Fear Based Appeals or The Manbearpig
“Fear-based appeals, especially when not coupled with a clear solution, can backfire and undermine the intended effects of messages.”
Al Gore here! I'm super cereal folks: I learned this the hard way. I made a movie and appeared on talk shows and did just about EVERYTHING you could think of to get the warning out but it backfired...now nobody even believes that Manbearpig exists EVEN THOUGH he does and is probably lurking around or under your bed at night waiting for you to get up to use the bathroom so he can grab your feet and disappear you.
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/11/16/globalwarming_messaging/
Only those whose egos cannot
Only those whose egos cannot tolerate the idea or suffering or death resist information of dire situations. It's a natural defense mechanism. However, there are many people who
s egos are not so entrenched or do not have something to gain, financially or politically, who do understand that the world is heating up.
And yes, it's not ONLY due to human excesses and lack of connection with the planet. It is also due to things that are a bit beyond our control, such as sun flares, polar shifts, etc.
However, we are not helping. Displacing or removing unrenewable energy sources by fracking or drilling takes it's toll and, certainly, nuclear testing must do damage to the earth, herself. Add onto that the decimation of our greatest forests (earth's lungs), along with pumping tons of Co2 and other nasties (like radioactive isotopes and hideous chemicals) into out air and oceans, plus little things like HAARP.
Many of you have "turned off" to this post due to the last two paragraphs. That's the ego's natural defense kicking in. If we all try to get beyond that knee jerk tendency, we'd be able to make some progress with environmental issues.
BTW, Al Gore was a huge supporter of nuclear power. I wonder if he has changed his mind...