The Problem with Skepticism in Climate Science

An inherent distrust in authority, specifically that of the scientific field is something that was unfathomable not even 10 years ago. But now, it seems like every other person has some sort of distrust in science.

From the flat earth theory to COVID-19 to climate change, there has been an insurgence of mistrust in authority, and in turn a mistrust in science. People are more likely than ever to completely disregard scientific evidence, studies, and research from professionals. And the distrust doesn’t stop with an expert’s opinion.

The current climate situation around the world is increasingly getting worse - sea levels rising, more erratic weather patterns, natural disasters - and it wouldn’t take much for people to be able to connect the dots and correlate the changes in climate with Climate Change.

Despite the clear indication that the world is experiencing a climate crisis, many people still refuse to believe that climate change is real, or in most cases, has an effect on their everyday life.

A study done by the Associated Press shows that 10% of Americans believe climate to be fake, with 15% unsure. And although these numbers seem small, 10% of the American population amounts to roughly 33 million people - a number that is far from small.

But why is there this distrust in science, something that, in the modern world, we rely on?

For one, it's because science is used by people of authority to prove their point, and thus, people hate it. In our current world, many people do not trust authority to believe in science. They often call it ‘Fake News’’ or misinformation without wanting to go deeper into the subject.

And skepticism is good, in fact in the scientific field, it is often encouraged. Skepticism is what led to the Enlightenment, allowing science to thrive. But not at the level that we are seeing today.

Skepticism in the scientific field assumes that the person who is skeptical has the evidence and knowledge to back up what they are saying. It also assumes that everyday people, who are skeptic, can show reliable evidence to back up their point.

Instead, what we are seeing is not skepticism with evidence to disprove something, but rather looking for a faulty needle in a haystack of evidence. People not looking at the information with the intent to find answers. They are looking at the information with the intent to disprove it, with an answer already in mind. And for that reason, it is really hard to convince people who do not believe in Climate Change to do so.

We are left, then, with people who are continuing to ignore the ongoing climate crisis, and in some cases argue against it. This, in and of itself, slows down the attempts to create climate policy and reform, causing mass skepticism against climate policies that are meant to be able to help slow down and stop the impending results of climate.