever by generally making the narrative up as they go along, reading a little bit on the fly, for example, Wiki pages or social media forums, & very often really believing that the reason why they don't personally agree with the scientist is that the scientist is "stupid" (to use the layperson's words).

The Dunning-Kruger effect is real!

Imagining, after reading this, some arrogant laypeople will quickly read up the term on Wiki & self-proclaim themselves an expert. Arrogance (low humility) is a learning disability.

sciencedirect.com/search?qs=Du

0
Empiricism

The general long-term (lifestyle \ culture) solutions to transition & adapt human behaviors (activities) away from an ecologically damaging, climate-changing civilization towards an ecological & climate-sustaining civilization are known. qoto.org/@Empiricism_Reloaded/

Business As Usual (BAU) tries to continue by generally doing more of the same (BAU is "baked" into the BAU economy & those that only think in BAU terms). For example, BAU is promoting more mining for resources which means more damage to nature (wildlife habitats) and more pollution.

BAU owns land that BAU doesn't want to use for nature restoration.

This means that BAU will continue to not meet its own BAU greenhouse gas reduction targets (BAU's aim is crap as it keeps missing climate-related targets).

Because BAU has generally done a less-than-crap Job at reducing the BAU greenhouse gas emissions (because BAU emissions are rising ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-), BAU is now planning for a future where the effects of climate change are much worse. BAU won't stop BAU so BAU is trying to adapt to climate change by doing more BAU (that makes "sense" for BAU). For example, BAU is about using more resources and power (e.g., burning more "fossil" fuels) to construct higher flood defenses. Basically, BAU is about exploiting nature so as to extract resources and power BAU technologies (& make tech BAU folk rich by selling BAU products).

So, as BAU continues to degrade nature in the name of BAU (e.g., promoting & sell more BAU products & services), more people will come to realize that BAU is the problem. We can't solve a problem by doing more of the BAU problem (but problems make BAU people money...so, go figure).

When more people accept that BAU is the problem, then, and only then, will more people think about the real solutions to prevent humans from damaging , therefore, changing the . In other words, scale down BAU before it's too late to prevent the worst climate impacts qoto.org/@Empiricism_Reloaded/

When it's clear that BAU is failing to mitigate climate change (what will that take?) - because climate change is causing more harm to people's lives. When it's clear that BAU is the cause of climate change, then humans will change BAU.

The Planet's climate doesn't consider what we want. It will show what we can't have and that's a BAU ( \ ) that's damaging and polluting nature as friggin usual.

1
Empiricism

is being caused by human activities such as mining & burning fuels. Therefore, it's nonsense for people to think that the solution to mitigate change is to do more of the problem.

For example, the crazy idea of building machines to "suck" or "capture" CO2 out of the atmosphere will require more resources (mining) & power to construct & power the crazy CO2 sucking machines.

The "solutions" can't be doing more of the business as usual problems.
resilience.org/crazy-town-podc

1
Empiricism

This podcast may disturb, make certain people angry & cause denial. However, that's because it strikes a "nerve" (is true in many social contexts)

The Empirical Perspective uses a scientific lens to critically evaluate common folk psychology.: The NAP Satire News S01E02

Episode webpage: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sho

Media file: anchor.fm/s/d8369f60/podcast/p


0
Empiricism

The Empirical Perspective uses a scientific lens to critically evaluate common folk psychology.: NAP Satire News S01E01

Episode webpage: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sho

Media file: anchor.fm/s/d8369f60/podcast/p

0
Empiricism

The Climate Alarm Clock: Adaptation: Facing reality or giving up?

Episode webpage: the-climate-alarm-clock.captiv

Media file: podcasts.captivate.fm/media/dd

0
Empiricism

In contrast to the corporate narratives "the ecovillage movement proposes a feasible whole system design toward sustainable ways of living.... Therefore, grassroots initiatives are increasingly receiving attention from the international scientific community, although they are still being neglected by public policies..." doi.org/10.1007/s44168-022-000

How to grow a network for sustainable communities qoto.org/@Empiricism_Reloaded/

The right time to act to mitigate was decades ago. However, there is always time to make a better choice.

0
Show older

climate

45

psychology

31

sustainability

31

climatechange

20

science

19

degrowth

13
Qoto Mastodon

QOTO: Question Others to Teach Ourselves
An inclusive, Academic Freedom, instance
All cultures welcome.
Hate speech and harassment strictly forbidden.

Trending now

Resources

Developers

What is Mastodon?

qoto.org

More…

v3.5.19-qoto · Privacy policy