The Climate Change Collective is an initiative where the blogging community unites behind a common goal. The latest post in the series from Molly at Transatlantic Notes debunks some climate change myths you’ve likely heard many times from those who deny climate change is real. The best way to fight back is to do a climate change fact check.
Do a climate change fact check
In an age of unlimited data at our fingertips, there’s no shortage of news about climate change. Much of it comes from credible sources and is backed by science. But it’s just as easy to find misinformation—typically spread by those with something to gain from fuelling demand for non-renewable energy.
One of the downsides of technology is it has made people lazy. It takes effort to fact check and think for ourselves. Every day, we face a constant barrage of information, and easy answers to all our questions are just a few keystrokes away.
The problem is, it’s way too easy to blindly share and spread misinformation. The emergence of generative AI and applications like ChatGPT will only make things worse. These applications scour all available content and can create a brilliantly written, and believable, piece that contains nothing but inaccuracies and lies.
ChatGPT doesn’t fact check. The only way to separate truth from fiction is to be skeptical and take the time to do your homework.
Think before you share
Your brain is your secret weapon against spreading climate change misinformation. Don’t be fooled by headlines that evoke an emotional response. Above all, don’t share anything without first reading and carefully fact checking.
As I read Molly’s post, I was reminded of something I saw a few weeks ago. It’s a perfect example of the kind of messaging special interest groups want you to fall for.
A look at the website behind this post reveals patriotic images of smiling Canadians—and even cute pets—wearing I ❤️ Canadian oil & gas, Canadian mining, and Canadian pipelines t-shirts with bright red maple leaves. The site argues that global demand for oil is growing, so the world needs more Canadian oil because our oil is cleaner than dirtier oil produced by other countries.
You can see why people fall for this type of messaging. The site speaks out against caps on energy emissions, positioning growing the energy sector as the path to prosperity for all Canadians.
Ask yourself who will profit from this
One of the first questions I ask when I see these kinds of messages is “Who stands to profit from this?” I think the answer is obvious. Reading between the lines on the website, the message is clear: someone will profit from the increased demand for oil, so why not us?
Sadly, fossil fuels are big business and energy companies have a lot of money and a lot of political clout. The Alberta government’s recent moratorium on renewable energy projects pretty much proves the oil lobby is winning.
The resource and energy sectors employ a lot of Canadians but if we don’t reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, that way of life people are fighting to protect is at risk. If this year’s record wildfire season and severe droughts in the western provinces don’t prove that, what will?
The fossil fuel lobby will continue to use their power to spread misinformation. Your best defence against climate change myths is to educate yourself and share accurate science-backed information from credible sources. Molly recommends a fabulous site called Skeptical Science that can help you with your climate change fact check.
Please take a few minutes to read Molly’s post. You’ll find out how to spot climate misinformation and learn the truth about eight common climate change myths. Myths like “It’s normal for climate to change.”, “Global warming isn’t real. It’s cold outside.”, and “Human activity didn’t cause CO2 levels to rise.”
When it comes to climate change, spreading misinformation can have serious implications that may jeopardize our planet’s future. It confuses and distracts the public, undermines scientific consensus, and obstructs meaningful action.
Molly, Transatlantic Notes
A Greener World – Debunking Myths About Climate Change
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About the Climate Change Collective
The Climate Change Collective started after I left a comment on a blog post by Jamie Ad Stories. Jamie and I wanted to find a way to keep the climate change message top of mind for everyone, so I put out a tweet to see what kind of interest there would be in a climate-change-related blogging collaboration. The Climate Change Collective was born!
The members of the collective take turns writing a monthly blog post sharing their unique perspective about climate change. After the post is published, the rest of the group keeps the conversation going by sharing a link to the post on their blogs along with their thoughts and ideas.
If you’re a like-minded blogger and would like to join our collective, please get in touch. More voices joining the conversation means more attention to the problems plaguing our planet!
More Climate Change Collective posts
The Climate Change Collective series has been going strong for over two years. See Two years of the Climate Change Collective series for a recap of the posts we published in the first two years.
Recent posts in the series
- Is Climate Change Overlooked in Schools? – Jamie Ad Stories
Thanks to Molly for being part of our Climate Change Collective and for sharing an informative and well-researched post to help us all do our homework when it comes to climate change myths.
Do you have other resources to help you with your fact check climate change myths? Tell me your thoughts below.
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Great stuff Michelle- thanks for the reminder to be vigilant about fact checking.
Thanks Todd. I hate how the world is turning me into a skeptic but there is just too much bad information out there.
So true!
Hi Michelle,
You are always spot on and giving me food for thought. There is so much misinformation out there!
Thanks as always, for making me stop and think.
Thanks Kat. I tend to be very trusting and taking things at face value, but I’ve learned I need to question everything. There are just too many people putting out misinformatio to suit their own agendas.
I so appreciate the reminder about ‘the brain being the secret weapon’ to debunk AI nonsense. Thank you, Molly and Michelle!
It’s easy to lose sight of that sometimes, Vicki. The more technology takes over our lives, the more we need to remind ourselves to stop, think, and question!
So much so…so much so. I don’t want to be dubious about information but more and more we must consider the source. I’d rather be accepting…but when I realize the motivation is to manipulate me, I get mad! Dig in and fact-check. Thanks, Michelle! 😊
Your example about the Canadian oil shows how sophisticated misinformation has got (and how funding can produce something that looks legitimate and accurate). I hope more and more people become much better at spotting it and doing a quick check before digesting information about climate change as this is one aspect of how we take action that sometimes gets overlooked.
It is frightening to see how sophisticated (and well funded) the energy lobby is. When I saw that post, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Do people really fall for that stuff? Clearly they do.
Ads like the one you shared are so deceptive. There have been a number of advertisements recently about how green and sustainable oil companies in Canada are and what they are doing to be sustainable, but when I looked further into their claims (and I only did so because I knew they were absurd) they had some 5+ year plan to start infrastructure to do a below earth carbon capture. So really they aren’t doing anything, but if the ads are taken at face value it seems like they are helping the planet. Fact checking is so important! I’m loving this month’s topic.
It is frustrating to see these ads because you just know that people who want to deny climate change will share them with an “I told you so” message. It’s so discouraging sometimes. After seeing Alberta put a moratorium on renewable energy projects, I am fearful of what will happen here in Canada if we elect a conservative government.