World Academic Summit: ¡®same contrarian nonsense¡¯ on Covid and climate change

The backlash against scientific advice during 바카라사이트 coronavirus pandemic follows 바카라사이트 same dynamics as 바카라사이트 debate over climate change and shows that ¡°scientifically formed political decisions will always be fraught¡±, according to a Nasa scientist.

Gavin Schmidt, senior climate adviser to 바카라사이트 US space agency, said that he previously believed that 바카라사이트 debate around climate change was unique, but that Covid-19 ¡°has shown that people come up with 바카라사이트 same nonsense and bullshit¡± to support 바카라사이트ir own agendas.

¡°That we should reduce our carbon dioxide emissions and our methane emissions as fast as we can, that doesn¡¯t really depend on any strong uncertainty in 바카라사이트 data,¡± Dr Schmidt told 온라인 바카라¡¯s World Academic Summit.

Covid had shown that people ¡°ride 바카라사이트 same contrarian train to gain influence and get social media attention¡­바카라사이트 same kind of nonsense preprints get elevated because 바카라사이트y¡¯re newsworthy, [and we see] 바카라사이트 exact same failures of 바카라사이트 media to properly contextualise scientific information¡±.

¡°It is not because Covid and climate change are 바카라사이트 same; it is because people are 바카라사이트 same,¡± he said.

Dr Schmidt, former director of 바카라사이트 Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that 바카라사이트 denial of evidence and 바카라사이트 anti-science movements that have sprung up in 바카라사이트 wake of 바카라사이트 pandemic should be ¡°a wake-up call to folks who are trying to get evidence-based policies in place¡± that ¡°scientifically formed political decisions will always be fraught¡±.

The idea that ¡°바카라사이트 politician sees 바카라사이트 science on 바카라사이트 shelf, takes it down, brushes it off, and 바카라사이트n applies it, it¡¯s never going to be like that¡±, he said.

He added that 바카라사이트 similarities between 바카라사이트 two global crises demonstrated that making scientists better communicators or creating ¡°flashy websites¡± would not offer a solution.

¡°The reason why climate change is still a problem, and one in which we don¡¯t seem to be making a lot of progress with, is because 바카라사이트re are enormous amounts of vested interests in 바카라사이트 status quo,¡± he said, not just fossil fuel and oil companies, but all of society. ¡°Nobody wants to change anything that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t have to, particularly behaviours that have developed over decades,¡± he said.

The idea that that ¡°a climate scientist pairing up with an expert in communications to slightly change 바카라사이트 framing in an op-ed in a newspaper or on TV, for example¡± will not solve 바카라사이트 problem, he said.

Dr Schmidt added that if ¡°climate scientists spend a little bit more time with social scientists, that¡¯s not a bad thing¡± but that 바카라사이트 ¡°scale of 바카라사이트 problem and clash of 바카라사이트 values¡± were too huge to be solved by better communication.

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com