The Madhouse Effect: this is how climate denial in Australia and the US compares
While climate denialism impedes policymaking in both the US and Australia, there are key differences in their political and public cultures.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Climate change denial
Displaying 1 - 20 of 75 articles
Eclipse of reason: Why do people disbelieve scientists?
People universally believe scientists' solar eclipse calendars, but vaccine warnings or climate predictions are forms of science that strangely do not enjoy equivalent acceptance.
Another attack on the Bureau, but top politicians have stopped listening to climate change denial
Three years ago The Australian newspaper launched a broadside at the Bureau of Meteorology. But when it did it again this week, it seemed to get less traction from the top echelons of government.
On the origins of environmental bullshit
The undermining of environmental science, and the creation of lies and bribes to distort public policymaking, is as old as industries that know their products do harm, but lie to keep them in use.
Africa is high on the G20 summit agenda. But will Trump thwart progress?
If the G20 is to remain relevant in the quest for more inclusive and fair global governance, Africa offers an historic opportunity for collective action, despite the absence of the US under Trump.
Why is climate change such a hard sell in the US?
While many people are willing to happily gamble with pharmaceuticals, which may offer the most trivial of benefits, they are not ready to believe the facts on climate change.
Inoculation theory: Using misinformation to fight misinformation
Does science have an answer to science denial? Just as being vaccinated protects you from a later full-blown infection, a bit of misinformation explained could help ward off other cases down the road.
Forcing consensus is bad for science and society
Insisting that science has a monopoly on the truth invalidates dissent and undermines what should be an open dialogue between science and society.
Extreme weather just might encourage us to get our act together on global warming
What if extreme weather events could be attributed to human-induced climate change with confidence?
Yes, we can do ‘sound’ climate science even though it’s projecting the future
People worry Washington is losing respect for science and even the centuries-old scientific method. Two climate scientists explain how science can be done when talking about the future.
When politicians listen to scientists, we all benefit
Today is the start of Science Meets Parliament, which helps our nation's leaders embrace the latest scientific evidence.
Why politicians think they know better than scientists – and why that’s so dangerous
Scientists are concerned that politics will trump evidence in the new administration. A researcher of political psychology explains why these worries matter far beyond questions of science.
What do gorilla suits and blowfish fallacies have to do with climate change?
Laser-like focus on a tiny, unimportant detail can mean you miss the gorilla in the room – a tactic climate change deniers use to cast doubt on the science.
Scientists have a word for studying the post-truth world: agnotology
There's never been greater need for the study of what we don't know, and why we're not supposed to know it.
Trump questionnaire recalls dark history of ideology-driven science
A historian of science and technology says Trump team's request for names of Department of Energy employees working on climate change recalls worst excesses of ideology-driven science in government.
Whose word should you respect in any debate on science?
Modern science can be difficult or complex for one person to understand and verify, especially a non-scientist. So who should we believe when scientific evidence is met with denial?
Trump or NASA – who’s really politicising climate science?
One of Donald Trump's senior advisers has recommended cutting NASA climate research because the science has become “heavily politicised". The question is: by whom?
Why Trump’s vow to kill Obama’s sustainability agenda will lead business to step in and save it
Trump has promised to abolish Obama's Clean Power Plan and back out of the Paris climate accord. But business could become a key firewall that won't let Obama's sustainability legacy die.
Climate change and the presidential race: Lessons from the Reagan years
Trump is following in Ronald Reagan's footsteps by pushing against regulations, but in the 1980s, it only awakened the public to environmental concerns.
What exactly is the scientific method and why do so many people get it wrong?
There's a big difference between science and pseudoscience. But if people don't understand how science works in the first place, it's very easy for them to fall for the pseudoscience.
Top contributors
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Research Assistant Professor, Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University
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Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol
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Senior Lecturer, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University
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Deputy Director, Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University
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Michael J. I. Brown is a Friend of The Conversation.
Associate professor, Monash University
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Lecturer in Critical Thinking, Director of the UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Environmental Politics and Co-Director Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney
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Holcim (US) Professor at the Ross School of Business and Education Director at the Graham Sustainability Institute, University of Michigan
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Associate professor, Rochester Institute of Technology
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Research Associate, Science Society & Sustainability, University of East Anglia
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Professor of Cognitive Psychology, UNSW
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Director, Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, Australian National University
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Professor of Public Ethics, Centre For Applied Philosophy & Public Ethics (CAPPE), Charles Sturt University
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Director and ARC Laureate Fellow, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW
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Director, Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto
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