Thursday, February 21, 2013

Merchants of Doubt






Oreskes, Naomi and Conway, Erik M. Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2010.

Call no.: 174.95 Or3m

Publisher's Description: Merchants of Doubt was one of the most talked-about climate change books of recent years, for reasons easy to understand: It tells the controversialstory of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. The same individuals who claim the scienceof global warming is "not settled" have also denied the truth about studies linking smoking to lung cancer, coal smoke to acid rain, and CFCs to the ozone hole. "Doubt is our product," wrote one tobacco executive. These "experts" supplied it.

Publisher's Book Page: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/merchants-of-doubt-9781608193943/

YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOnXL8ob_js

Guardian review: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/08/merchants-of-doubt-oreskes-conway

George C. Marshall Institute's response to the book: http://www.marshall.org/article.php?id=1079