The Ernest Becker Foundation

Confirmed

Janis L. Dickinson, Associate Professor, Natural Resources, Director of Citizen Science, Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University. Read Janis Dickinson's paper, "The People Paradox: Self-Esteem Striving, Immortality Ideologies, and Human Response to Climate Change" here.

Sheldon Solomon, Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College. He is an experimental social psychologist, with interests focusing on the nature of self, consciousness and social behavior.

Trileigh Tucker is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Seattle University. She earned her Ph.D. in Geology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a B.S. in Philosophy and Geology from the College of William and Mary. Dr. Tucker teaches courses in sustainability, environmental justice, natural history, geology, and ecopsychology. She is currently working on a book called Natural Presence: Natural History, Contemplative Practice, and a New Vision for Science Education. Contact information: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 206.296.6492.

William H. Calvin, theoretical neurobiologist, Affiliate Professor Emeritus, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington. He is the author of a dozen books, mostly for general readers, about brains and evolution.

"When something interferes with our self-image, or when we are afraid, guilty, or confused, we tend to deny it. Climate change hits on all four— even without the 'blowing smoke' campaigns.

"Attempts to regulate worry via denial might be expected because our enhanced creativity, especially 'What if….' scenario spinning, provides humans with much more to worry about than the great apes. But denial can have fatal side effects because natural selection hasn’t had much time to edit our higher intellectual functions.

"If climate creep is like a slow-motion train wreck, then climate leap is like a heart attack. An abrupt climate shift comes as a surprise and, since you don’t know in advance if it will be minor or catastrophic, the imperative is to prevent it.

"All we seem to talk about, however, is climate creep and coping with it—even more slowly. That is a totally inadequate framing of our climate problem and of the task facing us—suggesting denial at work. Could this become humanity’s fatal flaw?"

Ronald Friesen

Richard Young, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies, History, Political Sciences, Seattle University. Richard graduated from Lawrence College and did graduate work in history at Northwestern and Edinburgh Universities. He received his doctorate in political science from Stanford University. Dr. Young has written numerous papers and articles on American race relations, political reform, and the environmental crisis. He is currently writing a book whose working title is "Problem-Solving Politics: A Strategy for Achieving Ecological Sustainability and Economic Prosperity." He is president of a not-for-profit organization committed to solving environmental and economic problems through the existing political system.

Henry Richards

Not attending

Karen Litfin, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Washington. She specializes in global environmental politics, with core interests in green theory, the science/policy interface, and "person/planet politics." She sends her thoughts:

"I've noticed that people with a psychological reading of climate denial are often woefully apolitical in their analysis. It's important to understand that climate denial is NOT the norm in most of the world and that it is being manufactured very actively by fossil fuel interests in this country. Here's an excellent summary of some recent research on this point: http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/10/03/335022/organized-climate-change-denial

The point is this: while death denial is certainly a factor, that human propensity is being actively preyed upon by right wing ideologues and the fossil fuel industry.

Return to Details