Just when you thought skeptical podcasts weren’t saying enough about climate change denialism this week! This, however, is an exclusive that you won’t have heard before!
Stephan Lewandowsky is a Winthrop Professor and an Australian Professorial Fellow at the University of Western Australia. He is the co-author of the The Debunking Handbook: now freely available for download at the Skeptical Science website. The Debunking Handbook is a guide to debunking misinformation – although there is a great deal of psychological research on misinformation, there’s no summary of the literature that offers practical guidelines on the most effective ways of reducing the influence of myths. The Debunking Handbook boils the research down into a short, simple summary, intended as a guide for communicators in all areas (not just climate) who encounter misinformation.
During our discussion, Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscure the Truth about Climate Change by Naomi Oreskes is mentioned.
Prof. Stephen Lewandowsky will be appearing at the Perth Writers Festival, with “I BELIEVE IN AN OPEN MIND, BUT NOT SO OPEN THAT YOUR BRAINS FALL OUT” – Sun 26 Feb 2012 – Does every opinion on climate change need to be given the same weight, no matter what the qualifications of the opinion giver? Has the media’s approach confused the messages around climate change? Andrew Jaspan, Stephen Lewandowsky, Alom Shaha, James Paterson.
Josh Rosenau has been a Public Information Project Director at the National Center For Science Education since 2007. He pursued a doctorate at the University of Kansas, studying the ways ecological competition shapes the ecological niche and geographical ranges of species. When creationists on the Kansas board of education sought to undermine evolution education in 2005, Josh worked with grassroots groups and the media to improve public understanding of the issues, and to defend honest and accurate science education. He blogs at Thoughts From Kansas at ScienceBlogs.com.
Check out the NCSE’s new climate change website section, and check out the resources by not only joining NCSE, but checking out the ways teachers can teach climate change, the handy primer on the science behind climate change, and suggestions on ways you can support and defend climate change education.