Institute and universities defy climate change deniers, continue research

This post was updated Oct. 4 at 1:50 p.m.

They say talk is cheap, but not if your words can cost the future of our country – and planet.

Since 2016, the Donald Trump administration has been criticized by environmentalists and higher educators for its policy rollbacks and flippant attitude toward global warming – to say the least, nothing new.

But as we rapidly approach 2020, public universities will be hurtling toward a new era – this time, of increasing political engagement.

In 2017, Governor Jerry Brown went to China to discuss creating a collaborative platform, which has since turned into a climate change initiative called the California-China Climate Institute. In September, UCLA joined the institute with other UCs to participate in its joint research. And as global warming emerges to the forefront of the political stage, public institutions like the UC affirming the threat of climate change have become increasingly common.

If the creation of this institution has proven one thing, it’s that backlash against the Trump administration might be the best motivator.

Higher education is often criticized for being a bubble – but in this case, the university’s insulation has proven to be its strong point. Against what often feels like a direct attack on the validity of the work of scientists, institutions of higher education have proven to be a vehicle for organized pushback. Research at universities like the UC is a fact of life, meaning the current administration’s propensity to discredit global warming takes on a personal tone.

Despite Trump spending his presidency pulling out of climate accords and rolling back EPA restrictions, 97% of climate scientists believe in man-made global warming and its immediate impacts on the world.

Clearly, experts acknowledge the validity of these impacts – and so does the public.

According to a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 64% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s climate change policies.

Instead of trying to make sense of the administration’s environmental policies, those concerned about the climate crisis have gone into action – including the UC. The Trump administration has had little impact on how academia is tackling the issue and has arguably motivated these institutions to create more dialogue and opportunity for change.

And while there is not always consensus on what the solution should be, there is still room for common ground.

“I think that what they need to do is take the politics out of it,” said Michelle Ohanian, the policy director for the Bruin Republicans at UCLA. “If politicians really want to help, they should be putting their heads together, instead of on one side ignoring climate change in its entirety and on the other side acting like the world is going to end.”

Clearly, climate change is not completely partisan.

But on the far right, the lack of belief in science from higher-ups is likely a reason why some blatant climate change deniers feel confident in their ignorance.

Eighteen percent of Americans were doubtful or dismissive of climate change, according to a Yale study in 2018. There is a growing trend of people across all political backgrounds worried about the consequences of global warming, but climate change deniers – especially those in our government – still insist on rejecting the science.

But despite the demoralizing state of environmental policies, educators and activists alike continue to vehemently advocate for the planet’s wellbeing – especially in California. Unintentionally, the current administration and its climate change denier faction have fueled a new wave of political engagement when it comes to the environment.

“There’s certainly been a ramp-up of resources and focusing on the most urgent initiatives in legal challenges,” said Edward Parsons, a professor of environmental law and the faculty co-director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. “Because of the attempt to do bad things by the Trump administration, we have had some inflow of resources and some galvanization of a rotation.”

Paralleled with political reform, science has adapted its own method of advocacy – advocacy that the UC and universities like it will continue to be on the forefront of.

Alexander Wang, co-chair of the CCCI’s academic advisory committee and UCLA law professor, has become one of UCLA’s representatives in the institute and is a critic of recent federal environmental policy changes.

“Now with the Trump administration being so against climate change and really doubting whether it’s even a real phenomenon – and certainly making lots of policies that are very beneficial to oil and coal and other high carbon industries – the dynamic has really changed,” Wang said.

At a time when fake news runs rampant at the top of the political hierarchy, it has become more necessary to highlight indisputable truth in the face of misinformation – and that’s something colleges can do.

But if climate change isn’t treated as a legitimate and immediate concern, resources and funding will not be allocated to these universities – and the research they do can’t help impacted Americans.

“The public view of climate change action has been stronger than ever and has been increasing, despite Trump’s rollbacks,” Wang said.

Granted, some may fear that Trump’s dismissiveness may instigate a shift away from climate change solutions, making denial the new default. But American democracy is a marketplace of ideas where people exchange in discourse and education. And when people like the president stand against the indisputable science that universities, experts and advocates provide – the truth will prevail.

And while it’s exhausting to fight global warming’s fire with more burning denial, rhetoric in the White House has ironically only flamed climate activists’ desire to be heard.

Because ultimately, the work behind the research is stronger than the cheap talk that tries to undermine it.