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A tangible point of reference : how to transform the obstructive public attitude towards climate change in the United States?

Boda, Chad Stephen LU (2012) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM01 20121
LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
Abstract
The scientific consensus on climate change is clear, but the social consensus in the United States has yet to concur. Mainstream explanations for the failure of the American public to engage the climate change problem often refer to an information deficit or lacking political will, but have not proven sufficient in accounting for such behavior. A deeper look reveals that the problem lies at the socio-cultural level, where an obstructive cultural-hegemony influences American civil society’s engagement with climate change and maintains the undesirable status quo. Understanding how and when it may be possible to overcome this hegemony is essential for developing increased social support for addressing climate change. Utilizing a neo-Gramscian... (More)
The scientific consensus on climate change is clear, but the social consensus in the United States has yet to concur. Mainstream explanations for the failure of the American public to engage the climate change problem often refer to an information deficit or lacking political will, but have not proven sufficient in accounting for such behavior. A deeper look reveals that the problem lies at the socio-cultural level, where an obstructive cultural-hegemony influences American civil society’s engagement with climate change and maintains the undesirable status quo. Understanding how and when it may be possible to overcome this hegemony is essential for developing increased social support for addressing climate change. Utilizing a neo-Gramscian approach, and combining contributions from a substantial literature review, critical realism, and evidence from the field, I suggest that climate-related disasters may prove extremely effective in calling into question this obstructive cultural-hegemony and may provide opportunities for bridging the social and scientific divide. However, experience alone is not enough, and relevant and credible intervention may prove crucial in achieving a convergence of the social and scientific perspectives. These conclusions highlight the need for context specific strategies in climate change activism and further support the call for transdisciplinarity in problem-driven and action-oriented research fields like Sustainability Science. (Less)
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author
Boda, Chad Stephen LU
supervisor
organization
course
MESM01 20121
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
climate-related disaster, critical realism, Neo-Gramsianism, climate change, sustainability science
publication/series
Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
report number
2012:006
language
English
id
2760212
date added to LUP
2012-06-19 19:14:25
date last changed
2012-11-26 10:19:16
@misc{2760212,
  abstract     = {{The scientific consensus on climate change is clear, but the social consensus in the United States has yet to concur. Mainstream explanations for the failure of the American public to engage the climate change problem often refer to an information deficit or lacking political will, but have not proven sufficient in accounting for such behavior. A deeper look reveals that the problem lies at the socio-cultural level, where an obstructive cultural-hegemony influences American civil society’s engagement with climate change and maintains the undesirable status quo. Understanding how and when it may be possible to overcome this hegemony is essential for developing increased social support for addressing climate change. Utilizing a neo-Gramscian approach, and combining contributions from a substantial literature review, critical realism, and evidence from the field, I suggest that climate-related disasters may prove extremely effective in calling into question this obstructive cultural-hegemony and may provide opportunities for bridging the social and scientific divide. However, experience alone is not enough, and relevant and credible intervention may prove crucial in achieving a convergence of the social and scientific perspectives. These conclusions highlight the need for context specific strategies in climate change activism and further support the call for transdisciplinarity in problem-driven and action-oriented research fields like Sustainability Science.}},
  author       = {{Boda, Chad Stephen}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
  title        = {{A tangible point of reference : how to transform the obstructive public attitude towards climate change in the United States?}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}