Saturday, June 15

Dear Dot,

Do you believe that humanity is the cause of climate change, global warming?

–Gennaro Pupa, via email

Dear Gennaro,

I have no idea if this is an honest question or if you’re just trying to yank Dot’s chain. For the record, Gennaro, Dot is very much lacking in chains. And so I will take this question in good faith, in part because in some small corners of the real and virtual world, this remains a debate. Though you might be surprised to know how marginal that debate really is. Did you know, Gennaro, that there is (almost) universal consensus — more than 99% of scientists agree — that our climate is warming due to humans burning fossil fuels? And, indeed, the majority of us laypeople, by quite a margin, care about climate change and want to see political leaders take action. We can thank Hannah Ritchie at Our World in Data for telling us that 86% of people around the world have “belief” in climate change. At the same time, however, we think that just 37% to 43% support climate action, despite the actual number being 66% to 80%. Why does this matter? Because if we think we’re alone in our belief and our desire for change, we’re more likely to be quiet about it, to not want to rock the boat. 

So let us consider both your question and the ways in which we can better learn to talk about this.

Dot began a response to this question last summer from a city that currently has a “Moderate” air quality risk, thanks to the wildfires that are burning in Canada — more wildfires than the country has ever experienced this early in the season, setting a new record for hectares burned. Wildfire ecologist Robert Gray told CBC Radio’s Front Burner</> that due to conditions created by climate change (on average: hotter temperatures, more lightning, nights that don’t cool enough for recovery, stronger winds),  “Fire season is going to get longer … We know what’s coming.” 

We must talk about this, Gennaro. And we must talk about it with each other in a way that allows for complexity. Because there are, indeed, things that alter our climate that are not human-caused; volcanic eruptions, fluctuations in solar radiation, tectonic shifts, and even small changes in our orbit have all had observable effects on planetary warming and cooling patterns, according to the Natural Resources Defence Council.

The thing is, Gennaro, those natural changes take place over millennia, even longer. But since the Industrial Revolution, when humans began releasing more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere than ever before thanks to the burning of fossil fuels, the change we’re seeing has accelerated at a never-before-seen rate. And these greenhouse gasses have exacerbated the existing greenhouse effect, which traps heat and makes life on Earth liveable, rapidly turning that temperature up and producing headlines like “2023 was Warmest Year on Record, By Far.”

Dot has more to say. Want to know what it is? Read on.