Public Resource
In defense of using 'the new normal' to describe climate change
Kate Yoder, Grist

Many media reports have described recent climate impacts as "the new normal." And while climate scientists have pushed back, arguing that the future will grow gradually worse, and that suggesting current conditions will continue at current levels could lead to complacency, this article argues otherwise. Referencing the common use of "the new normal" to describe changed conditions immediately after 9/11 and the start of the Great Recession, the author argues that use of the term in response to troubling times can actually inspire action to address those troubling times, and part of that is a fear that things can in fact get even worse.