Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life (The MIT Press)

"Global warming is the most significant environmental issue of our time, yet public response in Western nations has been meager. Why have so few taken any action? In Living in Denial, sociologist Kari Norgaard searches for answers to this question, drawing on interviews and ethnographic data from her study of "Bygdaby," the fictional name of an actual rural community in western Norway, during the unusually warm winter of 2000-2001. In 2000-2001 the first snowfall came to Bygdaby two months later than usual; ice fishing was impossible; and the ski industry had to invest substantially in artificial snow-making. Stories in local and national newspapers linked the warm winter explicitly to global warming. Yet residents did not write letters to the editor, pressure politicians, or cut down on use of fossil fuels. Norgaard attributes this lack of response to the phenomenon of socially organized denial, by which information about climate science is known in the abstract but disconnected from political, social, and private life, and sees this as emblematic of how citizens of industrialized countries are responding to global warming. Norgaard finds that for the highly educated and politically savvy residents of Bygdaby, global warming was both common knowledge and unimaginable. Norgaard traces this denial through multiple levels, from emotions to cultural norms to political economy. Her report from Bygdaby, supplemented by comparisons throughout the book to the United States, tells a larger story behind our paralysis in the face of today's alarming predictions from climate scientists"--Publisher's description An analysis of why people with knowledge about climate change often fail to translate that knowledge into action.Global warming is the most significant environmental issue of our time, yet public response in Western nations has been meager. Why have so few taken any action? In Living in Denial, sociologist Kari Norgaard searches for answers to this question, drawing on interviews and ethnographic data from her study of'Bygdaby,'the fictional name of an actual rural community in western Norway, during the unusually warm winter of 2000-2001.In 2000-2001 the first snowfall came to Bygdaby two months later than usual; ice fishing was impossible; and the ski industry had to invest substantially in artificial snow-making. Stories in local and national newspapers linked the warm winter explicitly to global warming. Yet residents did not write letters to the editor, pressure politicians, or cut down on use of fossil fuels. Norgaard attributes this lack of response to the phenomenon of socially organized denial, by which information about climate science is known in the abstract but disconnected from political, social, and private life, and sees this as emblematic of how citizens of industrialized countries are responding to global warming.Norgaard finds that for the highly educated and politically savvy residents of Bygdaby, global warming was both common knowledge and unimaginable. Norgaard traces this denial through multiple levels, from emotions to cultural norms to political economy. Her report from Bygdaby, supplemented by comparisons throughout the book to the United States, tells a larger story behind our paralysis in the face of today's alarming predictions from climate scientists. Global Warming Is The Most Significant Environmental Issue Of Our Time, Yet Public Response In Western Nations Has Been Meager. Why Have So Few Taken Any Action? In This Book, Sociologist Kari Norgaard Searches For Answers To This Question. Boundaries And Moral Order : An Introduction To Life In Bygdaby -- Experiencing Global Warming : Troubling Events And Public Silence -- People Want To Protect Themselves A Little Bit : The Why Of Denial -- The Cultural Tool Kit, Part One : Cultural Cultural Norms Of Attention, Emotion, And Conversation -- The Cultural Tool Kit, Part Two : Telling Stories Of Mythic Nations -- Climate Change As Background Noise In The United States. Kari Marie Norgaard. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Prologue......Page 14 Introduction......Page 22 1 Boundaries and Moral Order......Page 34 2 “Experiencing” Global Warming......Page 54 3 “People Want to Protect Themselves a Little Bit”......Page 84 4 The Cultural Tool Kit, Part One......Page 118 5 The Cultural Tool Kit, Part Two......Page 158 6 Climate Change as Background Noise in the United States......Page 198 Conclusion......Page 228 Appendix A: Methods......Page 252 Appendix B: List of People in Bygdaby Interviewed and Quoted......Page 264 Notes......Page 266 References......Page 270 Index......Page 286