Professor Perdikaris

cc 30.09

Group 2 members: Nicole Babushkin, Derya Gunaydin, Emily Lin and Jon Mimberg

Abstract

According to the latest study done by the Pew Center For Research, only 49% of Americans believe global warming is due to the burning of fossil fuels, or in other words, man-made. This number illustrates a huge disconnect between public opinion and scientific consensus. We will examine how the energy industry has muddled the waters by running a very sophisticated disinformation campaign, how politicians have exploited ideological barriers to galvanize public opinion against global warming, and explore other myths/tactics used to prevent or delay action on addressing our climate problems. This is important because only in our understanding of the gap between the public and scientists can we begin to bridge it.

Energy Company

Over the past few decades, energy companies have consistently lobbied against legislation, government regulation, or trade policy that sought to decrease greenhouse gas outputs.

The United States is much more generous to oil revenues than others that let private companies drill on public lands and in public waters.

In 2007, oil industry profits before taxes were $258.3 billion.

Companies that signed leases in 1998 and 1999 enjoy an “unintended” loophole that entitles them to royalty-free oil and gas regardless of how high prices climb.

Despite billions of dollars of subsidies and tax breaks afforded to oil companies, the federal government still spends $19 billion per year to provide military protection of oil producing facilities and shipping lanes abroad.

Successfully kept hidden are the true environmental and economic costs of pollution, such as a person’s deteriorated health.

Myth vs. Reality

Myths

1)    Global Warming
The earth is getting cooler not warmer
Carbon Dioxide is the only cause of global warming – Water vapor also plays a huge role in affecting global warming.
Earth’s oceans and land hold some 50 times as much carbon dioxide as is in the atmosphere
Global warming is a conspiracy – climate scientists foster alarmism about global warming to boost their funding.

2)    Cloud Seeding
Manipulation of the weather will have dire consequences – these experiments can affect the weather in the area permanently and change the climate.
Putting chemicals into the air could lead to pollution –putting chemicals into the air can add to the pollution and cause acid rain.
The process of cloud seeding takes precipitation from other surrounding areas.

3) Bermuda Triangle
The disappearances of ships and aircraft can be linked to thunderstorms and electrical currents in the sky.
There is no evidence of wreckage of the ships and aircraft.
Some people believe that the area is linked to magic and there are spells/curses there that prevent ships/aircraft to leave the area.

Realities

1) Global Warming
Carbon dioxide composition in the atmosphere is rising.
The world is warming because of human activities.
The ocean actually intakes the carbon dioxide in from the atmosphere.
The earth’s temperature may have cooled for a while, but the bottom line is that, just as a few hot years do not prove global warming is real, neither would a few cool years prove it is not.

2)    Bermuda Triangle
Natural gas hydrates occur on the ocean floor in such great volumes that they contain twice as much carbon as all known coal, oil and conventional natural gas deposits. Releases of this gas caused by sediment slides and other natural causes have resulted in huge slugs of gas saturated water with density too low to float a ship, and enough localized atmospheric contamination to choke air aspirated aircraft engines. The unexplained disappearances of ships and aircraft along with their crews and passengers in the Bermuda Triangle may be tied to the natural venting of gas hydrates.

3) Cloud Seeding
•    The Beijing Olympics used cloud seeding to prevent rainfall during the Olympic games and to decrease pollution.
•    The largest cloud seeding system in the world is that of the People’s Republic of China, which believes that it increases the amount of rain over several increasingly arid regions, including its capital city, Beijing, by firing silver iodide rockets into the sky where rain is desired. There is even political strife caused by neighboring regions, which accuse each other of “stealing rain” using cloud seeding.
•    The chemicals are let into the atmosphere by a ground generator or a plane.

Media

In 2004, media attempts at balance have led to false balancing.

The public is given the impression that there is more debate in the scientific community about whether or not climate change is an issue to be concerned about or not:

Good scientists always leave room for potential mistakes and doubt when reporting their work, but communicating their natural uncertainty can cause reservation in the public mind.

Many Americans believe that there is disagreement in the scientific community.

STEPS:

-Step 1: Invest millions of dollars into an industry funded partisan think tank that can be trusted to churn out reports who consistently present the industry in a favorable view.

-Step 2: Write checks totaling tens of millions of dollars each year to political campaigns and various Political Action Committees (PACs) and ‘get to know the right people’.

-Step 3: Wait patiently and the creative minds at the think tank will come up with a report using fuzzy logic, tilted numbers, and selective, out-of-context statements to advance the industry’s agenda.

-Step 4: Be patient again and wait for the loyal politicians you bought and paid for to read those reports and release a press statement or political web ad quoting the report.

-Step 5: Sit back and relax, because in most of the cases, you can count on the network and cable anchors to let the fallacies of the statements slide.

Conclusion

According to our research on the role of politics, examples of different myths and realities, alongside the role of media on global warming, people are either unconcerned with the consequences of global warming or unaware of what the scientific consensus is. Even more so, some people think that there is still debate within the scientific community

PSA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhza5Pl-7As