How to talk to a climate denialist
Synopsis: Every first and third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
For many people, climate change is scary and the science behind its causes and impacts is bewildering. And with all the other bad news these days, sometimes the easiest thing is just to hope climate change will fade away.
Add in a noisy minority who vehemently deny climate change is real, or even believe it's all a conspiracy, and it can be hard for people to know how best to respond or what's even real.
In our latest Green Pulse episode, co-hosts Audrey Tan and David Fogarty speak with Adam Switzer, a Professor of Coastal Science at the Asian School of the Environment at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
He gives us some tips and tricks on how to speak to people about climate change, including amplifying the stories of hope, a focus on solutions as well as educating people about the clear trends that show climate change is real, such as data showing rising temperatures, sea levels and carbon emissions.
But what happens when your own mother is a hardened denialist?
Have a listen, and let us know what you think!
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
2:45 What does climate denialism mean to you?
5:55 How to help people who don't understand climate science and feel unable to respond?
10: 44 'We need to focus on solutions'.
12:10 What are top tips to help people sort out real science from cherry-picked, greenwashed science?
16:44 How to balance the bad news of climate change with the need for urgency?
23:17 Talk to people. It's not hard to find common ground on climate change, such as health and money.
Follow Audrey Tan on LinkedIn:
https://str.sg/848W
Read her articles:
https://str.sg/JLM2
Follow David Fogarty on LinkedIn:
https://str.sg/jcvy
Read his articles:
https://str.sg/JLMu
Hosts: Audrey Tan (
audreyt@sph.com.sg ) & David Fogarty (
dfogarty@sph.com.sg )
Produced and edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:
Channel:
https://str.sg/JWaf
Apple Podcasts:
https://str.sg/JWaY
Spotify:
https://str.sg/JWag
Feedback to:
podcast@sph.com.sg
SPH Awedio app:
https://www.awedio.sg
---
Follow more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel:
https://str.sg/wvz7
Get more updates:
http://str.sg/stpodcasts
The Usual Place Podcast YouTube:
https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store:
https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play:
https://str.sg/icyX
---
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
11 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Stanford University lays off over 360 employees, citing Trump policies
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The Californian university said in June it had made a $180.3 million reduction in the general funds budget for the upcoming year. WASHINGTON - Stanford University said on Aug 5 it has laid off over 360 employees, citing budget constraints that it attributed to the federal funding policies of US President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel's war in Gaza, climate initiatives, transgender policies and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. 'Stanford is in the process of making budget reductions,' a university spokesperson said in emailed statement in response to media reports on the layoffs. 'Last week, many schools and units made staff workforce reductions. In total, 363 layoffs occurred.' The Californian university said in June it had made a US$140 million (S$180.3 million) reduction in the general funds budget for the upcoming year due to 'a challenging fiscal environment shaped in large part by federal policy changes affecting higher education'. Last week, the Trump administration froze more than US$330 million in funding for the University of California, Los Angeles, after alleging the university failed to prevent a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students since campus protests erupted after the start of Israel's war in Gaza. The Los Angeles Times reported on Aug 5 that UCLA leaders were preparing to negotiate with the Trump administration over the freeze. The government has recently settled its probes with Columbia University, which agreed to pay over US$220 million , and Brown University, which said it will pay US$50 million. Both institutions accepted certain demands made by the government. Talks to settle with Harvard University remain ongoing. Rights advocates have raised concerns about academic freedom and free speech over the government's actions. The Trump administration alleges universities allowed antisemitism during pro-Palestinian campus protests. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates their criticism of Israel's military assault in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. REUTERS
Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump suggests Vance is his likely heir apparent in 2028
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Mr Trump has declined in the past to offer any endorsement for a 2028 successor. WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump suggested on Aug 5 that Vice President J.D. Vance is 'most likely' his heir apparent to serve as the Republican nominee in 2028, the furthest he has gone in backing Mr Vance as a future presidential candidate. 'Well, I think most likely,' Mr Trump told reporters when asked whether Mr Vance was the heir apparent to the movement he has inspired. 'In all fairness, he's the vice-president.' Mr Trump also proposed that Mr Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio join forces for a future Republican ticket. While the 2028 race is still years away, Mr Trump holds considerable influence with the Republican base and any sign that he is backing a candidate carries significant implications. Mr Trump has declined in the past to offer any endorsement for a 2028 successor. He said in February that Mr Vance was 'very capable' but that it was too early to name him as the leading candidate. Mr Vance, a 40-year-old onetime Marine, has carved out a sizable role in the Trump administration, serving as a key diplomat and top surrogate selling Mr Trump's domestic policy at home and foreign policy abroad. Mr Rubio, a former Florida senator, has emerged as a significant figure in an administration that has spent considerable time tackling thorny foreign policy dilemmas. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 25-minute delay on East-West MRT Line between Boon Lay and Buona Vista due to track point fault Singapore Finding hidden vapes: Inside ICA's mission to uncover contraband at land checkpoints Singapore Sorting recyclables by material could boost low domestic recycling rate: Observers Singapore SM Lee receives Australia's highest civilian honour for advancing bilateral ties Asia Trump's sharp India criticism on tariffs, Russia oil corner Modi as rift deepens Singapore More train rides taken in first half-year, but overall public transport use stays below 2019 levels Singapore BlueSG needs time to develop software, refresh fleet, say ex-insiders after winding-down news Asia Cambodia-Thailand border clash a setback for Asean: Vivian Balakrishnan He is the first person since Mr Henry Kissinger to serve as both secretary of state and national security adviser. REUTERS
Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Hiroshima marks 80 years as US-Russia nuclear tensions rise
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Japanese former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shakes hands with US Ambassador to Japan George Glass before the Peace Memorial Ceremony on Aug 6. HIROSHIMA - Japan marked 80 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug 6 with a ceremony reminding the world of the horrors unleashed, as sabre-rattling between the United States and Russia keeps the nuclear 'Doomsday Clock' close to midnight. A silent prayer was held at 8.15 am (7.15am Singapore time), the moment when US aircraft Enola Gay dropped Little Boy over the western Japanese city on Aug 6, 1945. On a sweltering morning, hundreds of black-clad officials, students and survivors laid flowers at the memorial cenotaph, with the ruins of a domed building in the background, a stark reminder of the horrors that unfolded. In a speech, Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui warned of 'an accelerating trend toward military buildup around the world', against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the chaos in the Middle East. 'These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history,' he said. 'They threaten to topple the peacebuilding frameworks so many have worked so hard to construct.' The final death toll of the Hiroshima attack would hit around 140,000 people, killed not just by the colossal blast and the ball of fire, but also later by the radiation. Three days after Little Boy, on Aug 9, another atomic bomb killed 74,000 people in Nagasaki. Imperial Japan surrendered on Aug 15, bringing an end to World War II. Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million but the attacks live on in the memories of many. On the eve of the ceremony, people began lining up to pay their respects to the victims in front of the cenotaph. Before dawn on Aug 6, families who had lost loved ones in the attack also came to pray. Ms Yoshie Yokoyama, 96, who came in a wheelchair with her grandson, told reporters that her parents and grandparents were bomb victims. 'My grandfather died soon after the bombing, while my father and mother both died after developing cancer. My parents-in-law also died, so my husband couldn't see them again when he came back from battlefields after the war. 'People are still suffering,' she added. Aug 6's ceremony was set to include a record of around 120 countries and regions including, for the first time, Taiwanese and Palestinian representatives. Nihon Hidankyo, the grassroots organisation that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024, is representing the dwindling number of survivors, known as hibakusha. As of March, there were 99,130 hibakusha, according to the Japanese health ministry, with the average age of 86. 'I want foreign envoys to visit the peace memorial museum and understand what happened,' the group's co-chair Toshiyuki Mimaki told local media ahead of the commemorations. Pope Leo XIV said in a statement that 'in our time of mounting global tensions and conflicts', Hiroshima and Nagasaki remained 'living reminders of the profound horrors wrought by nuclear weapons'. Younger generation The attacks remain the only time atomic bombs have been used in wartime. Mr Kunihiko Sakuma, 80, who survived the blasts as a baby, told AFP he was hopeful that there could eventually be a nuclear-free world. 'The younger generation is working hard for that end,' he said ahead of the ceremony. But in January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' 'Doomsday Clock' shifted to 89 seconds to midnight, the closest in its 78-year history. The clock symbolising humanity's distance from destruction was last moved to 90 seconds to midnight over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia and the United States account for around 90 per cent of the world's over 12,000 warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). SIPRI warned in June that 'a dangerous new nuclear arms race is emerging at a time when arms control regimes are severely weakened,' with nearly all of the nine nuclear-armed states modernising their arsenals. Earlier in August, US President Donald Trump said that he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines following an online spat with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. In July, Mr Matsui urged Mr Trump to visit Hiroshima after the US president likened the 1945 atomic bombings to air strikes on Iran in June. 'It seems to me that he does not fully understand the reality of the atomic bombings, which, if used, take the lives of many innocent citizens, regardless of whether they were friend or foe, and threaten the survival of the human race,' Mr Matsui said at the time. AFP
