Naomi Oreskes, Professor of History and Science Studies at UC San Diego, came to USGS in Menlo Park earlier this year. She spoke about the Global Warming disinformation campaign and it's history. If you have 45-60 minutes, I recommend you watch this fascinating lecture:
scroll down to oreskes USGS 2/20/07 talk
Dr. Oreskes addresses who, why, how, and the awful truth that the deliberate misinformation is very effective.
From Blog on Oreskes talk given in Dec at AGU
The "Public Understanding of Science (PUS)" is a deficit model, according to Oreskes. "Because we have a deficit model, we give a supply-side response." More information. More education.
Unfortunately, polls show these efforts have limited effect. Oreskes believes this is because the deficit model is wrong. The source of the problem is a "deliberate disinformation campaign" that dates back to the early '80s and is directly connected to the campaign to muddle the connection between tobacco and cancer before it.
Interests vested in not acting to curb carbon emissions have spent more than 20 years challenging science by sowing doubt. This strategy was effective in delaying legal and civil action against big tobacco, and it has been exceptionally effective in preventing action against climate change. The two fields have little in common scientifically, but legally, reasonable doubt is reasonable doubt.
The forces of denial are even more organized today. That is why I urge you not to let even a letter to the editor go unanswered on this. real climatehas lots of ammunition to address specific points.
I have been in a back and forth argument in my own local paper. Remember that you have science on your side, you don't need to know all the answers. For instance I may not know all the pros and cons of methodology with extracting CO2 info from ice cores, but I DO trust that the folks a Byrd Polar know what they are doing...and I can say just that in a response to a GW denier.
It's like whack a mole....but we are more effective if there are more of us out there with bats.