About Merchants of Doubt
After learning the details of how climate change science became firmly established in the 1970’s, this movie and assignment explore behind the scenes how and why climate change doubt and denial got its big start in the 1980’s.
“Merchants of Doubt” is a 2014 groundbreaking documentary inspired by the 2010 book of the same name. The movie and book identify parallels between the global warming controversy and earlier controversies over tobacco smoking and flame retardant chemicals. The book, and movie in turn, expose the strategy of ‘keeping the controversy alive’ in order to maintain profits by spreading doubt and confusion after scientific consensus has already been reached.
The book was written by:
Naomi Oreskes, professor of Science History from Harvard University, and
Eric Conway, the historian at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.
Instructions
Watch the movie with friends or family if possible. If they are not taking SUS 103, that would be especially helpful for part 3 of this assignment!
It is very helpful to read the questions on this Discussion Board prior to watching the movie and create an outline for yourself (essentially a Word document with the questions).
Use your outline while watching the movie, so you only need to watch it once.
While watching, it may be helpful to write down the time stamp when each discussion question is discussed, in case you need to hear those parts again.
Fully respond to each question, composing your answers in a Word document.
It is good to describe specific items from the movie in your responses as this helps to show what you learned from watching the movie.
Please do not attempt to answer the questions if you do not watch the movie.
1. Introduction (4 pts)
Did you grow up in an environment where there was climate change doubt and/or denial? If so, did you have any ideas where the doubt or denial originated from? What kind of experiences have you had talking with or listening to others who doubt or deny climate change is real?
2. Ethics and Deniers (4 pts)
The movie discussed many examples of climate change doubt and denial that were carried on behind the scenes. Many of these items may not have been illegal, but most people would find them highly unethical. Describe two examples from the movie that you found to be the most unethical.
One of the most interesting parts of the movie is when two former die-hard climate change deniers change their views and become devoted to helping others understand the science of climate change. One was a publisher of Skeptic magazine and the other was a very Conservative Republican. What were their names and what caused them to change their view?
3. Discussion With Others (4 pts)
Discuss what you have learned about climate change doubt and denial with a friend or family member who is not very familiar with the topic. If possible, discuss it with somebody who doubts or denies that climate change is real. Be sensitive that there are a variety of viewpoints on this, sometimes very strong. How did the conversation go?! (50-100 words minimum)
4. Climate Change Doubt, Denial, and Lawsuits (4 pts)
Since the movie came out in 2014, there has been continued research into the funding of climate change doubt and denial by fossil fuel companies. There are now many lawsuits being brought against fossil fuel companies, one of the most recent is from the State of Hawaii. Find an interesting article on the topic, share the link, and provide a short description with your thoughts on the article. Some possible searches are: “Congressional Hearings on Climate Change”, “Climate Change lawsuits against oil companies”, and “Exxonknew”. (50-100 words minimum)
You can check for potential bias of the author or interviewee on Google, Wikipedia, or the global-warming-denier-database to find out their educational background and/or funding source.
