Closeup of the map Trump presented to the media in the White House in Washington on 4 September 2019, showing the projected path of Hurricane Dorian. The projected path of Hurricane Dorian has been extended into Alabama by amateurish drawing with a Sharpie, Trump’s favorite type of pen. When asked by reporters whether the map had been altered, Trump said he didn’t know how it had been amended. Photo: Tom Brenner / Bloomberg
31 December 2019 (Desdemona Despair) – In 2019, the climate data show Earth’s climate system unraveling mostly as predicted, although faster than expected by some. But the really scary chart was penned by none other than the President of the United States himself.
Trump would not be gainsayed by the National Weather Service and insisted that Hurricane Dorian posed a threat to Alabama, even though NWS was quite confident in predicting no impact. A stroke of his Sharpie remedied the offending chart. Science in the U.S. now hangs on political whim.
It’s like the President of Brazil saying that scientists studying deforestation in the Amazon are lying about their data. And it’s like Australia’s PM Scott Morrison denying that the megafires consuming his country are a climate catastrophe. The authoritarian style is to assert absurd claims as truth, against all facts, to solidify the support of followers; dissonance reduction is a powerful tool of social control.
Desdemona has worried frequently about the time when the overwhelming volume of scientific data would reveal abrupt climate change to any reasonable observer. Will we mobilize at the required “world war” scale, or will we listen to authoritarian madmen and kill the messengers?
Survey results showing number of working-age people in the U.S. who said they had “serious difficulty” with three different tasks, 2009-2023. Three-month rolling average. Includes people ages 18 to 64. Data: Current Population Survey via IPUMS. Graphic: The New York...
Satellite view of Vermont flooding in July 2023, showing some of the historic damage to roads and infrastructure. In this photo from midday 11 July 2023, the muddy Otter Creek causes extensive flooding by Rutland, VT. The normal channel is...
In this image taken from footage provided by the RU-RTR Russian television on Sunday, 4 December 2022, journalists and Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor’s Office employees walk near the bodies of dead seals on shore of the Caspian Sea, Dagestan. A top...
One Response
“Will we mobilize at the required “world war” scale, or will we listen to authoritarian madmen and kill the messengers?” If by we, you mean humanity as a whole, I think you already know the answer. These are also not the only two options, another is to ignore it, which is what I believe most are doing. Until grain prices start to skyrocket, resulting in rampant food inflation, most people are not going to take this seriously. Of course by then it will be far too late.
“Will we mobilize at the required “world war” scale, or will we listen to authoritarian madmen and kill the messengers?” If by we, you mean humanity as a whole, I think you already know the answer. These are also not the only two options, another is to ignore it, which is what I believe most are doing. Until grain prices start to skyrocket, resulting in rampant food inflation, most people are not going to take this seriously. Of course by then it will be far too late.