Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Oh, Uncle Jeff is bringing up climate change and starting to spread misinformation. It's enough to suck the Merry right out of any room.

RESPONSES TO HELP YOU DEBUNK COMMON CLIMATE MYTHS THIS HOLIDAY

Despite knowing the truth for over 50 years, fossil fuel companies have been working for decades to muddy the waters on the science of climate change. (1) They paid scientists to publish phony studies and they used the same PR firms the tobacco companies used in the 1950s to confuse people and misrepresent clear science. (2) Because of this, there has been an unfortunate politicization of this existential threat to civilization. 

Despite broad agreement on the necessity to deal with climate change among scientists, innovators, activists, religious leaders, and progressive policy makers, climate deniers are also in the mainstream. And unfortunately, a lot of people still believe in many widely circulated climate myths. This brings us to those holiday conversations we may have with our parents, siblings, in-laws, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or friends. And trust us, we know that as much as we love them, some of these conversations can go sideways, and sometimes, they can go completely off the rails. 

You don’t need us to tell you this, but refrain from yelling over the dinner table at your uncle who accuses you of being sick with the “woke mind virus”. Just try to be as compassionate as possible. Progress relies on addition, meaning we absolutely need to add people to our movement. Winning the argument should not be the priority. Getting them to admit that they are wrong is also not the goal. The goal is to share differing ideas in ways that allow for them to slowly reconsider their opinions in the future.

Some people just exist in different media environments, and they may be presenting an opinion from an echo chamber that is, shall we say, potentially a little light on scientific rigour. 

Now if you think it will be useful or maybe you are hearing comments on climate change that you feel can’t go unaddressed, we got you! We've compiled some research-based and easy-to-remember responses to common climate myths so you can bite your turkey (or tofurky!) leg instead of your tongue.

MYTH #1: Humans aren’t causing climate change. The planet has natural fluctuations which are causing the warming we are seeing.

• We have already warmed the planet by at least 1.1°C since 1880. (3) (See Myth #3 on why this is a big deal!)
• Yes, there are warming and cooling cycles due to small variations in the Earth’s orbit. But, we have not seen a period of warming this rapid in over 50 million years. This is not natural or normal and our species has never lived through anything like this before. (4)
• Since the Industrial Revolution, we have been burning fossil fuels like coal and oil. Burning these fuels has caused emissions of carbon dioxide and methane which among other gases have been labelled “greenhouse gasses”. This is because they have a massive impact on the chemistry of our atmosphere causing a greenhouse effect trapping in heat from the sun and not allowing it to escape. This is what has been causing global warming. (5)

MYTH #2: There is no consensus among climate scientists as to why the Earth is warming.

• 100% of climate scientists agree that climate change is happening and it is being caused by humans. (6)
• More than 99.9% of peer-reviewed studies agree that humans have been causing climate change. Human-caused climate change is considered a fact by the scientific community and they have been warning us for decades of the danger of global warming. (7)

We are now living through the sixth mass extinction, this is an existential threat to both humans and countless plant and animal species. (Photo from Unsplash)

MYTH #3: 1 or 2°C isn't a big deal.

• We have already seen over 1 degree of warming and this has already worsened natural disasters causing more extreme heatwaves, more devastating forest fires, more powerful hurricanes and flooding, and more catastrophic droughts. (8) This 1 degree of warming has caused terrestrial and aquatic habitat loss leading to what has been called, by scientists, the sixth mass extinction (the last one occurred 65.5 million years ago). (9)
• The changing climate in parts of the world closer to the equator and the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters are already causing people to leave their homes en masse for a better chance of survival. (10)
• 2 degrees of warming would be far worse in all these respects, with the added threat of rising sea levels due to melting ice caps. At this point, we are also in danger of reaching climate tipping points that trigger runaway warming which we have far less ability to slow down. (11)
  
  

MYTH #4: The natural disasters we are seeing are not new. We have been dealing with these extreme weather events for a long time.

• Several natural disasters including wildfires, droughts, floods, hurricanes, landslides, and heatwaves are made worse by climate change. Climate change increases the frequency, duration, and intensity of these natural disasters. (12)

Natural disasters that have impacted us the most in Toronto:

• HEATWAVES:
  The greenhouse gases which cause long-term climate change also contribute to more acute extreme weather. A heatwave that may have gone up to 31°C may now reach 35°C and instead of lasting for a day, it may last several days. This leads to more adverse health consequences relating to dehydration and heat stroke – especially concerning for seniors, young children, people with chronic conditions, and student-athletes who practise and play outside. (13)
  • Heatwave-related deaths: the 2018 heatwaves in Montreal occurred in the hottest summer in 146 years and caused as many as 86 heat-related deaths. (14) In 2021, the BC heat dome which lasted from June 25 to July 1 led to 619 heat-related deaths. (15) These heat waves are expected to get worse and increase in frequency in the future.
    
    
• WILDFIRES:
  The wildfire season has become longer due to climate change. Periods of increased precipitation lead to rapid vegetation growth. At the same time, longer, more intense hot and dry periods in the warmer months melt accumulated winter snow much faster and kill and dry out vegetation. These conditions turn forests into kindling waiting to be ignited.(16)(17)
  • In 2023, wildfire smoke from Northern Ontario and Quebec blanketed Southern Ontario and even spread to major American cities like New York. The smoke was dense and hazardous, especially for the most vulnerable people in our communities, like children with asthma.
    
    
• FLOODS: 
  Higher temperatures lead to more evaporation and thus more precipitation. Coastal flooding is also made worse by rising sea levels and stronger hurricanes which increase the frequency and severity of floods. (18)

MYTH #5: China pollutes way more than we do. They are the ones that need to stop.

• China has been the largest carbon emitter since the mid-2000s so there is a great deal that they need to do to stop climate change. But it is not all China’s fault. The U.S. is the largest total greenhouse gas emitter in history despite having a far smaller population.
• Canada produced 2% of greenhouse gasses emitted (19) despite accounting for only half a percent of the world’s population. (20) Canada’s carbon footprint per capita is worse than many of the major polluters in the world. Meaning the average Canadian produces more carbon than the average Chinese, American, or Russian. In this regard, Canada currently has the second highest carbon emissions per capita of all Western developed countries. (21)
• Without the global community working together to prioritize global warming and deal with this problem it will not get solved. Everyone is responsible for global warming and we can’t afford to waste time pointing fingers.

MYTH #6: Climate change could be good for some parts of the world.

• If there are temporary and limited benefits like longer growing seasons in sparsely populated colder parts of the world and an ice-free Arctic making shipping more efficient, those benefits would be outweighed by the broader climate devastation faced by most of the planet. Densely populated parts of the world near the equator would be devastated, creating push factors that lead to migration which we have already seen become a hot-button issue in the global north.
• Global warming will increase geopolitical tensions over increasingly scarce resources.
• Rapid global warming as the Earth passes climate tipping points, will harm humans and animals everywhere.
• This is why in 2009 the world’s most prestigious scientific bodies agreed that "It is essential that world leaders agree on the emission reductions needed to combat negative consequences of anthropogenic climate change". (22)

MYTH #7: Electric vehicles are even worse for the environment.

• These arguments around EVs are based on criticism of the production of batteries from mining to manufacturing. And the production of these lithium-ion batteries does result in a considerable carbon footprint. If we look at the lifespan of vehicles due to the continued use of gas to fuel gas-powered cars, the emissions of EVs are far less than gas-powered vehicles and this is true to varying degrees regardless of vehicle size and fuel efficiency.
• There are also other environmental impacts of continued use of fossil fuels for gas-powered vehicles which include: oil spills, funding for corrupt oil-rich regimes, as well as illnesses and preventable deaths caused by pollution from fossil fuels. (23)

MYTH #8: Drilling oil and gas is an economic necessity.

• Although we have invested a lot into the production and use of fossil fuels, it doesn’t have to be like this. We transformed our world substantially to have all the advancements and comforts we enjoy today, we can do it again to make our economy sustainable.
• Solar and wind energy are now cheaper than fossil fuels which is better for the economy and it is the direction the world will naturally go in. (24) If implemented carefully, a switch to clean energy can bring our household bills down too! Therefore, it is important that our economy is not left stranded in the 20th century.
• It is important that we make sure that people are not left structurally unemployed and the government needs to invest in retraining and upskilling. This is also realized by oil workers. A 2023 poll found that nearly 80% of Canadian fossil fuel workers want to transition into net-zero jobs. (25)
• Additionally, fossil fuels leave us economically exposed to the unpredictability of geopolitics.  For example, we become reliant on the Middle East, and other undemocratic, human rights-abusing regimes, when we could be more self-sufficient.

We have the ability to transition away from fossil fuels. It is just a matter of political will. That is why mobilizing concerned citizens is so important. (Photo from Unsplash)

MYTH #9: We do not have the technology to transition away from fossil fuels. 

• Canada already has an incredible capacity to produce green energy. 82% of Canada’s electricity already comes from renewable sources like hydro, nuclear power, wind, and solar. (26) We already have the technology and expertise for green energy at a large scale - we just need to be more ambitious!
• We have the technology right now to shift our economy away from fossil fuels. Electric vehicles and heat pumps have made huge technological leaps forward and can now be produced at scale to replace internal combustion engine vehicles and furnaces that run on fossil fuels. (27)
• The challenge now is to transport electricity from areas that are best suited for producing wind, solar, and hydroelectric power to parts of the country that are less productive. We need to produce larger overhead power lines while we shift both the inputs to our energy system (solar energy over natural gas for example) and we also need to shift our outputs (shifting from gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles). This is all part of the broader project to electrify everything. (28)
• We are not faced with a problem of technical ability but with the problem of financing and political will.

MYTH #10: Wind turbines are terrible. They cause negative health effects from low-frequency infrasound which causes “wind turbine syndrome.”

• No, this is a conspiracy theory with no basis in science. Wind turbine syndrome is not real. (29)(30)

MYTH #11: The carbon tax caused inflation.

• Inflation has increased globally, largely due to supply chain disruptions, surging prices in volatile global markets for fossil fuels, stimulus cheques, and pent-up demand in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. (31)(32)(33) Inflation has slowed since 2022 but people are still feeling the effects of increased prices. (34)
• Canada’s carbon pricing system has been in place since 2019, before the recent inflation surge. The United States and numerous other countries in the world have also experienced inflation without having a national carbon price in place.
• The total impact of the carbon price on inflation is only 0.15% per year making it an incredibly small contributor to inflation. (35) Getting rid of the Carbon price WILL NOT undo the recent inflation we have seen in Canada.

MYTH #12: Climate change is a long-term problem and it's not going to impact me.

• Forest fires in Canada’s north have already destroyed communities and made going outside unsafe for Canadians and even Americans living hundreds of kilometres south of the fires. Flash flooding in Toronto this summer resulted in over $4 billion in damages. (36) And increasingly extreme heat waves have killed hundreds of people nationwide. But the problem is getting worse, not in the distant future, but right now.
• Toronto’s summers will become unbearable in our lifetimes, with the number of days with temperatures above 30°C increasing from 12 to 55–60 days per year by 2050. (37)
• Proactive adaptation to mitigate the effect of these unnatural disasters is expected to save the city $1.1 billion per year. (38) This is why urgent climate adaptation and emissions reductions are so critical. It pays to invest now to reduce our costs in the near future.

MYTH #13: We have already done enough to deal with climate change.

• No, we are not doing enough. Not only have we yet to cut emissions, but our global emissions have not peaked yet, meaning we are on pace to produce more greenhouse gas emissions next year than we did this year. It's like we are in a speeding car heading towards the edge of a cliff and not only have we not started pushing the breaks, we are actually pushing down on the gas even harder!
• We are on pace for 3.1°C of warming if current policies are implemented. This is well above the Paris absolute maximum 2°C limit. The problem is current policies are not even being fully implemented and countries like the United States will likely take major steps backward.

Hopefully, this blog will help you when confronted with climate-related misconceptions or disinformation. We’ll get further if we focus on what brings us together. Reiterate similar values and commonalities. That way we can help counter the far-right media’s claims that climate-concerned citizens are radical “eco-extremists.” We can show instead that we simply want to avoid the worst consequences of global warming and hopefully build a world that is more prosperous, sustainable, and just. After all, we want a better world for the people we love even if they disagree with us. Regardless of how these conversations go, we can’t be discouraged, we need to continue to move forward. Remember, the goal is not to win debates over Christmas dinner. The goal is to keep fossil fuels companies from pushing us off the climate change cliff, and we need all the help we can get to save our planet.