#ecophyschology

Inner Change Amongst the Climate Change Discussion

Reading, James Hoggan’s book, “I’m Right and You’re an Idiot”, has provided a unique view into the climate change conversation. The climate change story is intense and awfully complex, bringing in voices from various stakeholder groups, such as politicians, climate deniers, the fossil fuel industry and environmental advocates. Unfortunately, the majority of players on the field are not finding solutions, but creating a war-like battle field that rely on weapons like opposition research, astroturfing, and citizen polarization.

Hoggan clearly displays how the climate change discussion is really more of a debate, as the opinions on either side get further and further from a consensus and the polarization spreads like a “virus”. While standing up for what you believe in and assuming that anyone who disagrees is “wrong” has been the common strategy, it is not working. Rather, Roger Conner, one of Hoggan’s many influential interviewees, refers to this occurrence as the “advocacy trap”. When we consistently think of people who don’t agree with us as wrongdoers and treat them as the enemy, we will never be able to collaborate and begin to solve global problems (p. 14).

The aspect of Hoggan’s book that I appreciated most is the underlying message of needing to work on self and balance our inner ecology. For example, individuals need to spend time discovering their own values; learning to respect all opinions, even those different from their own; believing that everyone has a good intention; and actively listening, rather then dominating the conversation. Through these simple, yet challenging tasks, participants in complex discussions will be better able to collaborate - whether they agree or disagree on matters - and surrender individual egos and agendas (p. 16). While it is fine to have an opinion and “public debate is vital”, a quote by Thich-Nhat-Hanh echoes throughout the book: “Speak the truth, but not to punish (p. 221).

In a rather political book, this heartfelt and direct message of focusing on the “inner work” is so striking to me. It is beautiful to see this overlap of science and spirituality and push to begin taking responsibility of our own thoughts and actions. If each person took the advice from this book, dropped the verbal “weapons”, and let go of the self-righteous and egotistical thoughts, I can easily envision a healthier, more collaborative global community. If this were to happen, imagine the large-scale problems that could be addressed – it is a hopeful thought.

References:

Hoggan. J. (2016). I’m Right and You’re an Idiot. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers