Interested in learning about the politics and science of climate change? Always wondered how and why science messages (particularly about climate) get boggled and twisted and miscommunicated to the public? What about how the media impacts decision-makers in this complex debacle? If these issues have ever plagued you in the past, check out Chris Mooney's
Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle over Global Warming for an informative (and at times disheartening) journey through the history of climate science and the trials and tribulations of communicating from the frontlines.
Mooney, the ambitious author of
Republican War on Science and
Unscientific America begins with the origins of climate science to show the crazy and rapid evolution of what has arguably become one of the most contentious fields of science. From flying through hurricanes in storm chasers, developing radar technology, and tracking pressure systems around the world, Mooney introduces readers to the scholars and meteorologists studying the question of whether storms have become more intense with changing climatic patterns. Through his research, Mooney comes to the conclusion that while climate nerds predict conditions that may be conducive to stronger storms in the future, no specific hurricane can be blamed on climate change.
Tracing the political backlash of clarifying this simple distinction (of the chicken or egg variety) sees Mooney conducting interviews with congressional staff, commenting on local news articles, getting lost in the blogosphere, and investigating academic literature. Through it all, he distills this complex situation down to a set of interconnected relationships formed between politicians, journalists, and scientists, which shed light on why communicating science should be seen as an art. A big thanks to Chris Mooney for fearlessly untangling these and other contentious issues, and we greatly look forward to the next installment! You can follow more of his work at
The Intersection.
Interested in learning about the politics and science of climate change? Always wondered how and why science messages (particularly about climate) get boggled and twisted and miscommunicated to the public? What about how the media impacts decision-makers in this complex debacle? If these issues have ever plagued you in the past, check out Chris Mooney's Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle over Global Warming for an informative (and at times disheartening) journey through the history of climate science and the trials and tribulations of communicating from the frontlines.
Mooney, the ambitious author of Republican War on Science and Unscientific America begins with the origins of climate science to show the crazy and rapid evolution of what has arguably become one of the most contentious fields of science. From flying through hurricanes in storm chasers, developing radar technology, and tracking pressure systems around the world, Mooney introduces readers to the scholars and meteorologists studying the question of whether storms have become more intense with changing climatic patterns. Through his research, Mooney comes to the conclusion that while climate nerds predict conditions that may be conducive to stronger storms in the future, no specific hurricane can be blamed on climate change. 
Tracing the political backlash of clarifying this simple distinction (of the chicken or egg variety) sees Mooney conducting interviews with congressional staff, commenting on local news articles, getting lost in the blogosphere, and investigating academic literature. Through it all, he distills this complex situation down to a set of interconnected relationships formed between politicians, journalists, and scientists, which shed light on why communicating science should be seen as an art. A big thanks to Chris Mooney for fearlessly untangling these and other contentious issues, and we greatly look forward to the next installment! You can follow more of his work at The Intersection.
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