Revealed: The climate deniers’ strategy

As one of the organizers of last weekend’s 300,000-plus march in New York City for action to combat climate change put it, “More and more people are seeing how climate change affects them.”

The question is whether the effects of climate change and broader mobilization of public sentiment can finally overcome those behind the politics of denial and defense of the fossil fuel industry that have so far successfully frustrated efforts to fight global warming.

What might the deniers’ strategy session be like now? Here’s an imaginary take on it:

Strategist 1: “Should we be worried? I mean every theory we’ve offered to discredit global warming hasn’t held up to scrutiny. First it was data were being manipulated or the measurements weren’t accurate. Then we said it wasn’t human induced. Then we said the earth was actually cooling.”

“When our hand-picked scientists testify before our allies on the House Science Committee and say it’s all alarmist because warming isn’t happening as fast as predicted, aren’t they admitting climate change exists?”

Strategist 2: “Not to worry. We have money from the Koch brothers and the fossil fuel industry. We have Fox News. And we have the Republican Party all tied up in denial.”

Strategist 1: “I know but the seas are rising, glaciers are melting, and extreme weather events are getting more frequent and more extreme. NOAA says 2014 could be the hottest year on record. The World Meteorological Organization just reported CO2 levels in the atmosphere are rising faster than predicted. PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ number crunchers say we’re on course for a 4 degree Celsius warming by the end of the century. That’s big! They calculated U.S. investors have already lost $21.8 billion to ‘weather related events’ in 2013.”

“Even the pope is asking people to pay attention in order to ‘Safeguard Creation.’”

Strategist 2: “Sure, but that doesn’t matter. As long as we keep advancing contrary theories, it raises doubts. It doesn’t matter if any pan out. Anything from it’s a hoax, to it’s not what’s predicted, to it’s actually a benefit, will do.”

“We have the advantage. The scientists have to explain the science. All we have to do is say the science isn’t settled.”

Strategist 1: “With all the money we’re spending, we might win. What are we going to do if we ever become the majority in Congress, even win the presidency again?”

Strategist 2: Woo, hoo! Would that make our benefactors happy! First we’d stop that darned EPA from trying to regulate CO2 emissions. And, of course we’d purge any mention of climate change as a reality from government studies. That’s what Bush did.”

Strategist 1: “What about the Pentagon? Even under Bush they were concluding that climate change was a ‘threat multiplier.’”

Strategist 2: “Easy, we’d just pass the amendment House Republicans adopted to bar the Pentagon from spending any more money on assessing the impact of climate change on national security. And get rid of that 14th Weather Squadron that says climate change is accelerating. And of course our president would be commander-in-chief, so …”

Strategist 1: “But if we want to win the majority, won’t we have to be able to answer the hard questions about what’s happening?”

Strategist 2: “Got that covered already. Our candidates are just saying that they’re not scientists and we should leave that debate up to the scientists. It’s a perfect dodge, and implies there’s actually still a scientific debate.”

Strategist 1: “Won’t that be harder to sell as the climate continues to change and more people are affected?”

Strategist 2: “Nah, we’ve got that covered. Our line is to say that’s normal; the climate is always changing. We’re winning and soon it will be too late to do anything about it anyway. Afterward, people will just adapt. Sure, global warming will change the world, but like we say, the world is always changing.”

“Besides, we don’t need a majority. All we need is to keep denying it so we can have a big enough minority to get in the way. We’ve already got Republican candidates terrified of even acknowledging global warming.

“This strategy is working! Why so troubled? What could you be worried about?”

Strategist 1: “My children.”

Ron Eachus of Salem is a former legislator and a former chairman of the Oregon Public Utility Commission. His column appears on Tuesdays. Send email to re4869@comcast.net.