Please join us for a very special evening as Dr. Erik M. Conway, co-author of Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming, discusses the misuse of science to mislead the public on matters ranging from the risks of smoking to the reality of global warming.
More about Merchants of Doubt (source: http://merchantsofdoubt.org/)
The troubling story of how a cadre of influential scientists have clouded public understanding of scientific facts to advance a political and economic agenda.
The U.S. scientific community has long led the world in research on public health, environmental science, and other issues affecting the quality of life. Our scientists have produced landmark studies on the dangers of DDT, tobacco smoke, acid rain, and global warming. But at the same time, a small yet potent subset of this community leads the world in vehement denial of these dangers.
In their new book, Merchants of Doubt, historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway explain how a loose–knit group of high-level scientists, with extensive political connections, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. In seven compelling chapters addressing tobacco, acid rain, the ozone hole, global warming, and DDT, Oreskes and Conway roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how the ideology of free market fundamentalism, aided by a too-compliant media, has skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era.
"A well-documented, pulls-no-punches account of how science works and how political motives can hijack the process by which scientific information is disseminated to the public."—Kirkus Reviews
"Anyone concerned about the state of democracy in America should read this book."—Former Vice President Al Gore, author of An Inconvenient Truth
- This event is free of charge. Parking is $8 per vehicle at the Information Booth at Prairie Street and Darby Avenue.
- Seating is limited. Reservations are requested.
- For more information and reservations, call 818.677.4035 or email .
- Communication services (sign language interpreters, note takers, real-time captionists, or assistive listening devices) are available for this event. Requests for services must be submitted at least five (5) working days in advance.