The Compost: Gaslighting and climate change - OCRegister

The Compost: Gaslighting and climate change - Orange County Register

Welcome to The Compost, a weekly newsletter on key environmental news impacting Southern California. Subscribe now to get it in your inbox! In today’s edition…

“Emotional.”

In a word, that was the explanation given by each man who took the time to email me after publication of my story headlined “Why are women more concerned about climate change than men?”

Men, these emailers insisted, are instead “more reasoned” and “mostly fact based decision makers.” That’s why they said men are less likely to succumb to climate “hysteria.”

I won’t make it to SoFi Stadium this week. But lyrics to a Taylor Swift tune keep running through my head…

No one likes a mad woman

You made her like that

And you’ll poke that bear ’til her claws come out

And you find something to wrap your noose around

And there’s nothing like a mad woman

It’s a shame but not surprising that those who are still denying the reality of climate change are also still using the oldest trick in the patriarchy’s book to help justify that stance.

I discussed the largely male desire to preserve the status quo with Jade Sasser, who’s a UC Riverside professor writing a book about how climate change is impacting women’s decisions around starting families. Sasser noted that defense instinct primarily shows up among more economically advantaged White men, who tend to feel they’re less impacted by climate change and so are less likely to want to make any changes in their lives in response to that reality.

I mean, who wouldn’t get defensive — a little emotional, even — when a system that’s benefited you for generations is now being blamed for everything from deadly heat waves to catastrophic flooding to cancer-causing pollution?

I did make it to the Greek last summer to hear The Chicks sing about how “temperatures are risin’, cities are sinkin’” after they belted this one out…

Gaslighter, denier…

Repeating all of the mistakes of your father…

Just had to start a fire, had to start a fire

Couldn’t take yourself on a road a little higher

Had to burn it up, had to tear it down

Tried to say I’m crazy, babe, we know I’m not crazy, that’s you…

You made your bed and then your bed caught fire

Fortunately for the ever-warming planet, it seems lots of women are taking to heart messages like this one, from Fiona Apple’s pandemic-era fever dream of an album…

I grew up in the shoes they told me I could fill

Shoes that were not made for running up that hill

And I need to run up that hill, I need to run up that hill

I will, I will, I will, I will, I will

— By Brooke Staggs, environment reporter

♨️ SIMMER

Think cool thoughts: How much is global warming causing sea levels to rise? How much ice is left at the poles? And how is the Arctic faring compared to the Antarctic? Our visual journalist Kurt Snibbe dove into these questions and more in this interesting explainer. …READ MORE…

Joshua trees burn: “We’re looking at sad outcomes for potentially millions of Joshua trees.” While firefighters are finally getting the York fire in the Mojave Desert under control, experts say the blaze has already consumed wide swaths of protected Joshua trees and critical habitat for endangered or at-risk desert dwellers. …READ MORE…

- Dive deeper: Kurt Snibbe is back with graphics and explainers on why the terrain damaged by the York fire will take so long to grow back.
- More background: This sad news reminds me of a story I did in March about a study that shows how even hardy desert plants are being impacted by climate change.

⚡ ENERGIZE

It’s electric: Electric ovens will soon be required in some Southern California businesses, after the South Coast Air Quality Management District passed a new rule aimed at limiting harmful NOx emissions. I learned it’s the first rule of its kind in the nation. …READ MORE…

- Quote: “Many times when people think about climate change, they think of something that’s very far away. But it’s actually something that happens very close to our homes, in our kitchens and especially in commercial kitchens.”

More gas at Aliso Canyon?: Regulators who oversee an Aliso Canyon natural gas facility that had a massive leak in 2015 have proposed increasing the amount of natural gas that can be stored there yet again, despite calls from residents and environmental groups to shut it down. Our Olga Grigoryants has the tale. …READ MORE…

🌬️ BREATHE

Get checked: In not-great news for those of us who live in a region that regularly scores No. 1 in the nation for air pollution, a new study found that regular exposure to even low levels of harmful particulates increases the chances for prostate, colorectal, breast and endometrial cancers. Get those cancer screenings, Southern Californians! …READ MORE…

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🖋️ REGULATE

Divestment delayed: The fossil fuel divestment bill I wrote about at the start of June has once again stalled out in committee, Aaron Cantú with Capital & Main reports. Sen. Lena Gonzalez plans to take her bill up again next year, with her staff saying they’ll hold an information hearing in early 2024 with the senator who blocked the bill this time around. …READ MORE…

🎉 CELEBRATE

Diving for a cause: On the first International Scuba Day, local divers teamed up to remove 121 items that littered a reef and sandy ocean bottom area near the Dana Point Harbor jetty. Our Erika Ritchie has the story and underwater photos of the dive teams in action. …READ MORE…

🍃 EXPLORE

Commune with an oak tree: In his latest column, Jack Easton makes a pitch for spending time with Southern California’s oak trees. Whether they’re in your neighborhood or in one of our national forests, he notes, they’re a keystone species with lessons to share. Easton offers tips for finding and communing with these mighty oaks, too. …READ MORE..

💪 PITCH IN

Bar o’ suds: For this week’s tip on how Southern Californians can help the environment… Have you tried a shampoo bar yet? Just like body soap bars, shampoo bars lather up with water. And they can allow users to ditch the plastic bottles that traditional shampoo arrives in, since most bars come packaged in sustainable wrappers. They’re easy to travel with, too, since there’s no liquid to set off TSA alarm bells. Good Housekeeping tested options, with some starting as low as $6.

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