Denial, culture and ideology
October 2, 2011 § 3 Comments
Is climate change denial all to do with uncomfortable emotions and psychological defences as I argued last month? Dan Kahan and the cultural cognition project argue that denial has more to do with a particular kind of rationality that is rooted in people’s cultural beliefs. His research produces some interesting results. « Read the rest of this entry »
The many faces of climate change denial
September 1, 2011 § 3 Comments
In popular parlance ‘denial’ can refer to anything from the barefaced lies of a politician to the psychobabble of checklists that tell you whether you are ‘in denial’ about any number of personal ills. Understanding climate change denial means unravelling both psychological and sociological meanings of the term. « Read the rest of this entry »
Outreach work and environmental justice
June 29, 2011 § 2 Comments
Outreach work is frequently a ‘must do’ for 3rd sector organisations and campaign groups. Attention moves inevitably from people who are easy to engage to those who don’t automatically take up your service or join your group. The aim is admirable but the idea is not value free. Why, one might ask, do we always start with those who are ‘easy to reach’? What effect does this have on the way our activities develop and who finds us approachable? « Read the rest of this entry »
Hope, despair and 4° C
May 30, 2011 § Leave a comment
Keeping global temperature rise below 2° C is “just a nice utopia” according to Fatih Birol of the International Energy Agency. What happens to hope in the face of increasingly gloomy predictions for the future? « Read the rest of this entry »
Speech made at Cambridge Carbon Footprint’s AGM 2011
May 19, 2011 § 1 Comment
Speech made at Cambridge Carbon Footprint’s AGM May 19th 2011 about the year 2010, the future of CCF and the changing roles of myself and co-founder Andy Brown « Read the rest of this entry »
Is it time to stop talking about behaviour change?
April 27, 2011 § 8 Comments
Behaviour change is the new black – although the idea has been around for a while it is increasingly the mantra of those working on climate change. Funders are interested in it. Government swears by it. Researchers puzzle over it. Voluntary organisations take it as their agenda. What’s not to like?
Should we be working with children about climate change?
March 23, 2011 § 12 Comments
Climate change community groups often want to work with children. ‘We must get into the schools,’ says someone and there is a nod of agreement. It’s worth thinking about the psychology behind this. Why is this idea so appealing? And why is it so damaging? « Read the rest of this entry »
Giving and receiving bad news – how should we talk about climate change?
February 20, 2011 § 1 Comment
There is no doubt that climate change is bad news. But how should we talk about it? Should we acknowledge that it is bad news, or look on the bright side? Should we tell the whole truth – or try to make it more palatable? « Read the rest of this entry »
Climate scepticism – why information doesn’t work
January 30, 2011 § Leave a comment
Two events last week touched on the psychological impact of climate change: the Horizon programmed fronted by Paul Nurse examining why the public increasingly distrusts climate science, and a debate at Trinity Hall in Cambridge between Professor Sir Brian Hoskins (climate scientist, Royal Society Research Professor and Professor of Meteorology) and Walter Grant Scott, a businessman, benefactor to the college and climate sceptic. How effective were these speakers and why? « Read the rest of this entry »
Rosemary Randall 
Community, anxiety and security: how do these play in work on climate change?
July 31, 2011 § 1 Comment
A sense of community is almost universally regarded as valuable. It is like motherhood: a general and unquestioned good. Activists feel they should be embedded “in the community” while governments hope “the community” will deliver services they no longer wish to invest in. But what exactly is “the community”? What is its psychological and emotional meaning and how does this impact on its possibilities as an arena for change? Who owns and controls it? Who are its gatekeepers and guardians? Who defines its boundaries, rules and membership? « Read the rest of this entry »