Shaping The Message Distorting The Science

Climate Denial in American Politics is a detailed examination of the rise within American politics of climate denialism, the counter movement which challenges the accepted science of climate change. Organized around the administrations of American presidents from Roosevelt to Biden, this book provides an unprecedented account of climate denial within both the White House and Congress, and the ‘climate brawls’ that followed. This volume is a rebuke to discredit the climate denier, their propaganda, and their sources. Gerald Kutney examines the evolution of American political thought on climate change and provides a comprehensive survey and analysis of the sordid history of the propaganda which has promoted climate denial and corrupted politicians in America. He uses direct quotes from primary sources, such as government records, to show the extreme and pervasive nature of anti-science opinions made by political climate deniers and limit any misinterpretation that might result from paraphrasing. Weaving the account of climate denialism in American politics with anecdotes from Kutney’s own decade-long experience of challenging climate deniers on Twitter using #ClimateBrawl, this book provides a valuable insight into the world of climate obstruction. Climate Denial in American Politics will be of great interest to students and scholars of climate change, environmental politics and American politics more broadly.

Science and technology are embedded in virtually every aspect of modern life. As a result, people face an increasing need to integrate information from science with their personal values and other considerations as they make important life decisions about medical care, the safety of foods, what to do about climate change, and many other issues. Communicating science effectively, however, is a complex task and an acquired skill. Moreover, the approaches to communicating science that will be most effective for specific audiences and circumstances are not obvious. Fortunately, there is an expanding science base from diverse disciplines that can support science communicators in making these determinations. Communicating Science Effectively offers a research agenda for science communicators and researchers seeking to apply this research and fill gaps in knowledge about how to communicate effectively about science, focusing in particular on issues that are contentious in the public sphere. To inform this research agenda, this publication identifies important influences â€" psychological, economic, political, social, cultural, and media-related â€" on how science related to such issues is understood, perceived, and used.