Climate scepticism is on the rise

The number of climate change sceptics is rising, while climate change scientists are losing a 'PR-War' against sceptics with vested interests, the BBC reported within the last week.

This might have to do with the fact that Europe and America are experiencing the worst Winter of the Century, with snowfalls so heavy several cities have run out of salt to distribute on the roads. The trend that climate change is now less of an issue than it was two years ago is true and verifyable. We are no longer in the aftermath of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, but in the phase of slow recovery from a global financial crisis. People worry about their jobs more than about the environment.

At the same time there still seems to be a persistent preconception that tackling climate change requires money and sacrifices from everyone. If we are to wage a PR war against the scpetics, it might be worth focussing on the fact that living a more environmentally friendly life is actually most often the more economical alternative. I am saving heaps since I've started leaving the car at home and walking to the supermarket. I don't have to pay for fuel as often, and I make conscious choices about what to buy because I know I will have to carry it home. Buying less food means that close to nothing goes bad in my fridge and ends up in landfill uneaten. I am also noticing that I feel fitter and healthier because of the extra exercise I get, which saves on my gym costs.

Of course we are not talking about big business here. But to those who are sceptic about climate change because they fear it might demand greater sacrifices from them than they already had to make over the past year, I would like to say that many rational arguments can refute this assumption. Saving on fuel, electricity, and water costs is a logical conclusion of living a climate friendly life, not an extra burden.