Why Many Climate Scientists Play Down The Dangers From Climate Change

This article (via Paul Krugman) argues that climate scientists have become less willing to go public about the threats from climate change as they become more aware of the impending catastrophic effects on civilization.  They do not want be called alarmists, and they worry about how the public will respond to fear.

We have a problem in which we can easily reach a point of no return.  Without taking steps to deal with carbon emissions now, we will be unable to reverse the changes that have begun.  We will have to learn how to deal with fear in order to use fear as a motivator. We have evolved as a species with an ability to respond quickly to danger when it is present.  We are less able to deal with more distant threats to our survival.  Unless we scare the heck out the public, and our politicians, they will focus on more immediate dangers.  Krugman admitted that he has chosen not to write about climate change during our current economic crises because that is the more immediate problem that we face, and because he does not believe that we can convince people to respond to a more distant catastrophe. He now believes that climate change will soon become the number one problem that we face as a civilization.