Dear Dick
articles about wide ranging psychological issues
from "The Local Bulletin" (Brisbane Australia)
by Dick Rigby
©all articles are copyright 2006

November 2006
I saw this great film on a Qantas flight between Frankfurt and Singapore.  “An inconvenient truth” featuring Al Gore.  I strongly recommend this film to you.  This brilliant film deals with an aspect of psychology.  The psychology of denial. 
The film gives clear scientific evidence that global warming is happening, and it is sneaking up on us quicker than we think.  Terrorism gets the headlines because it is dramatic, immediate and we can blame someone else.  Global warming is slow, gradual and we have ourselves to blame. 
But global warming leaves terrorism for dead in terms of the consequences.
Another reason for global warming not being issue number one, is that there are vested interests in the energy industry putting out misinformation denying that it is happening.  Al Gore reminds us that the tobacco industry also tried to do a snow job on us by claiming that cigarette smoking was harmless.
This misinformation makes it easier for us to stay in denial rather than dealing with the difficult choices of conserving energy and reducing pollution.  One gentleman I met said that it wasn’t his problem because he will be dead by the time global warming had an impact.
This is not just irresponsible, but it is just not true.  Global warming is effecting us now.  We need look no further than our garden taps in Brisbane.
We need to get out of denial and do something.  That is one of the reasons I have written this article.  Most of us try to help by recycling our garbage and conserving water.  But there are many more things that we can do.  We can stop buying gas guzzling 4X4 cars.  We can build energy efficient houses.  The list goes on.
The time has come to write to our politicians encouraging governments at all levels to have a more environmentally proactive approach.  Australia and the USA are the only developed nations that have not signed the Kyoto protocol restricting carbon emissions. 
Denial is not only unhealthy in our personal lives, but it is also unhealthy for our planet.  It’s time to take our heads out of the sand to save our planet.

Frog in a pot

December 2007
You know about the frog in hot water.  If you put the frog in hot water, he will jump out. Ouch! If you heat the water slowly, the frog will die.  That’s us on our planet! 
A year ago, I wrote an article called “An inconvenient truth”.  This “Dear Dick” is a follow up.  I have just finished reading Richard Branson’s latest book and I am inspired about how many influential people such as Richard, are putting their weight behind saving our planet. 
I think that I can offer a unique perspective on the issue of what is happening to our planet, as I hold science degrees in both Zoology and in Psychology. 
Global warming is definitely a psychological issue.  Our attitudes created the problem in the first place, and our collective psychology can fix it.  There are three psychological hurdles to overcome:
The first one is that we, as individuals may feel too insignificant to make a difference. Wrong.  As individuals we can make a lot of difference. “Think globally – act locally”!
The second is denial of the problem of global warming. Denial suits the conservative energy industry who feed our need to reassure ourselves that everything’s going to be ok.  Denial of this problem will not make it go away.
The third one is that we have time on our side.  That’s what the frog thought.
Time is running out for us to take action.  Our politicians in election mode pay lip service to reducing carbon emissions.  They seem reluctant to embrace tough carbon targets backed up by the full force to the law.
That’s where you come in.  Politicians will not act against vested interests unless there’s a vote in it.  When it came to the hole in the Ozone layer, people kicked up a stink and something was done to reverse that.  We can do the same for carbon dioxide emissions.
Some people say it will damage our economy to change to clean energy.  If we don’t change, we won’t have an economy.  There is now compelling evidence that clean energy is even more economical when it is generated in clever ways.
To save our planet we need to take action now.  If we don’t do anything then there will certainly be an ecological Armageddon, just as Al Gore predicted.
I am in the USA as I write this article.  It is so good to see so many TV ads promoting clean energy.  Even BP (British Petroleum) is calling itself “Beyond Petroleum”. 
Come on, let’s jump now!