Tag Archives: Science Communication
Shifting the conversation about climate change: Strategies to build public demand for action
March 1, 2016 —Late last year at the United Nations climate change summit in Paris, world leaders reached a historic accord committing their countries to lowering greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades and beyond. The combined commitments by countries fall short of what many scientists say is needed to avoid the worst impacts of Continue Reading »
Engaging in science policy controversies: Insights from the U.S. debate over climate change
August 4, 2014 —Nearly forty years ago, sociologist Dorothy Nelkin commissioned a series of case studies examining the nature of controversies over science and technology (1978; 1984; 1992). In the decades since, research inspired by these original studies has identified a generalizable set of insights that inform our understanding of today’s leading controversies such as those over Continue Reading »
Opinions about scientific advances blur party-political lines
Reading about the rapid pace of advances in biomedicine, you may have wondered why more politically liberal countries like Germany and Canada have stronger restrictions on embryonic stem cell research than the politically conservative US. History and happenstance play a role, but these differences also reflect public concerns that do not conform to traditional left Continue Reading »
The science journalist online: Shifting roles and emerging practices
October 1, 2011 — Science journalists in the US and UK face unique pressures adapting to the social and participatory nature of online news, to economic conditions that force them to fill a diversity of roles in the newsroom, and to the many hats they must wear if they are to survive as freelancers. As Continue Reading »
Peak oil perceptions: How Americans view a the risks of a major spike in oil prices
A strong majority of Americans say it is likely that oil prices will triple in the coming five years and that such a tripling would be harmful both to the economy and to public health. Conservatives and those dismissive of climate change are among the most concerned by the threat of a major spike in Continue Reading »
Knowledge into action: Framing the debates over climate change and poverty
Dec. 1 2009 — In February, 2008, I appeared on a panel about news coverage of climate change at the meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Close to 300 attendees packed the convention hall, including journalists, scientists, and science policy advocates. The sense of urgency in the room was electric. Continue Reading »