Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "climate change"
Manipulators of Science
The process of science is one of questioning, testing, interpreting results, challenging findings, retesting, reviewing evidence and asking new questions. Are the activities of scientists who are said to be merchants of doubt about climate change different from what constitutes good scientific practice? In Merchants of Doubt, Oreskes and Conway expose the fact that ‘scientists’ such as Fred Singer and Fred Seitz are not really scientists at all. Yes, they challenge findings and constantly refuse to accept studies because they say they need to be retested, but their motives are not to further scientific knowledge for the betterment of people. Their sole objective is to make money by ensuring that the industries in which they invest and the organizations which fund their ‘research’ are not rejected by society as a result … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Summer Reading Responses
The “humanness” of nearsightedness
How can we reconcile the variability of weather with that of climate? How does our humanness restrict our thinking? Climate change was observed by scientists as early as the 1930’s, it was not, however, accepted by the general public until as late as the 2000’s and much of the public still questions its validity. This lag between data collection and public education and understanding has harmed our chances of turning the problem around. Even when word spread we had a hard time believing in the severity of the problem, when “asked to name environmental problems facing the nation, most Americans would think of pollution of drinking water, local smog, or the destruction of tropical forests ahead of climate change” (185): all very visible threats. As humans we have a tendency to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Mosaic Action, Summer Reading Responses
Public media the source of doubt on climate change
Public media has greatly contributed the confusion and doubt about climate change. The general public trusts the media. They trust the journalists who write for the New York Times, Time Magazine, and the like to do all the research and then present the information unbiased. Obviously it is nearly impossible to be completely unbiased, but in some sense, journalists are employed to do research so that everyone else does not have to, and their reports shape the opinion of the public. Therefore the public expects these investigators to get expert opinions on the subject, to explore all sides of an opinion, and use scientific evidence to write a piece that either expresses the truth to the best of their knowledge or presents all the facts so that the reader can … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Summer Reading Responses
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