Both mainstream media and the newly powerful alternative media aren’t incentivised to present the realities of either climate chaos or societal collapse. We see the consequences of that in the poor quality of discussion around the wildfires in Los Angeles. Examples included the unchallenged dismissal of climate change on an episode of Joe Rogan, which reaches tens of millions of people. More extreme than that were widespread conspiracy theories of am evil cabal with (not-yet-available) weapons choosing to destroy neighbourhoods. It can be easier for onlookers to imagine evil people than face a painful predicament that will eventually engulf them as well. Which is why such nonsense gains an audience, even amongst otherwise intelligent people. There are real consequences from this, as the agendas of both climate adaptation and deep adaptation are sidelined from conversation – so the opportunity to reduce harm in future is foregone for many. What to do about it is the topic of an essay I penned last week – “No Rogan on a Dead Planet.” I explain that the importance of free speech means that all of us, and our governments, should encourage more self regulation from content providers and platforms, and then systematise that with international standards. That means podcasters need to accept that with their increasing influence comes greater responsibility and opportunity to lead the sector. To my knowledge, this is a different angle to the current debate about government and BigTech censorship versus an entirely hands-off approach.
That essay was the latest in a series with the -zine Brave New Europe over the last 3 years. Below I list my previous essays with summaries – all on climate and the environment.
Continue reading “No Rogan on a Dead Planet – and other essays”