Naomi Oreskes – Using scientists as merchants of doubt

AGU 2014 Tidbits – Anecdotes And Stories From The Front Lines Of Science

During the AGU Fall Meeting I had the honor of working with Peter Sinclair of Climate Denial Crock of the Week and John Cook of Skeptical Science, interviewing an amazing line-up of scientists and science communicators. I’m floored by who we interviewed and could have a chat with. Everyone brought their A game which gave us some incredible footage.

Video description

Naomi Oreskes is an American historian of science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. In 2010 she co-authored Merchants of Doubt which describes how the tobacco industry wrote the handbook on using doubt to delay legislative action against the harms of tobacco. The same book also chronicles how the same tactics, and often the same merchants of doubt, are now used to cast doubt on environmental issues like global warming.

In this clip Oreskes talks about how scientist are used to spread doubt.

Media resources

Interviews filmed in collaboration with University of Queensland and Skeptical Science. Full interviews available April 2015 in ‘Making Sense of Climate Science Denial‘.

Camera B interview footage provided by Peter Sinclair of Climate Denial Crock of the Week and Yale Climate Connections.

AGU 2014 Tidbits – Anecdotes And Stories From The Front Lines Of Science