When it comes to climate change , researchers at UC San Diego have their work cut out for them . Whether cutting-edge climatologists or influential social scientists , they are tasked with finding sustainable solutions to a daunting problem that will affect our planet and future generations profoundly . Yet despite the fact that skepticism about global warming has been melting as steadily as Antarctic ice sheets , the subject remains so multifaceted that it often provokes confusion and complacency instead of a desire for meaningful action .
Two-thirds of Americans now say they believe in climate change . The signs are everywhere , from striking episodes of extreme weather to more heartrending examples , like the recent viral image of 35,000 displaced walruses gathered on an Alaskan beach . Evidence like this may signal an end to the debate , yet the drive to take action remains elusive . Even among believers , global warming ranks low on the list of national policy priorities , behind economic concerns and the threat of terrorism . On the whole , our collective reaction to climate change still tends to be a shrug , not a rallying cry to dig out of the rut into which we ’ re only moving deeper .
Such an attitude is a dangerous one . This was the prevailing theme among thought leaders following the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ’ s ( IPCC ’ s ) latest environmental assessment . The three massive scientific reports warn that inaction will lead to severe and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems . Conclusions that climate change is happening mean we ’ ll have to strategize and adapt — the sooner , the better . Because given what we know , and how long we have known it , there is precious little time left to waste .
TRITONmag . com 37