The fossil fuel energy companies, and their paid lackeys (congressional Republicans), have been repeating the same lie for years now -- that scientists disagree on whether global climate change (global warming) is real or is caused by human actions (over-use of fossil fuels) if real. And sadly, they have been pretty effective in spreading that propaganda. A 2012 Pew Research survey showed that only 42% of the American public believes that global warming is real and caused by humans.But is there really disagreement in the scientific community? John Cook, climate communications director at the University of Queensland (Australia), decided to find out. He signed up 24 researchers -- and they studied the 12,000 scientific papers, written in 2,000 scientific journals by 29,083 authors over the last 20 years. Roughly 4,000 of those scientific papers expressed a view on the evidence for global warming.
What was the result of this research? They found that 97% of scientists believe there is credible evidence of global warming, and that the warming was caused by humans. That's an overwhelming number, and should put to rest any of the specious arguments that there is significant disagreement in the scientific community over the reality of human-caused global warming. Those who say that there is significant disagreement are either idiots or they are telling bald-faced lies (or both).
I'm sure that climate change deniers will still point to that tiny 3%. But I am just as sure that there has always, throughout history, been a tiny percent of scientists who clung to their mistaken beliefs after any scientific advancement was made (Copernicus, Newton, Pasteur, Einstein, etc., all had their detractors). Any reasonable person though, will accept what the 97% is saying.
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But the blame for passing along this misinformation (propaganda) to the general public is not just the fault of the fossil fuel producers and Republicans. They never could have spread such an outrageous lie without the help of another powerful group -- the media. The media is supposed to report the truth to the public, but that does not always happen. In an effort to be "fair" and present "both sides", the media has too often presented evidence that is not true -- and given it equal weight to the truth.
That is not fairness. It is allowing a lie to continue to exist, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But as misleading as giving equal weight to the truth and a lie really is, there is another way the media has failed in its duty to inform the public of factual and truthful information. Many times the press will announce the results of "studies" or "research" without revealing the individuals or groups funding that research.
There are scientists among the 3% shown above who have sold out to the fossil fuel industry, and go out of their way to find results that please that industry (because to do otherwise would result in their funding being cut off). And too often, the media reports the results of these spurious "studies" funded by the fossil fuel industry as though it was real science -- and without telling the public who funded that "research". This gives the public the impression that the so-called study was done by scientists who were impartial (and not beholding to the fossil fuel industry), when in reality it is nothing more than propaganda.
Here are just a few of the media outlets who report these "studies" without giving the source of funding for the study:
