SPONSOR CONTENT PRODUCED BY RANDALL ANTHONY COMMUNICATIONS. THE GLOBE’S EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT WAS NOT INVOLVED IN ITS CREATION.seeingonsocialmedia,”saysDr.
Pennycook.“Theyhaveotherthings
todo;theyaren’tthinkingreflectively
aboutwhetherclimatechangeis
real.Whengiveneasyanswersthat
seemplausible,it’snosurprisethat
peopledon’tbelieveclimatechange
iscausedbyhumans.It’snotthat
peoplearedumb;it’sthatalotof
effortisgoingintodupingthem.”
Thewayclimatescienceiscommu-
nicatedmatterstoo.Dr.Pennycook
andhiscolleagueslookedatreports
bybothproponentsandskeptics
ofclimatechange.Theyfoundthat
advocatestendtousemorecautious
andtentativelanguagewhileskeptics
usemoreassertiveandaggres-
sivelanguage.Thishassignificant
implicationsbecausethesimplerthe
informationisandthemoreabsolute
theclaims,themorelikelypeople
aretoacceptit.Ifwegetconfused
orhavetothinktoohard,theidea
becomeslessbelievable.Thatmeans
thecomplexnatureofscientific
rhetoricmakesiteasytocastdoubt
upon.“Actualscientistsdon’twantto
giveanswerstheydon’thave,while- Dugouts, used to catch and hold rain or runoff, dot
the prairie landscape. They may prove to be a game
changer in the fight against climate change. Biologist
Dr. Kerri Finlayand her team have found that pH levels
in many of Saskatchewan’s algae-filled agricultural
dugouts are optimal for quickly processing and
sequestering greenhouse gases (GHG). The team
uses the research to help develop water management
processes that could combat harmful GHG emissions
across the country. Dr. Finlay also researches how
changing climate affects water quality in prairie aquatic
ecosystems and how we can adapt to the effects of
climate change on our water resources. - Dr. Margot Hurlbert,Canada Research Chair in
Climate Change, Energy and Sustainability Policy,
is the only Canadian Coordinating Lead Author
chosen to contribute to the UN’s Special Report on
Climate Change and Land. Dr. Hurlbert’s focus on the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was on
risk, decision-making and sustainable development.
This included a study of climate change scenarios and
pathways into the future. - Dr. David Sauchyn,director of the University of
Regina’s Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative,
investigates the climate and hydrology of the past
millennium in Canada’s western interior and how that
knowledge of the past can inform scenarios of future
climate and water supplies. - Dr. Britt Hall,a professor of biology, examines
contaminants in the environment as a result of human
activities. Specifically, she studies the impact of climate
change on neurotoxic mercury in prairie wetlands.
CLIMATE CHANGE-RELATED RESEARCH
ABOUNDS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF REGINAthepeoplewhomakestuffupsound
muchmoreconfidentthanthey
should,”hesays.
Giventhisfierceinformationbattle,
cancollectiveclimatechangeaction
everhappen?Thereishope.Dr.
Pennycook’sresearchshowspeople
arenotbeingwillfullyuninformed,
andwhenpresentedwithenough
evidence,theycananddochange
theirminds.“It’snoteasytochange
minds.Butbecauseclimatechange
beliefsarenotbasedondeliberate
ignorance,themorediscussionwe
have,themorewecanbreakdown
thefalseexpertise,”hesays.
Tothisend,takingthetimeto
verifytheaccuracyofwhatyou
acceptastruthgoesalongway.
“Peopleneedtolookatwho’s
givingthemwhatinformationand
considerwhattheirvestedinterests
mightbe,”saysDr.Pennycook.
“Ifweexposepeopletoabroader
rangeofexpertise,andshowthat
thefivecommentatorsonFoxNews
don’tencapsulateallofit,wecan
shiftpublicopinionandgetpolitical
leaderstoactonclimatechange.”Dr.KerriFinlaycarriesoutherresearchinSaskatchewan’sagriculturaldugouts,
whichcouldprovetofightagainstclimatechange.SUPPLIEDGordonPennycook,anassistantprofessorofbehaviouralscienceatthe
UniversityofRegina,studieshowpoliticalideology,rationalthoughtand
misinformationaffectsciencebeliefs.SUPPLIEDhenitcomestoclimate
change,there’snoshortage
offerventandopposingbeliefs.But
whydopeoplebelievewhatthey
believeaboutclimatechange?
That’saquestionGordonPen-
nycook,anassistantprofessorof
behaviouralscienceattheUniversity
ofRegina,hasbeenlookingatto
determinehowthingslikepolitical
ideology,rationalthoughtandmisin-
formationaffectsciencebeliefs.“One
thingthatpeoplemostcommonly
thinkisthatthosewhodisagreewith
themhavetheirheadsinthesand,
andtheydon’tunderstandthebasic
science,”hesays.“Butnoneofusre-
allyunderstandthescienceofclimate
change.Wemayhaveageneral
understanding,butwedon’tunder-
standinthesamewayasscientists
do.Inthesekindsofcontexts,we
relyonexpertstoguideus.”
Andyet,inthecaseofclimate
change,thisdoesn’tholdtrue.Dr.
Pennycook’sresearchfoundthatthe
moreeducatedandknowledgeable
youare,themorepolarizedyou’re
likelytobe;andifyou’reconserva-
tive,themorelikelyyouaretoreject
thescientificconsensusonclimate
changealtogether.“Wedon’tsee
thiswithotherscientificissueslike
geneticmodificationorthebigbang
theory,”hesays.“Inthecontextof
climatechange,there’ssomething
elsegoingon.There’sanalternative
constructedrealitywheresomething
reallyperverseishappeningwith
whatinformationispresented.”
He’sreferringtothe“fakenews”
ormisinformationthat’sintention-
allydisseminated,primarilythrough
socialmedia.“There’smillionsof
dollarsspenteveryyeartosow
confusionaroundclimatechange,”
saysDr.Pennycook.“Believersand
skepticsliveindifferentideological
worldsconstructedbythink-tanks,
policyadvocates,partisanmediaand
politicians.”
Believingfakenewsisnotrooted
inintelligenceorpartisanshipeither.
Instead,itcomesdowntotakingthe
timetothinkcritically,which,unfortu-
nately,fewpeopledo.“Mostpeople
aren’tthinkingaboutwhatthey’reW
Understandingclimatechange
isthekeytoaction
ResearchersattheUniversityofReginaexplorediversewaysofaddressingglobalwarminganditsside-effects
Read more aturegina.ca
Working with 107 experts from 52 countries,
climate policy expertDr.MargotHurlbert, Canada
Research Chair in Climate Change, Energy, and
Sustainability Policy at theUniversity ofRegina,
is the only CanadianCoordinating Lead Author
chosen to contribute to the UN’s Special Report
onClimate Change and Land.
It’shappeninghere.