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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.