tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19746890375794452392024-03-05T07:55:49.095-05:00The Dake PageScience, policy, and politics. Focus on science communication and climate change. The Dake Page offers news, analysis and book reviews.The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.comBlogger868125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-54703522500200897402018-03-29T08:56:00.000-04:002018-03-29T08:56:35.506-04:00Houston: We Have a Narrative by Randy Olson
Periodically I review books related to science communication. This is a review of Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story by Randy Olson (2015, University of Chicago Press, 256 pp).
Randy Olson is a former marine biologist who gave up his tenured professorship to move to Hollywood and become a film-maker. With "Houston," he builds on his earlier book ("Don't Be Such a Scientist")The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-68483804105982200192018-02-22T09:05:00.000-05:002018-02-22T09:05:11.122-05:00Hundreds of Mayors Call Out Scott Pruitt's Attack on Clean Energy
On Tuesday, February 20th, 236 mayors sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt warning him to stop attacking the nation's clean energy. Scott Pruitt is well known for his acts to destroy environmental and human health protections, in direct violation of his mandate as head of the EPA. The mayors responded vehemently.
Collectively, we represent over 51 million residents, in 47 states &The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-74499503786298748632017-11-09T10:01:00.000-05:002017-11-09T10:01:10.029-05:00How to Talk to a Climate Change DenierTalking to people who deny man-made climate change can be a challenge, but it's necessary. Many people are simply confused by all the rhetoric (something that is intentionally exploited by lobbyists) and are willing to learn under the proper conditions of discussion. Others, of course, have no intention of learning and are, in fact, intent on misinforming. These latter can be ignored for now. The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-18735901087331228552017-11-02T08:07:00.001-04:002017-11-02T08:07:50.813-04:00Science Communication: Taking Control of Your Message<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-24413405247353493042017-09-21T09:03:00.000-04:002017-09-21T09:03:33.024-04:00Clarifying Recent Press Coverage Misrepresenting a '1.5 degrees' Paper in Nature Geoscience
The media and anti-science lobbyists have once again grossly misrepresented a scientific study. The authors of that study have issued a statement to clarify:
A number of media reports have asserted that our recent study in Nature Geoscience
indicates that global temperatures are not rising as fast as predicted
by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and hence that
The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-1656803830244400732017-09-08T09:43:00.001-04:002017-09-08T09:43:37.562-04:00How Not to Run the EPA
These pages have previously pointed out the dishonesty of Trump's EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt. For example, see here, here, here, and here. Now a former Republican Administrator of the EPA, has come out against the actions of Pruitt in a New York Times Op-Ed whose title I have co-opted for this post.
In "How Not to Run the E.P.A.," Christie Todd Whitman states that the actions of The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-78086466561396008852017-08-24T08:59:00.001-04:002017-08-24T08:59:16.725-04:00To Communicate Science, First Lose the Jargon. Here's how.
Effective communication of science requires that scientists reach out to a variety of audiences. First we need to communicate our research to other scientists, both in and out of our fields of study ("scientific communication"). But we also need to communicate to policymakers, to the media, and to the public ("science communication"). For these latter three, one of my previous suggestions was The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-62294198693057103302017-08-10T09:43:00.001-04:002017-08-10T09:43:45.841-04:00Liberals and Conservatives Read Different Science Books, And That is a Problem
As Republicans and others who identify as "conservatives" continue to attack science and scientists, it begs the question of where they are getting their information. EPA Administrator and fossil fuel lobbyist Scott Pruitt, for example, recently denied his own agency's findings on climate science while taking questions on a conservative radio program. It turns out that is part of the problem.
The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-84194410089505338012017-07-27T11:47:00.000-04:002017-07-27T11:47:47.357-04:00Nature's Allies: Eight Conservationists Who Changed Our World by Larry Nielsen
Today we review a book providing eight succinct biographies of key conservationists - Nature's Allies: Eight Conservationists Who Changed Our World, by Larry Nielsen.
As
the subtitle suggests, the book consists of eight chapters, each of
which gives a short biography of a highly influential and consequential
conservationist. Some of the eight will be familiar to most everyone,
others not The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-45028288225517903102017-07-20T08:59:00.000-04:002017-07-20T08:59:16.048-04:00Whistleblower Speaks Out as Pruitt Tries to Destroy EPA
We saw an amazing pair of events happen this week that highlight how industry lobbyists are attempting to eliminate the regulatory oversight that protects human health and the environment. A whistleblower tells of how he was "repurposed" to negate his expertise, and the EPA Administrator effectively admitted he is there to destroy the EPA.
The whistleblower is scientist Joel Clement, who up The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-31797246823323081962017-07-06T09:29:00.000-04:002017-07-06T09:29:13.859-04:00If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? by Alan Alda [Book Review]
Next in my periodic series of book reviews is Alan Alda's newest book on science communicating, If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating, published in June 2017.
As a scientist and author concerned about how we communicate with the general public, I was eager to read this book by revered actor Alan Alda. The book The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-35476137753240950752017-06-29T09:21:00.000-04:002017-06-29T09:21:18.138-04:00A New Scientific Study Came Out - And Deniers Immediately Lied About It
One of the more prevalent tactics of climate science deniers is to lie. They do this by cherry-picking, misrepresentation, straw men, and a number of other mechanisms of dishonesty. Sometimes they just outright lie. A case in point is how deniers reacted to a new scientific study by climate scientist Ben Santer and colleagues.
A good review of the study and its meaning is presented in The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-66770099477268025562017-06-22T08:09:00.000-04:002017-06-22T08:09:47.780-04:00Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science by Dave Levitan [Book Review]
Today's book review is of Dave Levitan's Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science, published in April 2017.
I
tag this is an important book that everyone should read, while
recognizing that the people who need it most will refuse to do so. The
main title is derived from the oft-heard refrain from Republican
politicians in the year or so The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-27541369563710549312017-06-15T09:58:00.002-04:002017-06-15T09:58:42.530-04:00Alan Alda on Communicating Science
Alda Alda is in the house. He is here to help communicate the science of communicating science.
I arrive a full hour before the lecture and 10 minutes before they open the doors, but the line is already wrapped around the side of the building. Alda is a paragon in the acting business, best known for his roles of Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H and Arnold Vinick on The West Wing. He won an Oscar for The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-44693250608986087712017-06-08T11:00:00.001-04:002017-06-08T11:00:28.517-04:00Are Politicians Ignorant or Dishonest When it Comes to Science?
I'm about halfway through reading a new book by Dave Levitan called Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science. The main title is derived from a constant refrain among Republican politicians during the last presidential election. While declaring they were "not a scientist," they would then go on to issue statements directly contradicted by science. I'll The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-22719457118896886062017-06-01T16:05:00.000-04:002017-06-01T16:07:29.177-04:00Trump Sentences Our Children to Death, Hands our Economy to China and Russia by Dropping Out of Climate Agreement
As expected, Trump proves he is profoundly ignorant and pathologically dishonest. His announcement that he would remove the United States from the Paris Climate Accord contains virtually not one bit of truth.
In choosing to pull out of the accord, Trump has unilaterally handed over the future of America to the Chinese and the Russians. By most standards, this would be considered treason.
The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-16187778509617975332017-05-25T07:10:00.000-04:002017-05-25T07:10:46.352-04:00Scott Pruitt Lied About Climate Science: A Scientific Study
Scott Pruitt, the head of the EPA in the current anti-science administration, blatantly lied to Congress about the state of climate science. A new study explicitly examines Scott Pruitt's claim and proves it utterly false.
The study, published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, was conducted by eminent climate scientist Benjamin Santer along with a team consisting of seven other The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-86588843177332399222017-04-27T09:59:00.001-04:002017-04-27T09:59:51.202-04:00The Science of Communicating Science - Why Facts Don't Matter
Facts don't matter.
Of course, facts do matter, but not as much as you might think. This is especially true in communicating science to the public and policy-makers. I previously addressed how to communicate climate science to the three pillars of community - other scientists, policy-makers, and the public. Now let's take a broader look.
First of all, what do I mean when I say "facts don't The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-37843828959319846092017-04-20T09:29:00.002-04:002017-04-20T09:29:30.597-04:00Why I March for Science
I march for science because science is critical to our daily lives. I march because I've been a scientist all my life. I march because I am a science communicator. I march because our climate is changing and human activity is the cause.
And I march, unfortunately, because there are lobbyists who are willing to mislead humanity for profit.
Saturday, April 22, 2017 is the March for Science. The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-15942025590169001312017-04-13T09:36:00.001-04:002017-04-13T09:36:15.188-04:00March for Science April 22nd - Details
The new administration has made no secret it denies science and is set on destroying human health and environmental protections. The EPA transition team was headed by science-denying Myron Ebell, head of the anti-science, anti-regulation libertarian consulting
organization, the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The new EPA Administrator is Scott Pruitt, an Oklahoma Attorney General who has The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-40518996174551482562017-04-06T09:45:00.000-04:002017-04-06T09:45:07.637-04:00A Warning to Teachers About Heartland's Fake Climate Report Ruse
The infamous tobacco and fossil fuel lobbying firm, Heartland Institute, is again intentionally disinforming the public. This past week they sent 25,000 copies of a climate science denial propaganda report to teachers across the country. Heartland intends to send more each week until they eventually reach over 200,000 science teachers. The report is a scam.
The "report" was written by three The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-33926684871661463972017-03-30T10:22:00.000-04:002017-03-30T10:26:56.722-04:00The Dangerous Dishonesty of Republican Anti-Science Politicians
Republicans are dishonestly anti-science. This is not a partisan opinion; the empirical evidence of this is overwhelming. This week saw more examples, from the Republican White House's rollback of environmental and health regulations and proposed decimation of science agency budgets, to the Republican House's passage of a bill to restrict EPA's use of science, to the falsehoods pushed by The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-76008390684890811522017-03-23T12:03:00.002-04:002017-03-28T13:38:47.063-04:00Exposing Climate Denialism - The Series
The Dake Page has published a series of posts over the years exposing climate denialism. This post brings many of those posts together for easy access. Feel free to save this post for reference and take a look at each of the individual linked articles.
Remember, there is a consensus on the scientific consensus. As noted in the most recent IPCC report, AR5, "warming of the climate system is The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-28612658893817563142017-03-09T08:31:00.000-05:002017-03-09T08:31:23.410-05:00Letters to a Young Scientist by E.O. Wilson
Part
memoir, part mentoring, and part history of science, ecological icon
E.O. Wilson offers up this series of 20 letters of advice to those
beginning - or thinking of beginning - a life in science.
Wilson
examines how to choose a path to follow, the widely variable creative
process, what a life in science entails, and bigger picture dynamics.
Along the way he provides insights The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974689037579445239.post-23513854731586357342017-03-02T10:04:00.001-05:002017-03-02T10:04:36.878-05:00Tips for Communicating Science to the Public
One of the questions dogging scientists is whether they should speak out about science issues to the public. In the past we've largely stuck to our ivory towers, and been criticized for doing so. On the other hand, scientists have also been criticized for speaking out. Luckily, a recent study shows that the public is more appreciative these days of scientists who choose to talk directly to the The Dake Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624426335390949151noreply@blogger.com0