5 Takeaways From the U.N. Obscured. He moved quickly from scientific research to administrative work, serving as president of the National Academy of Sciences from 1962 to 1969. Fred Seitz was a pioneer of solid-state physics who helped develop the atom bomb. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. MORANO: Bottom line, new study in the journal Nature, peer-reviewed - no change in U.S. drought in the last 60 years. In it, she outlined the similarities between the political fight around climate change and the earlier debates about . Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Climate is changing naturally. Oreskes researched every climate study published since the mid-1980s - almost a thousand different scientific works - and found the same thing Al Gore alluded to in his 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Merchants of Doubt raises the question of what we're to do to counter such contrarians. (Along with Jerry Falwell, Weyrich founded the group Moral Majority.). Only this time around, the enemies of awareness have struck back, and it aint pretty. The second element of the deniers' story in "Merchants of Doubt" is their claim that environmentalists don't really care about climate change. Joining me here in the studio is the film's director, Robert Kenner, who also directed the documentary "Food Inc." Welcome to the program. Had the acidity of rain in the northeastern part of the United States really increased? For this, the film makes a decent. The book is similar to the popular Discovery Channel show How Do They Do It? Only instead of investigating quirky mysteries like how stripes get into toothpaste, Merchants of Doubt looks at exactly how we arrived at the gravest crisis in the history of our species one we created ourselves. Spoiler alert. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. YouTube. As its second example, the film describes how manufacturers of flame retardants worked to protect their sales after toxic effects of the retardants were reported in the scientific literature. To him, its all fun and games hes both slick and scary. They show clearly how it is possible that we're in such an ill-equipped position, facing a rapidly and dangerously changing world. There was the man who had been responsible for putting chemicals - flame retardants - into the couches and baby clothing who hadn't spoken to reporters, and he returned my call to my surprise. The premise of these interludes is that there is an analogy between the techniques of professional magicians and the tactics of public relation organizations. That lawsuit ended when Lancaster withdrew his statements as "unwarranted", although Lancaster later expressed regret over the settlement. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. Now with a new Foreword by former Vice President Al Gore, and with a new Postscript by the authors. The amount of money available was staggering. Merchants of Doubt about Global Warming Hope to Strike Back Fred SingerFred Singer is another physicist turned cold warrior. Eventually, Seitzs right-wing views would become too much for even the tobacco industry. 100% of climate scientists agree that global warming is not only real, but is man-made. '"[8] A. O. Scott wrote in The New York Times that Swiss' "presence, and the animated playing cards that sometimes fly across the screen, feel like a glib and somewhat condescending gimmick, an attempt to wring some fun out of a grim and appalling story. When (and before) the end credits roll, you will probably feel a sense of outrage and helplessness. And he's been very successful at what he does, and there's a group of these people who've been very successful. This book tells, with "brutal clarity" (Huffington Post), the disquieting story of how a loose-knit . But you contrast that with a man named Marc Morano. 96 minutes. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. When it is on topic, it's quite educational, illustrating just how people are . "Merchants of Doubt": More than just a movie review--a challenge to Merchants of Doubt rolls back the rug on this dark corner of American science. R obert Kenner addresses a topic last raised, more splenetically, in Craig Rosebraugh's 2012 film Greedy Lying Bastards: the growth industry of climate-change doubt: "denial" doesn't do . The controversy involved missiles, specifically, Ronald Reagans $60 billion program to build an impenetrable missile shield over the United States. This premise may sound like a conspiracy theory, but the truth Oreskes and Conway elucidate is more banal and convincing. The documentary is based on her book, "Merchants of Doubt," published in 2010. Kenner is obviously a master of the documentary form, keeping the proceedings brisk and entertaining. E-mail: davidlewis@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @davidlewisSF, Documentary. But, write Oreskes and Conway, an appendix was added suggesting that we really didnt know enough to move forward with emissions controls. The confusion bred by the report cast just enough doubt on what was actually known about acid rain to allow the Reagan administration to do exactly what it had wanted to do all along: nothing. Starring Patricia Callahan, Matthew Crawford, Stanton A. Glantz. Facebook, Follow us on BLOCK: Robert Kenner, director of the film "Merchants Of Doubt." She's a Harvard professor of the history of science, and she frames this as a much broader battle. And representing things as totally dire when they aren't could be misleading. The point isnt to go for perfection but to continually refine models of how complex phenomena work. There's concern, not just about a few bad apples, but about entire subfields. Robert Kenner, the . There's no magic moment of hope at the end of "Merchants of Doubt." This documentary, the first to zero in on how and why the global climate change discussion became political . "[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". While religion per se does not align with climate change denial, conservative American religious politics does. Merchants of Doubt - Google Books 'Merchants of Doubt' approaches the climate change controversy from a How important? Think tanks like the George C. Marshall Institute were financed specifically to publish and disseminate their papers junk science that couldnt survive the rigors of peer-reviewed journals. Just today, in the New York Times, I read that "only 26 percent of Britons believe that 'climate change is happening and is now established as largely manmade,' down from 41 percent in November 2009. By extension, the audience is supposed to determine that climate change is exactly what they are told it is. Rather, they say, climate concerns are a. What you're seeing here is BLOCK: That's from a new documentary film that looks into the world of climate change deniers, their campaign to sway public opinion and the business interests behind them. All rights reserved. . That same counternarrative of denial continues today, stronger and more strident than ever, and now focused on creating doubt about all aspects of climate change. Kenner doesn't waste time proving, in this terse, brilliantly argued movie, that climate change is happening or that our dependence on fossil fuels has a causal relationship to it. They're just not good at selling the science of what they're trying to explain. But they could say we need more study and, you know, it can be used now for any industry. They used to show up to argue against the dangers of secondhand cigarette smoke, but these days they're more likely to dispute the existence of human-caused climate change. Your gifts keep our unbiased, nonprofit news site free. From tobacco to climate change, 'merchants of doubt' undermined the science "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world." Margaret Mead Because Americans are. (Hed gone to Antarctica to see for himself.). Established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program, it was created in response to early warnings about global warming. . In the early 1980s, Singer was a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, arguably the most influential conservative think tank during the Reagan era. "Merchants of Doubt": Meet the sleazy spin doctors who will stop at A brilliant disinformation campaign by the Merchants of Doubt has stoked public fears about the economic consequences of climate action and kept a fake debate alive even though the scientific consensus is overwhelming that climate change is happening and humans are the reason why. Their campaign against climate change science has been by far their most effective, and it's the only one that is still ongoing. . Environmental and industrial regulations were anathema to each. Merchants of Doubt Review: Climate Change Doc Preaches to - Collider Dr. Singer was a focus of the book "Merchants of Doubt" (2010), which examined how tobacco and other industries promoted a small group of scientists who worked to muddy the truth on climate . Merchants of Doubt - CSMonitor.com - The Christian Science Monitor Egypt is touting its climate agenda ahead of COP27. That claim is ridiculous, but it creates just enough plausible doubt for the powers-that-be to continue business as usual. 'Merchants of Doubt' digs into climate change opposition Because Americans are optimists we tend to see Meads observation as upbeat and life-affirming (as it was probably intended). ), Horoscope for Thursday, 11/03/22 by Christopher Renstrom, Star high school athlete shot dead in Southern California, Kyrie's antisemitism non-apology is as empty as that stupid movie, The historic California pit stop known for its legendary doughnut, Magnitude 6 earthquake strikes far off California coast, The best kept secrets for flying out of SFO, Horoscope for Wednesday, 11/02/22 by Christopher Renstrom, 73-year-old man beaten to death at 7-Eleven in SF, police say, Elon Musk will reportedly slash Twitter's workforce in half, No end in sight to businesses leaving California, report says, Bay Area Safeway evacuated after customers start coughing, Infamous beach murder linked to former California radio host, The best Japanese gardens in the US to visit this fall, Prep for rainy SF days with discounts on Columbia outerwear, The latest Monopoly game is set in sunny Napa Valley. PG-13 93 Mins Documentary 2015. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. "[9], One of the subjects of the film, Fred Singer, wrote the director indicating that he was considering a lawsuit. BLOCK: If it's not about the science though, as Naomi Oreskes claims - but it's about politics, it's about your worldview, what tribe you belong to - it doesn't seem that there's much that a film like yours could do to change people's minds. Directed by Robert Kenner. In a 2007 article, Newsweek called the George C. Marshall Institute a central cog in the denial machine. GMI has received millions of dollars from conservative foundations and corporations. [10] Although no lawsuit was filed, Kenner noted in an interview that "when [Singer] implies litigation is very expensive, I think it's an attempt to be intimidating." Erik Conway talked about the book he wrote with Naomi Orestes, [Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming] (Bloomsbury Press . (MUST CREDIT: Barry Berona/Sony Pictures Classics. In 1982, Nierenberg was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to lead a review of the scientific evidence concerning acid rain. Illustrates FILM-MERCHANTS-ADV13 (category e), by Ann Hornaday 2015, The Washington Post. Perry Merse Jr. Prof. Cava SC 130 04 Climate Science 28 March 2021 Documentary Film Assignment: . R. J. Reynolds put Seitz in charge of the companys biomedical research grant program. Much more powerful are the moments like the interview with climate change expert Marc Morano, who luxuriates in his shifty tactics and misdirection plays. Whole industries bankrolled their research, sometimes laundering the money through front groups with innocuous names. They've walked back in the front door green. The other merchants of doubt profiled by Oreskes and Conway traveled a similar path. In his new documentary Merchants of Doubt, director Robert Kenner ( Food, Inc. ) shines a light on the very people that are hired to sway public perception of major issues (like climate change . They are shown above. The denial machine contains a huge number of cogs, and it would take an encyclopedia to list them all. . Facebook, Follow us on The government hopes it will be easier to reach that goal under the new system, which is based on one pioneered in the U.S. to reduce acid rain by allowing companies to trade credits for cutting. BLOCK: And you have a number of clips that illustrate that of people saying, at the end of the Cold War, we threw these people out the window red. They found it in Seitz, who was not merely a scientist, but the former president of the Academy of Sciences. Robert Kenner, the documentarian who made "Food, Inc.," is back with "Merchants of Doubt," which approaches the climate change controversy, already well covered in film, from a somewhat . Climate Change Report In the push to curb global climate change, 2015 could be a make or break year. Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscure An infamous 1969 memo from. We are capable of coming up with solutions if we put our mind to it, but at the same time, we tend to not want to think about this as a problem. Science recognizes the inevitability of uncertainty. Design and build by Upstatement. Donate today to keep our climate news free. William NierenbergWhile Seitz was busy doling out research funds for R. J. Reynolds, his colleague, William Nierenberg, was leading the fight in a different arena: to prevent the federal government from taking action on acid rain. The organizations distract the public from the risks associated with products. In 1981, Oreskes and Conway write, the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association together contributed $300,000 to research. Spin doctors spread misinformation and confusion among American citizens to delay progress on such important issues as global climate change. BLOCK: And, Robert, you are drawing a direct link in your movie between deniers of climate change and people who, in years past, also denied the harm of tobacco. When the Soviet Union broke a moratorium on atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, Seitz immediately urged President John Kennedy to respond in kind, despite evidence that radioactive fallout contaminated swaths of land for more than a thousand miles. Merchants of Doubt Movie Review | Common Sense Media The authors do an excellent job, however, of touching on many of the cogs inside that dreadful box, from clueless writers (Bjorn Lomborg, John Tierney, George Will) to odious politicians (Sen. James Inhofe, Vice President Dick Cheney) to the scores of conservative foundations that wrap themselves in the flag that they disgrace by their actions. They knew before anyone else because big corporations have to have good science. And the big money maker at this point and the big payday is climate and energy, and that's why it's out there. Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming By Erik M. Conway, Naomi Oreskes Bloomsbury 368 pp., $27 [11], The film has been widely reviewed in the mainstream U.S. media and garnered mostly positive reviews. A documentary that looks at pundits-for-hire who present themselves as scientific authorities as they speak about topics like toxic chemicals, pharmaceuticals and climate change. Kenner, best known for his film adaptation of " Food, Inc. ," is out with a new documentary, " Merchants of Doubt ," in which he introduces us to a "professional class of deceivers": P.R.. It is about evidence." Merchants of Doubt - The Ecologist It's as if it's unsure whether to stay focused on the topic of misdirection or dive directly into the immediate and pressing issue of climate change. Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming is a 2010 non-fiction book by American historians of science Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. The Hazy Science of Climate Change Deniers - GOOD Seitz and the tobacco industry were a perfect fit. Report: Countries need an impossible amount of land to meet climate pledges. Created with an initial quarter-million dollar grant from beer magnate and right-wing Republican activist Joseph Coors, the group was initially led by Paul Weyrich, who combined absolute allegiance to the Free Market, ultra-nationalism, and fundamentalist evangelical Christianity of the narrowest kind. About HPB-Diamond. BLOCK: These are voices from the fossil fuel industry and the industry of advocates who speak for them. In the 1990s, Singer had sued Justin Lancaster over his statements regarding the inclusion of Roger Revelle as a co-author of a climate change paper with Singer and Chauncey Starr; Revelle had died shortly after the paper was published. S. Fred Singer, a Leading Climate Change Contrarian, Dies at 95 This is the missing piece of the puzzle in Merchants of Doubt. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. BLOCK: I'm talking with Robert Kenner. Merchants of Doubt - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre Seitz was, in their view, not sufficiently rational to maintain a public connection with the industry. Once again, Oreskes and Conway do an excellent job of bringing to life a complex and important environmental battle that is poorly remembered today. The 97 percent of scientists who warn that manmade climate change is terrifyingly real are not flaming Commies . Grist relies on the support of generous readers like you. The Full Monty | Grist Review: Merchants of Doubt They must've known you had a point of view here that was not going to agree with theirs. MERCHANTS OF DOUBT | Apple TV (KN) I had made "Food Inc." and people had seen that. 'Merchants of Doubt' responsible for climate confusion - book review Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. It was the beginning of a counternarrative, write Oreskes and Conway, that scientists had overreacted before, were overreacting now, and therefore couldnt be trusted.. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the world's leading authority on climate issues. In Merchants of Doubt , the Same Scientists Who Lied About - HuffPost In fact, their stance has become a mainstream political opinion and heavily influenced policy. Seitz and his associates used doubt as a weapon against science. BLOCK: There's a moment in the film where you interview climate scientist James Hansen, who's been one of the strongest voices sounding the alarm about the risks of climate change, the real dangers, and he admits to you that scientists make lousy communicators. A broad scientific consensus had emerged over several years, so that by 1979 it wasnt news to most scientists in the field when Scientific American published an article explaining to the public that In recent decades, the acidity of rain and snow has increased sharply over wide areas. And let's listen to some voices of climate change skeptics. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world. Margaret Mead. ExxonMobil, Climate Change, and Merchants of Doubt. Big - HuffPost For this, the film makes a decent case. And - but I was open to hearing how they did what they did and why they did what they did. "Merchants of doubt" operating within organized science Over the years Seitzs conservative views had grown ever more extreme. ", "Merchants of Doubt about Global Warming Hope to Strike Back", "Telluride Film Review: 'Merchants of Doubt', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Merchants_of_Doubt_(film)&oldid=1098835159, Short description is different from Wikidata, Rotten Tomatoes template using name parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, John Passacantando is the former executive director of, William O'Keefe is the chief executive officer of the, This page was last edited on 17 July 2022, at 18:27. Keeping the proceedings brisk and entertaining they 're trying to explain Seitz, who was not merely a,. Similar path to research risks associated with products does not align with climate change is exactly what they are it... 2015, the Washington Post 60 years a review of the United really... @ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ davidlewisSF, documentary how people are when are. 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Struck back, and Merchants of Doubt, & quot ; Merchants of raises. Nierenberg was appointed by president Ronald Reagan to lead a review of the documentary is based on her,. In 2010 Matthew Crawford, Stanton A. Glantz told it is on topic, it be. Who speak for them expressed regret over the United States is obviously a master of the evidence... Seitzs right-wing views would become too much for even the tobacco industry and confusion among American to! How people are and the American Cancer Society and the industry of advocates who speak for them controls...

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