PSA: Stop saying "climate change," let's go back to global warming.

CrimzonSamurai · Sep 30, 2019

So, get this, it turns out this whole "climate change" thing is a hoax. Not the scientific reality that earth is warming rapidly due to anthropogenic carbon dioxide, but the actual phrase. We hear Trump and other anti-science reactionaries repeat this same line, that "it used to be global warming, but now it's climate change, because derp derp winter is cold!" Tonight I learned that the term "climate change" was a purposeful propaganda exercise by the George W. Bush administration. In 2005, NAS started publishing documents that purposefully changed the term "global warming" to "climate change" at the recommendation of a consultant who wanted to make the issue less scary.

In 2005, the National Academies of Sciences published a pamphlet that expressed the viewpoint that "climate change" was a more scientifically comprehensive description of what was happening to the planet. "The phrase 'climate change' is growing in preferred use to 'global warming' because it helps convey that there are changes in addition to rising temperatures," it said.

Shortly thereafter, in 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency changed the name of its Web site on the issue from "Global Warming" to "Climate Change." It plastered the National Academies quote on the superiority of "climate change" on the front page to explain the rationale.

EPA "Climate Change" website, from February 2007. (Wayback Machine)
"The contentious phrase global warming, first used by United Press International in 1969, seems to be undergoing a certain cooling; contrariwise, the more temperate phrase climate change is getting hot," the New York Times' William Safire wrote in his On Language column in 2005.

In the years prior, the Bush administration had expressed a clear preference for the term "climate change." In speeches on the issuestarting in 2002, Bush referred to "global climate change" and never mentioned "global warming." His administration formed "climate change" science and technology programs. There may well have been political motivation to change the name,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...arming-to-climate-change-because-its-cooling/

So, yeah, we should all stop saying climate change and go back to saying global warming.

tsampikos · Sep 30, 2019

We need something more dire... because this is an accelerated mass death event that's wiping out 1-3 quarters of entire animal populations so far.

Deleted member 44129 · Sep 30, 2019

They changed it because while the earth as a whole will heat up, the weather becomes more about swinging between extremes. If you call it "global warming" then every time there is a cold extreme, dumb fuckers use it to claim that climate change isn't happening.

signal · Sep 30, 2019

Most people understand what you mean either way. We don't need to be this careful about terms to appease some subset of moron US citizens who won't listen regardless.

Squarehard · Sep 30, 2019

This isn't one of those battles where arguing semantics matters as much.

Trump, and conservatives can care less which term you use, and will continue to care less even if we found the perfect wording for what's occurring.

Keyser S · Sep 30, 2019

Global Catastrafuck

Tzarscream · Sep 30, 2019

Well no, because if we say "Global Warming" any time it snows in Mexico idiots will go "SEE, WORLD NOT WARM, WORLD COLD."

AstronaughtE · Sep 30, 2019

Tzarscream said:
Well no, because if we say "Global Warming" any time it snows in Mexico idiots will go "SEE, WORLD NOT WARM, WORLD COLD."

While they ignore record setting high temperatures in Australia.

CrimzonSamurai · Sep 30, 2019

God_Of_Phwoar said:
They changed it because while the earth as a whole will heat up, the weather becomes more about swinging between extremes. If you call it "global warming" then every time there is a cold extreme, dumb fuckers use it to claim that climate change isn't happening.

Tzarscream said:
Well no, because if we say "Global Warming" any time it snows in Mexico idiots will go "SEE, WORLD NOT WARM, WORLD COLD."

They're already doing that through the whole "they changed it cuz it got too cold!" But you can easily show continuous warming with IR atmospheric mapping. It's easier to prove that the globe as a whole is warming than like "this hurricane was bad because of climate change."

Deleted member 44129 · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
They're already doing that through the whole "they changed it cuz it got too cold!" But you can easily show continuous warming with IR atmospheric mapping. It's easier to prove that the globe as a whole is warming than like "this hurricane was bad because of climate change."

Again, your science doesn't matter when half the world if thick as fuck.

Tzarscream · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
They're already doing that through the whole "they changed it cuz it got too cold!" But you can easily show continuous warming with IR atmospheric mapping. It's easier to prove that the globe as a whole is warming than like "this hurricane was bad because of climate change."

Climate change deniers when they see the yellow text:

Nida · Sep 30, 2019

This post has been made redundant.

That allows the ignorant to make the old "I thought there was global warming!!!!?????" joke when it's cold out.

KidAAlbum · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
They're already doing that through the whole "they changed it cuz it got too cold!" But you can easily show continuous warming with IR atmospheric mapping. It's easier to prove that the globe as a whole is warming than like "this hurricane was bad because of climate change."

How old are you? We were using global warming as the term, and idiots argued against it, just like you're saying they do today about climate change. That's never going to change.

DiipuSurotu · Sep 30, 2019

Ragnarok

Ryuhza · Sep 30, 2019

Tzarscream said:
Climate change deniers when they see the yellow text:

Followed by

150226214526-inhofe-snowball-senate-floor-00000516-large-169.jpg

Dead Man Typing · Sep 30, 2019

"Climate extinction" might get to the point better.

CrimzonSamurai · Sep 30, 2019

I'm pretty disappointed at the amount of "yeah we should just go with the purposeful propaganda thing because otherwise they might use propaganda."

unicornKnight · Sep 30, 2019

Both are correct semantics, both are side effects. The issue is that we screw up the planet, the ecosystem balance and the resources.

skullmuffins · Sep 30, 2019

I mean, the term "climate change" was in use before the Bush admin, too. It's not completely a propaganda term. They describe two different aspects of the problem - the earth's average temperature is rising, but the changing weather patterns mean some places will get colder and then there's the droughts and other extreme weather that's not neatly conveyed by calling it "global warming".

Excuse me · Sep 30, 2019

I like climate change better. It includes all the odd weather phenomenons .

echoshifting · Sep 30, 2019

Climate change makes more sense to me. Extreme weather is one of the most significant impacts.

Mass_Pincup · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
So, yeah, we should all stop saying climate change and go back to saying global warming.

And that would achieve what exactly?

Everyone knows about global warming/climate change. That's not going to change anyone's mind.

CrimzonSamurai · Sep 30, 2019

Mass_Pincup said:
And that would achieve what exactly?

Everyone knows about global warming/climate change. That's not going to change anyone's mind.

I'm just saying maybe we stop saying the thing that propagandists want us to say for social engineering purposes.

Mass_Pincup · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
I'm just saying maybe we stop saying the thing that propagandists want us to say for social engineering purposes.

And how would it improve in any way the current situation?

Excuse me · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
I'm just saying maybe we stop saying the thing that propagandists want us to say for social engineering purposes.

I think the propaganda has failed and it's safe to use the term. Especially when it's even better then global warming.

davepoobond · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
I'm pretty disappointed at the amount of "yeah we should just go with the purposeful propaganda thing because otherwise they might use propaganda."

Did you know global warming was also a propaganda word at some point too?

Fuzzy · Sep 30, 2019

tsampikos said:
We need something more dire... because this is an accelerated mass death event that's wiping out 1-3 quarters of entire animal populations so far.

Climate Apocalypse.

CrimzonSamurai · Sep 30, 2019

Mass_Pincup said:
And how would it improve in any way the current situation?

Like I said earlier, it's easier to show someone IR atmospheric maps and say "see how it's been getting warmer every year?" than it is to explain localized effects of global warming to people.

Aside from that, people wanted you to say it for bad reasons, shouldn't that be enough?

CrimzonSamurai · Sep 30, 2019

davepoobond said:
Did you know global warming was also a propaganda word at some point too?

Could you.... provide evidence?

fontguy · Sep 30, 2019

How about "potential mass extinction event?"

Fusionfrenzy · Sep 30, 2019

The Guardian uses climate crisis. I've started using that too.

A More Normal Bird · Sep 30, 2019

God_Of_Phwoar said:
They changed it because while the earth as a whole will heat up, the weather becomes more about swinging between extremes. If you call it "global warming" then every time there is a cold extreme, dumb fuckers use it to claim that climate change isn't happening.

Tzarscream said:
Well no, because if we say "Global Warming" any time it snows in Mexico idiots will go "SEE, WORLD NOT WARM, WORLD COLD."

True, but the free and independent thinkers who are coincidentally almost always right wingers on other topics who joke about how they "could do with some of that global warming right now!" also say things like "the climate is always changing!" and "it's raining even though it was clear just before? Climate change, am I right?" so I'm not sure the type of jokes these people make is the thing to focus on.

S I C K O · Sep 30, 2019

Climate Change Pro Max

Penny Royal · Sep 30, 2019

Global Heating - the Guardian's preferred term - is apposite & accurate.

Mass_Pincup · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
Like I said earlier, it's easier to show someone IR atmospheric maps and say "see how it's been getting warmer every year?" than it is to explain localized effects of global warming to people.

Aside from that, people wanted you to say it for bad reasons, shouldn't that be enough?

I don't think the demographic sensible to the use of climate change instead of global warming is going to care about IR atmospheric maps.

And regarding your second point, I don't think that's enough since it's not really going to cause any meaningful change in people's perspective and it's not really harmful right now.

cupcakeunicorn · Sep 30, 2019

It's a climate crisis.

davepoobond · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
Could you.... provide evidence?

This sums it up

https://skepticalscience.com/climate-change-global-warming.htm

The preferred term was global warming until it wasn't by the same people you say propagandize the message.

There have long been claims that some unspecificed "they" has "changed the name from 'global warming' to 'climate change'". In reality, the two terms mean different things, have both been used for decades, and the only individual to have specifically advocated changing the name in this fashion is a global warming 'skeptic'.

Tezz · Sep 30, 2019

Fusionfrenzy said:
The Guardian uses climate crisis. I've started using that too.

cupcakeunicorn said:
It's a climate crisis.

Yeah, this is the one to use.

Tzarscream · Sep 30, 2019

Greenhouse Gas Ozone Hotboxing

CrimzonSamurai · Sep 30, 2019

davepoobond said:
This sums it up

https://skepticalscience.com/climate-change-global-warming.htm

The preferred term was global warming until it wasn't by the same people you say propagandize the message.

But that just says someone who was a skeptic adopted the term "climate change."

Thuddert · Sep 30, 2019

Global warming only conveys a part of the story and we have moved past that point in time. Climates have changed and will continue to do so.

More extreme weather, shift of seasons, global temperatures raising, more perma ice being melted and as result releasing more CO2. It is a cycle that feeds itself.

JetBazooka · Sep 30, 2019

a possible future climate crisis to be accurate. Minority report (movie)type stuff. I read somewhere Chinese scientist were more worried about global cooling though.

Randam · Sep 30, 2019

Yeah I think

CrimzonSamurai said:
They're already doing that through the whole "they changed it cuz it got too cold!"

That is still better than: "look, it is snowing, I thought we had a global warming!?"

LukeOP · Sep 30, 2019

Call it global harassment.

Trup1aya · Sep 30, 2019

CrimzonSamurai said:
So, get this, it turns out this whole "climate change" thing is a hoax. Not the scientific reality that earth is warming rapidly due to anthropogenic carbon dioxide, but the actual phrase. We hear Trump and other anti-science reactionaries repeat this same line, that "it used to be global warming, but now it's climate change, because derp derp winter is cold!" Tonight I learned that the term "climate change" was a purposeful propaganda exercise by the George W. Bush administration. In 2005, NAS started publishing documents that purposefully changed the term "global warming" to "climate change" at the recommendation of a consultant who wanted to make the issue less scary.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...arming-to-climate-change-because-its-cooling/

So, yeah, we should all stop saying climate change and go back to saying global warming.

Both terms are accurate.

The problem is, most people are morons and can't mitigate that despite the world getting warmer on average, they'll still experience cold weather sometimes.

Whether this was the intention or not, "Climate Change" allows the discussion to center around the overall climate shifts, even at the local level- which is what dominates most people's political opinions. It's easier to point out to a moron that the overall climate of an area is trending away from its norms.

At this point, I don't think going back to global warming will help.

Maybe call it the "Climate Change Crisis". Because that's what it is.

V_Arnold · Sep 30, 2019

Climate Crisis

MistaTwo · Sep 30, 2019

Climate Catastrophe sounds like a fighting game super, so let's just go with that one.

Alice · Sep 30, 2019

I'm for replacing it with Humanity Is Fucking Going Extinct And Millions Of Animals Too.

HIFGEAMOAT for short. You gotta admit, it's catchy.

Emergency & I · Sep 30, 2019

Erfdie

water_wendi · Sep 30, 2019

Wasnt the reason why climate change was used at all is that before global warming panic there was panic about global cooling?

PSA: Stop saying "climate change," let's go back to global warming.

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