[ [link removed]- ]350.org

 

 



Hi John,

Screaming scientists, rating-obsessed politicians, profit-driven
billionaires: the new Netflix film, Don’t Look Up, has all the characters
we see in our fight for climate justice.

Can this film teach us important lessons about climate change? Here are
350’s three main takeaways and a few helpful points for conversations
about the film.

(SPOILER ALERT - this email contains plot details!)

1. Who to blame for the end of the world

The movie makes it painfully obvious who is to blame for the lack of
action when a world-shattering asteroid is headed toward Earth.

Billionaires wanted profit. They fought a campaign of delay and denial,
and power-obsessed politicians went along with it.

In the film, President Orlean almost does the right thing, but her
billionaire tech CEO donor convinces her to change course by promising a
“technical fix” that benefits them both, regardless of the risk to
everyone else. In the end, this “fix” doesn’t work. The Earth is destroyed
but the President and CEO jet off to space.

Fossil fuel companies have done similar with our politicians. These
companies, like the movie’s greedy CEO, have lied about the danger and
delayed action so they can continue to profit.

When you’re talking about Don’t Look Up and who is to blame for the
climate crisis, be clear. It’s fossil fuel companies, their financiers,
and the politicians they’ve bought.

2. Deadly false solutions

In the film, a tech CEO tries to convince everyone that the comet isn’t
dangerous - it’s an opportunity to mine the asteroid for rare metals.

Monetizing this crisis changes the conversation about the comet. A
universal struggle becomes politicized and polarized when it really is
about life and death for everyone.

Sound familiar? It’s the fossil fuel industry’s new trick. They’ve moved
on from denying what fossil fuels are doing to offering unproven, tech
silver bullets to fix climate change.

Companies like Exxon talk of carbon capture and “clean coal” as ways to
fix the climate crisis. But just like the “tech fix” in the movie that
fails and kills the planet, eighty-one percent of carbon captured so far
has been used to extract more oil from existing wells by pumping the
captured carbon into the ground to force out more oil.^1

The only real solution to our climate emergency is keeping fossil fuels in
the ground. Period. Everything else is unproven, far from real
scalability, economic feasibility and doesn't deliver climate justice.
They just confuse the conversation and let the fossil fuel industry off
the hook to make more money.

3. Shouting facts won’t persuade people

If you felt triggered watching the scientists in Don’t Look Up try to warn
confused and skeptical people of the comet’s dangers, you’re not alone.

Sadly, there’s plenty we can learn from them on how not to communicate the
climate crisis.

The movie shows how confusing science can be for many people. And how
people can totally disregard facts, or come up with alternative ones that
fit their worldview better.

A lot of research shows that interpersonal conversations are one of the
most powerful ways to get people to take climate action.^2

So, if you’re going to talk about climate change, tap into people’s values
and help them see how their world and climate change collide. This means
listening more than we speak, asking open-ended questions and trying to
understand them.

Don’t give up - climate change isn’t a comet

For all the ways Don’t Look Up is similar to the climate crisis, it’s also
wildly different.

Our foe isn’t a massive comet hurtling towards Earth. It’s every tiny
fraction of a degree of global heating.

Every drop of oil we keep in the ground; every new regulation that makes
fossil fuels less profitable; every court case against a fossil fuel
company that lied helps us beat our comet – because every 0.1 degree of
warming we stop will help mitigate deadly consequences.

We don’t need one big shot hero to solve it. We need us. It’s already
happening because of our movement getting out there and pushing
governments to do the right thing – one policy at a time.

So please, go and have some conversations and help change hearts and minds
and bring people into the movement.

One last thing before we wrap this up: we'd love to hear how your
conversations actually went.

[ [link removed]- ]If you can, please take a moment to complete our quick survey and let
us know which of these strategies you found helpful. We read every single
response we receive.

[ [link removed]- ]Take the survey »

We can do this ✊, 

Team 350

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1 - [ [link removed]- ]Global Witness
2 - [ [link removed]- ]The Conversation


 




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