On Discussing Climate Change as a Moral Issue

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By Keith Kloor
Aug 11, 2011 11:41 PMNov 19, 2019 9:59 PM

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With political action on climate change stalled, and social science indicating that humans are not hard-wired to tackle distant and amorphous problems, climate writers might want to consider shifting the debate to the moral and ethical realm. Yes, some have tried this tack. For example, in 2010, James Hansen wrote in the Huffington Post:

The predominant moral issue of the 21st century, almost surely, will be climate change, comparable to Nazism faced by Churchill in the 20th century and slavery faced by Lincoln in the 19th century. Our fossil fuel addiction, if unabated, threatens our children and grandchildren, and most species on the planet.

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