Download Lecture slides, Nov. 4 (6.1 MB)

Climate Change Science:
Contrasting the Enigma of
Public Acceptance in Europe
and North America
David R. Klein
Institute of Arctic Biology, University
of Alaska Fairbanks
<[email protected]>
Science in Society Conf., Washington, DC, 2011
What are the geographic, demographic, and
sociological influences on human responses to
climate change science?
Perspective is all important
How has the perspective of
Alaska by Americans changed
since the mid 1800’s
Caption:
”The Caucasian Bear will
now have home rule, and will
not be intimidated any more”
From the Harpers Weekly April
21, 1877”
[Withdrawal of the Federal
Bayonets from Alaska Thomas
Nast ]
(Civil War 1861-1865)
We adapt to climate
change in Alaska
through sustainable
hunting of fish,
wildlife, and use of
new technology
We are
subsistence
hunters
Climate change is
not God’s doing.
We are reducing
the Vatican’s fossil
fuel emissions.
In Alaska, climate change effects are greatest in the Arctic. Most
of the people there are Alaska Natives and are coastal dwellers.
Shishmaref, AK
1)  Changes in their environment are loss of sea ice, thawing of
permafrost, coastal erosion, and changes in seasonality that
threaten their homes, availability of subsistence foods, village
waste disposal and safe water systems, and increased risk in use of
traditional modes of transportation.
2) Most see climate change and its consequences as threatening to
their lifestyles, and their cultures.
A shared perspective when living on the edge of the sea
Alaska Natives and coastal people in the Carolinas
OLLI October 28, 2015
In 1971-72 I was a Fulbright Grantee to Norway & Portugal
I have since then been involved in environmental studies in
both countries, most recently with a focus on climate change
In 2008, through a Visiting Speaker Program funded by NSF
I gave talks in Norway and Portugal on climate change
Norway 1971-72
Portugal 1972
In Oslo, Norway, February 2008:
I lectured on arctic climate change and discussed its
consequences with university & high school students
Alaskans and Norwegians
are alike in recognizing
that oil supports their
economies
But many in Norway and
Alaska are reluctant to
associate oil production
with climate change
Flaring gas at Prudhoe Bay
Norway has
been a leader in
climate change
research in the
Arctic
Weighing a tranquilized polar
bear to assess body condition
near Svalbard
A beluga whale is released
after a radio transmitter has
been attached
In Oslo, students appreciated and used the excellent
public transport system there and recognized its role in
reducing fossil fuel emissions
They acknowledged that Oslo was slow
to catch up with the increasing bicycle
use by students throughout Europe
They blamed lack of provision for
bicyclists on Oslo’s narrow streets,
and the icy and hilly roads in winter
Bucharest
Rental bicycles in Paris
In the recently published book Living in
Denial (MIT Press 2011, the author Kari Marie
Norgaard comments:
“Norwegian discourses (on climate change)
follow a pattern of interpretive denial, ‘what
you see is not what you think you see’.”
“American discourses (on climate change) are
of a more literal, ‘ it’s not happening’
variety. Under the G.W. Bush administration,
suppression of reports, behind the scenes
falsification, and ‘further study is needed’
was the pattern”
“The crisis of climate change makes clear
how badly we need a mode of social
organization that promotes organized
responsibility rather than organized
irresponsibility and denial.”
Satire is effective in political cartooning
British Petroleum’s Deep
Water Horizon
In urban Alaska, few high school-level students
recognized the connection between climate change and
the subsistence harvest of marine resources by AK
Natives
Anchorage, AK
Dept. Wildlife Management, North Slope Burough
. Scientists harness Indigenous knowledge to combat Arctic disasters
By Chris Arsenault
Thomson Reuters Foundation
October 13, 2016
When tracking climate change in the Arctic, scientists rely not just on satellites
and software but tap the knowledge of indigenous hunters who have lived in the
frozen north for generations.
To help them understand shifts underway in parts of the far north, including the
increasing frequency of disasters, NASA Emeritus Scientist Nancy Maynard and
her team are working with reindeer herders in Scandinavia to track changing
temperature and precipitation patterns.
Indigenous people are often particularly hit by disasters and climate change, and
their knowledge is becoming increasingly important in mitigating the problems,
scientists and activists said.
The United Nations has designated October 13 as the International Day of
Disaster Reduction, with a focus on how indigenous knowledge can complement
science to boost resilience as the costs of disasters rise.
Stay’in high
and dry on
thin ice
ain’t no
picnic
How is the polar bear related to sea ice?
Stay’in high
and dry on
thin ice
ain’t no
picnic
An effective picture
but what is below the
surface?
How is the polar bear related to sea ice?
There was less understanding of Arctic marine food webs
by urban high school students in Alaska than in Norway
How does Portugal enter the climate change scene?
Alaska Fire history
Climate change has made
Interior Alaska and central
Portugal comparable incendiary
hot spots in their respective
parts of the World
Wildfires in 2004 in Portugal
In March 2008, I gave talks comparing aspects of climate
change and forest ecology in Portugal with those in Alaska
ho
in
to Ra
Augus
s
photo
Students and forest
engineers, were my audience
at the Technical University of
Lisbon
In the town of Castelo de Vide, which
was threatened by wildfire in 2004, I
spoke at a town meeting
Portugal has experienced extreme summer droughts with
extensive wildfires in recent years comparable to forest
regions of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia
A. Rainho photo
In Portugal, summer
drought also has limited the
water available for
hydropower
What is Portugal’s response to the increased fire threat?
• A major change in land use practices include replacement of fire-prone
tree species with fire-adapted native species
• Lands returned to natural plant communities yield cork, wildlife, and,
lean pork, with equal or greater economic returns from the land.
Cork oak woodland
In Portugal, knowledge of climate change
appeared to fall along lines similar to
those in Norway.
With regard to wildfire, Portuguese
people in smaller communities perceived
the threat and its connection to climate
change as more proximal to their lives
than urban people. Rural, small
community dwellers had better
understanding of fire ecology and felt
greater urgency for the need for changes
in land use policy by the government.
Did the relationship of student’s financial support to
resource economics affect their perspectives on climate
change? Yes, in Norway and to a lesser extent in Alaska
•  Most entering graduate students in Norway appreciated that
their financial support came largely from Norway’s oil wealth
•  They tended to believe that because most of the oil was
exported, Norway’s “carbon foot print” was low
• A few students pointed out that Norway dedicated a greater
share of its oil income than other oil exporting countries toward
assisting sustainable development in underdeveloped countries, thus
mediating oil production effects on climate change globally
Portugal has no fossil fuels
Education, at all levels, is of primary importance in adapting to the
consequences of climate change
Wind was a major
source of energy in
Portugal’s past
Now, wind is helping
to reduce dependency
on fossil fuels
A Museum of Fire is planned
at Castelo de Vide to
increase public understanding
of fire ecology and to
emphasize the role of fire in
human history
In Oslo, what were the perspectives of university
students and high school seniors regarding
climate change in the Arctic?
Did Gender play a role?
•  Females
tended to be more accepting of the evidence
explaining climate change and its consequences.
• Males more often questioned the adequacy of data on
causes and consequences of climate change.
Does culture influence climate change cognition?
Studies by academic psychologists report that:
“East Asians tend to see visual scenes through a holistic
mindset in contrast to the Western style of focusing on
salient objects”
Sci. 27 August 2010 pg. 997
Does religion influence climate change cognition?
In the same study the psychologists also report that
when comparing neo Calvinists in the Netherlands, Roman
Catholics in Italy, and Jews in Orthodox Israel:
“Calvinists, whose tradition emphasizes the role of the
individual, showed greater visual attentiveness to local
features, whereas the big picture perspective (and
understanding) was favored by Catholics and Jews, whose
traditions stress togetherness.”
Sci. 27 August 2010 pg. 997
In both Europe and the United States,
religious fundamentalists viewed climate
change science as a threat to their beliefs
How reliable is your source of knowledge? Is it based on
sound science?
Why are more Americans than Europeans
“in denial” about the findings of climate
change science?
In a poll conducted of visitors to the Chicago Museum of
Science and Industry only 11% could name a living, leading
American scientist. And when they did, they most often named Bill
Gates and Al Gore, neither of whom are scientists.
The Pew Research Center and the Press found that for every 5
hours of cable television news in the U.S. only 2 minutes are devoted
to science or the environment. During the same period of time there
were 10 minutes of celebrity news and about 30 minutes on crime.
(Science 29 March 2008)
How does the American public learn about
the changing climate and its consequences?
Have the “free press” and commercial television been
co-opted by their advertisers in their reporting on
climate change science? Has it been politicized?
In a press release in 2001 President G.W. Bush stated
that the Kyoto Protocol on cutting carbon dioxide
emissions by 5% is “not in the U.S. economic interests.”
Political cartooning in the media was quick to respond
Superficial thinking: The media emphasizes the scary
side of climate change without explaining processes.
A PLANET ON
THE EDGE
plan to
ll
e
h
S
&
s
ip
il
h
P
Conocoolar bear,
p
e
im
r
p
in
l
il
r
d
at in
it
b
a
h
le
a
h
w
&
walrus,
Chukchi Sea
POLAR B
EARS LI
S
THREAT
ENED B TED AS
Y
AND W
ILDLIFE FISH
SERVIC
E
tic ice
c
r
A
w
e
n
f
o
%
3
1
ly
On
lt in 2010
e
m
r
e
m
m
u
s
d
e
iv
v
r
su
Amid Worri
some Signs
of Warming
, Climate
Fatigue Set
s In
n
e
t
a
e
r
th
s
e
g
n
a
to
e ch
t
s
a
c
i
m
p
i
l
o
C
tr
m
o
r
f
s
specie tops
in
a
t
n
u
o
m
THE REAL HO
LES IN
CLIMATE SCIE
NCE
eP
av
Fight to S
fies
ensi
t
n
I
s
r
a
e
olar B
Ground hog day Feb. 2015
Superficial thinking avoids looking below the surface
Satire is an effective distraction from the science
“So, what is the problem with climate warming,
even Santa likes it warm”
Trepid
ation
l
a
i
n
e
D
I
e
c
n
e
r
ndiffe
m
s
i
c
i
kept
S
Polarizat
ion
d
n
i
m
Closed
Do these mindsets result from
superficial thinking regarding
climate change science?
From a U.S. perspective “You bet’cha”
I need the
Hummer for
my work
What the #Ω€φ
difference does it
make?
What do you
expect me to
do about it?
Can the climate
modelers be
trusted?
It all depends on your perspective
Are Americans finally
getting the message on
climate change?
Well, yes, maybe, some of
us.
Does the love affair of
Americans with the automobile
obscure their vision of the
world in which they live?
The American love for automobiles has deep roots
Automobiles for women, get
them where they want to go,
help them display high
fashion and are also façades
of social wealth
For us men, there is a primary
fascination with the internal
combustion engine which
provides an opportunity for us
to demonstrate our manliness,
and we males value the power
of the auto in our control, thus
justifying seeking bigger more
powerful vehicles
“Remember the good ole days and let’s keep it that way”
Somehow, minis do not
make me feel manly
Is the male macho image threatened by smaller, more energy
efficient autos?
What are the consequences of our love affair with
the automobile? It fosters superficial thinking and
denial obscuring understanding of the causes and
consequences for global climate change.
For machismo
“Roughing it in the wild”
Displaying our wealth
In our homes
Egoistic hedonism
fosters denial of human
influences on climate
change?
To Hell with future
generations, I want
it all now.
Hummer at Anchorage Airport Terminal
Dave Klein
entering Alaska
in 1947 with his
1931 Model A
Ford Roadster
“Sure, I
confess. I had a
certain amount
of infatuation
with that baby”
Does failure to understand complex systems lead to --?
Nebraskan Tea Party view of
Government waste
If the sea ice
is going away
why in Hell do
we need an
ice breaker ?
How do gender, age, belief system, community size, location,
and economic dependency on resources affect the balance of
attitudes toward climate change science?
Trepid
ation
l
a
i
n
e
D
I
e
c
n
e
r
ndiffe
m
s
i
c
i
kept
S
Polarizat
ion
d
n
i
m
Closed
Do these mindsets result from
superficial thinking regarding
climate change science?
Superficial thinking: The media emphasizes the scary
side of climate change without explaining processes.
A PLANET ON
THE EDGE
plan to
ll
e
h
S
&
s
ip
il
h
P
Conocoolar bear,
p
e
im
r
p
in
l
il
r
d
at in
it
b
a
h
le
a
h
w
&
walrus,
Chukchi Sea
POLAR B
EARS LI
S
THREAT
ENED B TED AS
Y
AND W
ILDLIFE FISH
SERVIC
E
tic ice
c
r
A
w
e
n
f
o
%
3
1
ly
On
lt in 2010
e
m
r
e
m
m
u
s
d
e
iv
v
r
su
Amid Worri
some Signs
of Warming
, Climate
Fatigue Set
s In
n
e
t
a
e
r
th
s
e
g
n
a
to
e ch
t
s
a
c
i
m
p
i
l
o
C
tr
m
o
r
f
s
specie tops
in
a
t
n
u
o
m
THE REAL HO
LES IN
CLIMATE SCIE
NCE
eP
av
Fight to S
fies
ensi
t
n
I
s
r
a
e
olar B
Unwillingness to accept and understand the complexity
of the global systems within which we live, and our
influence on them leads to denial of the need for
action
Is there urgency in dealing with
climate change issues?
In Oslo, what were the perspectives of university
students and high school seniors regarding
climate change in the Arctic?
Did Gender play a role?
•  Females
tended to be more accepting of the evidence
explaining climate change and its consequences.
• Males more often questioned the adequacy of data on
causes and consequences of climate change.
Does culture influence climate change cognition?
Studies by academic psychologists report that:
“East Asians tend to see visual scenes through a holistic
mindset in contrast to the Western style of focusing on
salient objects”
Science. 27 August 2010 pg. 997
Does religion influence climate change cognition?
In the same study the psychologists also report that
when comparing neo Calvinists in the Netherlands, Roman
Catholics in Italy, and Jews in Orthodox Israel:
“Calvinists, whose tradition emphasizes the role of the
individual, showed greater visual attentiveness to local
features, whereas the big picture perspective (and
understanding) was favored by Catholics and Jews, whose
traditions stress togetherness.”
Sci. 27 August 2010 pg. 997
Why are more Americans than Europeans
“in denial” about the findings of climate
change science?
In a poll conducted of visitors to the Chicago Museum of
Science and Industry only 11% could name a living, leading
American scientist. And when they did, they most often named Bill
Gates and Al Gore, neither of whom are scientists.
The Pew Research Center and the Press found that for every 5
hours of cable television news in the U.S. only 2 minutes are devoted
to science or the environment. During the same period of time there
were 10 minutes of celebrity news and about 30 minutes on crime.
(Science 29 March 2008)
Acknowledgements:
Institutions:
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Center for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo
Institute of Forestry and Agronomy, Technical University of Lisbon
Supporting Programs:
Fulbright Foundation
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA)
Arctic Visiting Speaker Program, National Science Foundation (NSF) &
Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS)
People:
In Europe: João Bugalho, Miquel Bugalho, Kjetil Flydal, Bjorn Ingness, Anne
Birgit Reisegg, Francisco Rego, Nina Witoszek
Friends, colleagues, students, and others at UAF and elsewhere.
How does the American public learn about
the changing climate and its consequences?
Have the “free press” and commercial television been
co-opted by their advertisers in their reporting on
climate change science? Has it been politicized?
In a press release in 2001 President G.W. Bush stated
that the Kyoto Protocol on cutting carbon dioxide
emissions by 5% is “not in the U.S. economic interests.”
OLLI Denial November 4th
Young people speak out about their
fears and hopes on climate change
By Lilah Laptopoulas
The Guardian
June 9, 2015
We spoke with young people from around the world about
why it's hard for their peers to care about the environment,
how they reconcile their fears about the future, what made
them start caring, and the little things that give them hope.
Young People Speak Out About Their Fears and Hopes on
Climate Change [F.A.C.T. net)
Gabriela Gallo Torres, 17
Cartagena, Colombia
About me: I study international relations. I like photography and eating healthy,
although I'm a huge fan of pizza and fries.
Why it's hard to care: It's the "You Only Live Once" motto. When I was in school, a
couple of years ago, I was talking with my classmates about pollution and climate
change, and I remember this guy laughing at our conversation and saying
something like, "Even if you care, the Earth is going to end anyway." I was so pissed
off. People like that guy are why people don't dare to actually do something for our
world.
What gives me hope: As an international relations student, sometimes it is really
hard for me to stay hopeful, because I'm always reading about Beijing's air pollution,
Shell in the Arctic, and so on. But what gives me hope is to know that I'm not alone I mean, there are people, like everyone involved with the Guardian's Keep It In the
Ground campaign, who are working for our planet. We care about the future, we
don't live just for the moment.
Simon Quarenghi, 23
Edmonton, Alberta
About me: I live in Edmonton, Alberta, which you could say is the oil capital of
Canada.
Tipping point: I moved from small town Prince George, British Columbia to
Edmonton at 19 to work in the oilfield - I went from working in a deli and a bar
to working on a service rig fixing wells. There were times when I felt pride in my
work as a roughneck, helping run the country and that. But after a few months I
started to really think just how much oil was being pumped at any given
moment over the entire world. And how much diesel and gas was being burned
just to get more crude out of the ground. It started to seem like a joke: one big
crazy circle of oil consumption with no end in sight. To drive down the road and
see that every second vehicle was a jacked up diesel truck, to see a pump-jack
in every field, to see all the oil refineries and plants, it started to get to me.
There is no way we can continue this way of living for much longer, not without
destroying the air we breathe and the land we live on.
What gives me hope: I try to focus on the growing number of renewable energy
sources that are coming into play. If we make renewables more abundant and
affordable, our future may look a little less bleak.
Luke Young, 18
London, England
Who I am: I'm about to head into university in September to study English
literature (assuming my hopes are not crushed by the draconian education
system at the last stretch).
Why it's hard to care: For what it's worth, I think young people are one of the main
groups in society that do actually care about climate change, and a lot of the
stigma actually comes from the attitude of older generations towards youth. In my
own experience, when you talk about climate change and saving the planet,
people look at me like I'm a raging communist or a 70s hippie born too late.
Tipping point: I always thought as a child that climate change was an issue being
solved, and we were all going to be fine. Then, when I was 13, I saw people on
the news opposing the construction of wind turbines literally on the horizon of the
countryside near their homes/estates, and they won. It was then I realised that
people actually opposed not only the existence of climate change but also the
methods to stop it. They were blinded by their desire for a beautiful countryside.
Mohamed Yeslem Abbad, 20
Nouakchott, Mauritania
Who I am: I'm a mechanical engineering student. I enjoy reading and playing
football the most.
Tipping point: I can't recall a particular tipping point. I come from a country that
relies heavily on fishing to fight malnutrition and starvation of its most
vulnerable population. Only this month, dead fish were found on the cities'
shores with traces of tar in them, which poses environmental problems as well
as economic ones for the fishermen. And I come from a city that lies below the
sea level, and is very fragile in the face of the rare rain - people in some
neighbourhoods have been thrown out of their homes because of the water.
And the rise in temperatures is very troublesome. Since most of the country is
a desert, the sand movements surrounding the city pose a serious risk. The
animals (cows and camels mostly) and their owners also suffer greatly from
these decreases in rainfall and rises in temperatures.
What gives me hope: If anything gives me hope is the work of prominent
thinkers like Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky, the Guardian of course, and the
NGOs working all over the world pushing politicians and big corporations to
make decisions against climate change.
Where is Mauritania?
Mauritania has
3.9 million people
Reed Shapiro, 23
New York, NY
Who I am: I'm a recent college graduate. I currently work at a carbon
management firm.
Why it's hard to care: It boils down to science. Biology, chemistry and physics. I
used to hate bio and chem. Now they fascinate me because I've realized they
make up the world around us as well as us. So people hear "the science behind
climate change" and they think, "Yawn". Those who do look beyond that will
immediately feel fear. The science/truth of it all is truly terrifying as it is such an
all-encompassing problem that one person couldn't possibly have any effect on
by themselves. I felt a sense of isolation at first, still do, but I'm more driven than
I am afraid at this point.
What gives me hope: Climate change is beatable. Happiness is a mindset, we
construct our own frameworks of preference, and if one day everyone in the
world woke up and said, "I'm going to tackle climate change," it would get done.
Edwin Mwashinga, 24
Kilifi, Kenya
Who I am: I'm a masters student in environmental science at Pwani University in
Kenya. My interest is mainly on sustainable development.
Why it's hard to care: There is a big knowledge gap on climate change in my
country. Our education system only introduces it in high school, in an optional
Geography course. The majority of the populace have no idea of its causes,
effects and mitigation measures. Unless you choose to pick this course in the
tertiary level of education, you will live oblivious of the calamity.
My tipping point: Climate change in Kenya is a real issue - we experience a lot of
its effects. In my town, the rise of temperatures over the last few years is very
evident. The change in temperature means some pests and disease pathogens
are spreading to parts where they couldn't survive before. Many parts of our
country experience erratic and excessive rainfall, which causes floods and
landslides. Prolonged drought also happens, in areas where we never used to
experience it before. Agriculture, which is the backbone of our country's
economy, is facing challenges.
What gives me hope: The campaigns worldwide by environmentalists give me
hope.
Karina Alvarez, 20
Downey, CA
Who I am: I am a sophomore environmental science major at Loyola Marymount
University.
Why it's hard to care: I have many cousins who have never been camping, who
cringe at the idea of spending a day outside the city, and believe that the solution
to the climate change crisis is to adopt another planet as our homeland. We
protect what we love, and we love what we know. How can the youth be expected
to protect the environment if we don't have the opportunity to experience it or are
restricted from learning about it?
Tipping point: I remember taking a carbon footprint quiz in high school and
believing that, as an avid light switch monitor and recycler, I would have a tiny
impact on my world. I was shocked by the results: a population of 7 billion people
living like me would require the resources of four planets! I was eco-friendly, by
the standards of my carnivorous styrofoam-wielding family, so how could I have
such a large footprint? I made the transition to a plant-based diet, edged plastics
and disposables out of our home, and got more involved in the environmental
justice field.
Flora Sonkin, 22
Paris, France
Who I am: I'm a Franco-Brazilian social sciences and communications
undergraduate student in Paris.
Why it's hard to care: It is a subject still very restricted to people that have access to
higher education and other benefits in life that make them feel more confident about
themselves and their power to change things in the world.
Tipping point: Being brought up in Rio definitely helped. It's a place where urban life
is completely tangled with nature, and we can see changes really fast: species of
animals that are not there anymore, a river that dries up, a beach that has less
length of sand, etc. Moving to Paris was also a shock. I never thought about really
getting sick with air pollution before, and we do here, all the time.
What gives me hope: I like to always think about this as an issue that brings us all
together - no matter which country you come from, it touches all of us as human
beings living in this planet.
Walker Willis, 23
Madison, Wisconsin
Who I am: I am a university student working on my degree in electrical
engineering. I grew up on a dairy farm.
Why it's hard to care: For me, if there isn't someone to be a leader. In one
environmental economics class, after a rather depressing yet inspiring lecture
on climate deals and the level of economic sacrifices we will need to make, I
talked to fellow classmates and was overwhelmed by how many found the
lecture really ... boring.
Tipping point: I remember it clearly. I was about nine, and my older brother was
talking to my father about a report he was doing for one of his high school
courses on global warming and the impact it was predicted to have on society.
Being a child, I was rather scared by this. I know now that nothing is as black
and white as you see it as a child, but as I have grown up I have seen directly
the effects of climate change. When I was 16, there were two 'one hundred'
year floods in my hometown in less than a year.
What gives me hope: I get hope out of contributing to the change, by working
my hardest to see it happen. This will quite honestly be the focus of most of my
life's work
English: A Batter swings at a pitch but fails to hit the ball resulting in a strike.
Taking Our Eye Off the Ball — Why Is Science Suffering in the Modern Age?
CLIMATE CHANGE, DISTRUST, ECHO CHAMBER, ECONOMIC INEQUALITY, LIBERTARIAN,
MASS MEDIA, PUBLIC SPHERE, SCIENCE, SCIENCE COMMUNICATION,
SOCIAL MEDIA, STEM, STEM EDUCATION, TEA PARTY, VACCINES
POSTED BY KENT ANDERSON ⋅ FEB 17, 2015
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
However, the most troubling aspects of the survey come when comparing responses
in 2014 to those from 2009. As the authors write:
Compared with five years ago, both citizens and scientists are less upbeat about the
scientific enterprise.
The percentage of scientists saying that “this is generally a good time for science” is
down from 76% in 2009 to 52% in 2014. The percentage of the public considering US
scientific achievements to be above average or the best in the world is down from
65% in 2009 to 54% in 2014. Support for public funding of science is also slipping,
but not as dramatically.
One of the most interesting sections of the survey sought to measure public
perceptions of the degree of scientific consensus. For instance, 37% of US adults
think scientists do not agree that global warming is caused by human activity, while
29% think scientists do not agree that humans have evolved over time.
Funding is a major concern for scientists. Eighty-three percent feel it’s harder today
to get federal funding, while 45% feel it’s harder to get either industry or private
funding.
This all jibes with personal experience. Over the past few years, I’ve had the chance
to talk with distinguished scientists in many fields, in many settings, and from many
countries, and one theme is consistent — they feel that science is in more dire straits
than at any other period they can recall. From funding to public receptivity to political
support, all indicators have receded. Funding is down. The public’s relationship to
science is more fraught. Scientists are being harassed and bullied. And politicians
range from mildly supportive to downright antagonistic, both at the Federal and local
levels.
Why is this happening?
·Political and societal dysfunction. Since the beginning of the 21st century,
we’ve seen a strong libertarian streak emerge in the US in particular. In other
countries, leadership has been distracted more by recent economic upheavals (.
For it to work, science has to be a societal activity. The emergence of libertarian
attitudes leads to a strange brew of distrust of authority and imposition of personal
beliefs in an attempt to assert individual independence. Science cannot achieve
authority as quickly in this situation. The rise of neo-libertarians into the US
Congress has led to strange behaviors among our elected leaders, up to and
including intrusions into the funding decisions of scientific peer-review panels,
purportedly to keep scientists from spending money on what they deem to be
“frivolous” research. A societal activity aimed to describe objective reality is being
dominated by self-serving, divisive, and subjective points of view.
Economic dysfunction. The economic dysfunction of the past seven years has
had long-lasting negative effects on human society. Poverty rates have increased.
Educational priorities have shifted in the wrong direction. Distrust of authority has
justifiably increased in a general sense, as economic inequality has increased
dramatically and justice seems to have become a retail commodity. More basic
concerns — jobs, food, housing security, insurance — have supplanted higherlevel concerns, like those emanating from scientific findings. On the other side of
the coin, as economic inequality has increased, greed has become an accepted
dimension of life, with lotteries, stock market reports, “Black Fridays,” and
billionaire celebrities integrated into the fabric of life in ways that distract and cut
against long-term thinking and societal progress.
Scientific dysfunction. Scientists haven’t done themselves any favors. Their communications
with the general public often backfire in dramatic or subtle ways, as they encourage uncertainty
in their statements rather than providing answers. Scandals have been rampant — fabricated
data, conflicts of interest, and ethical violations. The political desire for simple answers and “plain
talk” doesn’t mix well with scientific habits of mind, which makes scientists look out of touch with
the general public. Scientists need to become better communicators. What does this mean? Be
more direct, less academic, and stop talking about doubt. While this may seem “unscientific,” the
public has a different take on doubt and uncertainty, one that amplifies ambiguity far beyond the
intended level. Doubt about climate change? It could all be wrong, a conspiracy, entirely false,
etc. “Only 96% of scientists agree? Those 4% could be geniuses, as often lone geniuses change
science, so it could all be wrong.” And so forth. The neo-liberatarian politicians who are so
strident and aggressive these days latch onto these doubts and amplify them, as do mass media
chatterboxes. Soon, small doubts from a vanishingly small percentage of scientists become
reasons to disbelieve the entire matter. Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile. But there are
more basic things to get right. Scientists, must stop committing research fraud. Stop fabricating
data. Stop plagiarizing. Stop over-interpreting your findings. This can happen tomorrow. Just stop
it. It’s rare now, but it should never occur. Never.
Mass media dysfunction. The shift from a media landscape that tended to
generate consensus to a media landscape that tends to emphasize diversity of
opinion has had a strong effect on how people think about the world. Oddly,
despite the fact that it sounds nice, it has been hard to see how this shift has
been a positive development. Opinions seem to have hardened, polarization
has increased, and trust in science has declined. Signal and noise now mix
and swirl in a confusing blend which emphasizes discord. At the same time,
formerly authoritative and sophisticated media outlets have either failed us or
been so gutted that they have vanished (e.g., local newspapers) to become
shadows of their former selves. And the new media is less progressive in a
general sense, with searches dredging up fringe and outdated opinions and
old information with much greater ease, making it harder for our society as a
whole to move on. Social media divides attention and celebrates distraction far
more than thoughtful examination.
The latest Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll (June 9, 2015) has Donald Trump
LEADING all GOP presidential hopefuls nationwide. That’s right, the same Donald
Trump who said:
“They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those
problems with them. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.
And some, I assume, are good people.”
“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make
U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive.”
Can you believe that Trump was recently the leading Republican candidate for
president?
According to the polls, a lot of Americans apparently do.
Perspectives are
differentially
shaped nationally
This was also true in the past
This cartoon appeared in a local newspaper
when I was doing research on ecology of
the roe deer in Denmark in 1965.
Is a collaborative effort
among those with
common interests the
best solution in Syria?
Maybe, with the right
collaborators.
Or perhaps in the US
where we know some
collaborators cannot be
trusted, relying on super
humans to resolve
global problems is the
best solution.
Why have we Americans been so slow to accept climate
change science?
Is if because our
society is a melting
pot of cultures and we
have no agreed upon
goal for the future of
the country?
Or is it because we do
things ass-backwards,
treating science as a
body of knowledge rather
than a method or process
in acquiring knowledge?
yui
Is this the end or still the beginning?
Acknowledgements:
Institutions:
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Center for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo
Institute of Forestry and Agronomy, Technical University of Lisbon
Supporting Programs:
Fulbright Foundation
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA)
Arctic Visiting Speaker Program, National Science Foundation (NSF) &
Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS)
People:
In Europe: João Bugalho, Miquel Bugalho, Kjetil Flydal, Bjorn Ingness, Anne
Birgit Reisegg, Francisco Rego, Nina Witoszek
Friends, colleagues, students, and others at UAF and elsewhere.
Superficial understanding of complex issues makes denial
the easy way out for “concerned” citizens.
“Indian Point is 40 miles from New York City, but hurricane
Sandy came into our living room”
MELINA ONG ABDULLAH/MPOB
By pinning down a chemical modification of DNA that leads to poor oil production,
researchers may help oil palm (above) growers produce more oil on less land.