trump election lie

The draw—and deadliness—of American denial

From vaccines to elections to climate change, denial is doing lasting damage to the country.

Americans have learned a lot about the concept of denial in recent years.


  • COVID-19 denial, where the horrible facts of a global body count of three million, including an American COVID death toll that's nearly twice the U. S. combat toll from World War II. That fact hasn't impressed some who think the pandemic is a hoax;
  • Vaccine denial, an offshoot of the widespread anti-vaccine movement, runs the risk of the U.S. never achieving herd immunity. Many public health experts consider that the dividing line between COVID-19 being a rare disaster and a permanent one;
  • Mask denial, when a public health essential is outweighed by a perception that mask mandates are a violation of individual rights;
  • Election denial, where a mass delusion championed by former President Trump becomes a national distraction at the worst possible time;
  • Gun denial, now a hardy paranoidal in American politics, pits an outlandishly outsized proportion of U.S. gun deaths compared to the rest of the world—from suicides to mass murders;
  • Insurrection denial, on Wednesday, Congressman Andrew Clyde (R-GA) likened the January 6 Capitol riot to "a normal tourist visit" and his colleague Ralph Norman (R-SC) said he hadn't "seen a poll" proving that Trump supporters were among the rioters;
  • Fake News denial, when all of the above draw skeptical reviews, blame it all on the Mainstream Media.

Climate change denial playbook 

If you follow the science and politics of climate change closely you'll recognize the pattern of motivated reasoning. Against a flood of scientific evidence, deniers have released barrel after barrel of red herrings.

Here are but a few:

  • Sunspots, not increasing CO2, are responsible for rising temperatures and extreme weather;
  • Climate scientists are only in it for the money -- unending torrents of research grants, not to mention the gravy train of fame and glory;
  • Activists have a tool to upend the world order — so do "leftist" politicians and governments.

History repeating itself 

Of course, climate denial itself has many fathers.

Merchants of Doubt is the groundbreaking 2010 book by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway. The authors performed political archaeology, tracing climate denial back through its ancestors—often credentialed scientists who deployed specious arguments to deny the impacts of secondhand smoke, ozone-depleting chemicals, and more.

Bottom line: History is repeating itself.

Before our very eyes. Denying the results of a presidential election threatens our democracy. Denying the ways to conquer COVID-19 threatens our health. Denying the ways to combat climate change threatens our future.

Pick your poison.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo: CT Senate Republicans

Jellyfish floating in the ocean
Credit: Pexels/Pixabay

Scientists call on UN to adopt bold ocean policies to combat climate and biodiversity threats

In the lead-up to the United Nations Ocean Conference that opens today in France, scientists released ten policy recommendations urging world leaders to act swiftly on climate change, overfishing, and marine pollution based on existing scientific evidence.

Teresa Tomassoni reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Green coral on a reef.

EU ocean protection plan draws fire for weak enforcement and lack of binding goals

Days before the United Nations Oceans Conference, the European Union unveiled a marine protection plan that environmental groups say fails to deliver meaningful safeguards for Europe’s seas.

Rosie Frost reports for Euronews.

Keep reading...Show less
Wildfire smoke in the distance with a forested hill in the foreground.

Wildfire smoke from Canada continues to choke U.S. cities as climate patterns worsen

A blanket of smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted into the U.S. Midwest last week, signaling another season of toxic air driven by rising global temperatures.

Scott Neuman reports for NPR.

Keep reading...Show less
factory during daytime with smoke billowing above farm crops.

EPA rollback plan threatens billions in savings and thousands of lives, analysis shows

The Trump administration’s proposed reversal of major U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pollution rules could lead to tens of thousands of premature deaths and erase hundreds of billions in annual health and climate benefits, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Seth Borenstein, M.K. Wildeman, Melina Walling, Joshua A. Bickel and Matthew Daly report for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
electric vehicle EV charging at a charging station.

New Trump administration rule weakens efforts to promote cleaner cars

The Trump administration just threw a wrench into Biden’s fuel efficiency plans, publishing a new rule that challenges how electric vehicles factor into federal standards.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

In short:

  • The U.S. Transportation Department issued a rule saying the Biden administration improperly used electric vehicles to calculate carmakers’ fuel economy standards.
  • While not eliminating Biden’s rules outright, the administration suggested it may not enforce them during its own rulemaking process, arguing the current standards are akin to an EV mandate.
  • The move undercuts one of Biden’s core climate strategies and could reduce pressure on automakers to improve efficiency — unless U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules, which Republicans are also trying to reverse, stay intact.

Why this matters:

Fuel efficiency rules are one of the federal government’s main tools to cut transportation emissions — the top source of greenhouse gases in the U.S. While this new rule doesn’t outright kill the fuel economy standards, it signals the administration likely won’t enforce them while it writes its own version.

Read more: The role of electric vehicles in the push for environmental justice

Electric vehicle being charged.

Move to revoke California EV rules threatens state authority on clean air

Electric vehicle mandates in California and 11 other states face rollback after a Senate vote backed by President Trump, raising legal questions and potentially slowing the nation’s transition away from fossil fuels.

Francine Kiefer reports for The Christian Science Monitor.

Keep reading...Show less
white wind turbines on golden field under blue and white sunny cloudy sky during daytime.

Repealing clean energy incentives could cost families hundreds more in utility bills

A Republican-backed bill aiming to roll back the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy support would increase average household energy costs by $250 to $415 annually, according to multiple policy analyses.

Naveena Sadasivam reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.