Journo-activists haven’t learnt much from previous global catastrophes. Even with a report in hand saying that 300,000 people a year are dying from climate change, there will be no popular outrage. Why? Because these people don’t have a face, and most of them are from third world countries.
To get Governments to really makes changes on climate change, there needs to be a highly specific person or group of people who are directly affected by climate change in a significant way.
This exact scenario played out with nuclear testing in 1950s, with the Daigo Fukuryū Maru. This was the boat that was contaminated by radioactive fallout after the Castle Bravo nuclear test. The people on the boat were subject to large radiation doses, and fell very ill, with some of the crew dying of their exposure. It led to international outrage, which led to the Partial Test Ban Treaty, influential novels (On the Beach) being published and a general public that was aware of the dangers of continuing with these horrible tests. Before this, misinformation by the US Government was enough to downplay the need for such an agreement.
The media has shown in the last month or two that it is extremely partial to a face on a story. From Jade Goody, to the Gurkhas, to MPs expenses, to the bloody economy, there’s always a victim or a protagonist behind the story. Climate change needs its own Jade, or Lumley, or Duck House, or Goodwin.
Until the media becomes truly utilitarian in its coverage — never have so many people been affected by so big an event — we’re going to need cynical solutions to a cynical press.
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