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Home Irish tech Deconstructing the climate change deniers with Gerald Kutney

Deconstructing the climate change deniers with Gerald Kutney

March 10, 2020
Gerald Kutney, climate change

Inspiring, positive and necessary online climate change activism discussed with Gerald Kutney

What is your own background briefly?

I am an author and media commentator on the politics of the climate crisis. I have a Ph.D. in chemistry and executive experience in the bioeconomy and have published a peer-reviewed book, entitled Carbon Politics and the Failure of the Kyoto Protocol. Currently, I am preparing another book, with the working title Climate Brawl and the Deep State of Climate Denial.

Does it seem like a logical background to what you do now?

Many would claim that it is illogical. I spend many hours daily on Twitter discrediting climate deniers, their lies and propaganda, because climate deniers put our future at risk. So, I am not sure that it is the most logical thing to do, but I believe that it is the right thing to do.

How was the last 12 months? What were your big wins?

The last twelve months have been great. A major event for me took place a year ago, when I launched the hashtag #climatebrawl on Twitter, as a call for help when challenging the propaganda of high-profile climate deniers with their hordes of followers. The hashtag has caught on, and now there are hundreds (thousands?) of friends of #climatebrawl. In my section of the twitterverse, at least, there has been a marked reduction in climate denier activity. Also, most of their tweets are now just insults, and when this happens within Twitter, it is a sign of defeat.

On a more personal note, I am especially proud that I was:

  • elected as a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
  • mentioned by a staff reporter from The Toronto Star as: “Canadian researcher Gerald Kutney, who has wielded his PhD in chemistry like a blinding blade of science in a relentless twitter campaign against climate denialism.”
  • “followed” on Twitter by the climate hero Greta Thunberg
  • the #1 global influencer for “Education & Public Awareness in the #ClimateChange Debate.”

What would you have done differently?

When I first started engaging about climate change on Twitter, my focus was sharing science. My son always told me to tweet my personal comments, but I felt uncomfortable with this and ignored his suggestion for a while. When I did start tweeting my opinion more, it opened up a new aspect of Twitter with greater engagement. Don’t get me wrong, the science is what really matters, but the twitterverse also enjoys a personal viewpoint and discussion.

Dealing with climate change deniers

1 min pitch for what you are doing now?

I spend hours daily discrediting the lies and propaganda of climate deniers. Why do I do this? The climate crisis is a threat to everyone and future generations, yet politicians have been, at best, passive on this matter. IMHO, a reason for this lack of political will to take action has been the propaganda from climate deniers and the denial machine.

Why did you get involved with climate change issues & especially those who aim to deny it’s a man-made creation?

I originally got involved in climate change, especially the politics, over ten years ago, out of frustration… frustration that even back then the politicians were not doing enough, and I wanted to find out why. In my research, I concluded that the fundamental source of this political failure had been the propaganda of the denial machine. And this propaganda is endlessly repeated by climate deniers on social media. This led to my Twitter passion to challenge such propaganda at every opportunity.

Are you optimistic that, even despite the deniers, we are moving to a point where the rest of the world is moving on and looking to do something about dealing with climate change?

Damn right, I am optimistic. Climate denial is a lost cause. There is a growing momentum led by the young – Greta Thunberg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – the old – Bernie Sanders (and myself) – and those in-between. And when Donald Trump loses the election on November 3rd, we will witness step changes across the world.

Can we turn the situation around in time? If not why? / If yes, then in what ways can the most immediate positive impacts be achieved soonest?

Yes, we can turn this around in time. I seldom give advice on what we should actually do, as there are others more qualified to do this, but I will mention a few popular ways to bring about a positive impact:

  • stop using coal (and other fossil fuels) for power generation
  • place a (escalating) price on carbon
  • mandate all new cars to be emission free by 2030
  • ensure that no worker is left behind by such policies (i.e., those economically harmed by such policies will be aided by the state).

How can people find out more about you personally & your work?

I hope that people will follow me on Twitter: @Gerald Kutney

They can also view my profile on LinkedIn, or visit my website at 6esm.com.

Who and where do you get inspiration from?

From two sources:

  • the community of friends of #climatebrawl that supports and inspires one another with many kind comments and fact-based tweets.
  • the climate deniers with their lies, insults and propaganda (more rile than inspiration).

Overall, though, the only inspiration that I really need is the science that warns us of the threat of the climate crisis.

What are your favourite slogans?

  • Climate denial is a lost cause.
  • Climate change is science, not opinion.
  • Propaganda repeated again and again, becomes the “truth” if not challenged
  • You don’t need to know science to accept it, but you do to criticize it.

You have a new book in preparation: Climate Brawl and the Deep State of Climate Denial. What is it about?

The warnings of science have been discredited by the most massive propaganda operation in history, orchestrated by the fossil fuel industry, undermining our democracy. This propaganda has stymied the implementation of policies, which has allowed climate change to become a climate crisis. How did fossil fuels become so engrained into our society, economy, politics and government?

How did the deep state of climate denial form? In search for answers to these questions, and others, I have analyzed the history of the politics of the fossil fuel industry and climate change, especially focusing on American administrations and how they managed to miss so many opportunities to avoid the climate crisis.

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