Public Opinion And Scientific Consensus
A poll conducted by Time in 2006 found that 64% of those surveyed believe that there is “a lot of disagreement” on global warming among scientists. This belief is contradicted by studies such as Orkes 2004 and Doran and Zimmerman 2009 that indicate a strong consensus among climate scientists on anthropogenic global warming.
Looking 11 Years Back – The GCST Memo
In 1998 the American Petroleum Institute’s “Global Climate Science Team” issued an Action Plan to influence the public’s view of global climate change. According to the memo, victory would be achieved when:
“-Average citizens “understand” (recognize) uncertainties in climate science; recognition of uncertainties becomes part of the “conventional wisdom”
-Media “understands” (recognizes) uncertainties in climate science
-Media coverage reflects balance on climate science and recognition of the validity of viewpoints that challenge the current “conventional wisdom”
-Industry senior leadership understands uncertainties in climate science, making them stronger ambassadors to those who shape climate policy
-Those promoting the Kyoto treaty on the basis of extent science appears to be out of touch with reality.”
The Action Plan proposed three major areas of strategy: a program to influence the media, a program to put forth science “raising questions about and undercutting the ‘prevailing scientific wisdom’” and a program to influence members of Congress, state officials, industry leaders and school teachers.
The tactics outlined for the first program included the recruitment and training of scientists to talk to the media, the development of “information kits” to be given to daily newspapers (along with the “offer of scientists to brief reporters at each paper”), the production and distribution of “a steady stream of op-ed columns and letters to the editor by scientists”, the development and dissemination of radio news releases and the offer of “scientists to appear on radio talk shows across the country.” The issue of audio and video news releases is an interesting topic on its own. ANRs/VNRs are recordings produced by Public Relations firms and distributed to news stations in service of a client. News programs will often air these productions without identifying the source so that it looks like their own reporting (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_news_release).
The tactics for the other programs included providing grants for climate science advocacy, providing science briefings for Government officials, and working “with NSTA to develop school materials that present a credible, balanced picture of climate science for use in classrooms nationwide.”
