Has climate change become a religion?

Monday, September 23rd, 2019

Is it just me or has climate change become a religion?

I ask this because I opened the newspaper this morning to be confronted by a campaign that virtually all the major news outlets have signed up to for this week: Covering Climate Now.

It’s an international campaign.

170 odd news organisations around the world are involved, and it includes some of our very own: 1 News, Radio NZ, Newshub, the NZ Herald, Stuff, Newsroom and the Spinoff.

Now I know these people mean well because they want to save the planet, but this just feels like shouting at people, doesn’t it?

It’s not as if there’s news here.

Climate change is not a new phenomenon and it’s not as though something climate based has sparked the story.

The point in running these stories according to one newspaper is to emphasise the ‘paramount importance of the climate story’.

So it’s simply to convince you, either to believe in climate change or to start doing something about it.

Which, if it was a religion, would be the equivalent of trying to convert you. And the point of converting you, like a religion, is to control your behaviour.

Except this time it’s not tithing or foregoing pork or pray every morning.

This time they are asking you to choose bicycles over car and eating red meat and flying in planes.

Have a look at what happens to people who say they don’t believe in climate change.

They are pretty much written off as morons, which means the rest of the argument, no matter how well argued, the rest of the argument is invalidated. Continue reading

After studying politics at Auckland University, South-African born Heather du Plessis-Allan did stints at TV3 and Radio Live before nearly a decade reporting for TVNZ. Currently a columinist on Stuff, she hosts afternoon drive on NewsTalkZB.
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