Friday, April 3, 2015

‘MERCHANTS OF DOUBT’ LEAVES NONE.

Screen Shot 2015-04-03 at 9.57.50 AMIf you wonder why otherwise intelligent people can’t seem to accept that fossil fuels are playing a significant role in global warming and extreme climate events, see this movie.  It shows clearly and simply what is really happening, and it’s not pretty, although the movie is engaging, even funny.
The film introduces us to some of the world’s grand champion spinners; slick, smooth-talking pundits paid by big companies to help shape the national conversation on such topics as tobacco, pharmaceuticals, food, chemicals and climate change. Some of the very same people who told Congress that nicotine was not addicting decades ago are still busy today, speaking on Fox News to cast doubt on the science of climate change, for example.  The very same people. Most are not even scientists. They are hired “experts” that the media falls for time and again.
Using the analogy of a magician with card tricks, and three-card Monty, the movie shows how science and fact is systematically hidden behind a sleight of hand and a cloud of PR haze. It also shows how and why the obfuscation job is easy, or at least not rocket science: 1) Most scientists are not good communicators. 2) The US government’s cozy relationship with corporate America enables the deception, and 3) People naturally do not want to believe in the science, because it means making changes in their lives.
The more people who see this movie, the more the scientific realities of our climate and environment will be understood. It could be a game changer, if enough people see it.

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