Among scientists, there is broad consensus (97%) that climate change is significantly caused by human activity. Yet in a recent poll conducted by the BBC (news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8500443.stm), 74% of the public are either not convinced or deny that humans are causing global warming. Members of the public get their information from a variety of media sources and information posted on the Internet. How can there be such a large disconnect between scientists and the public?
Go to the Global Warming Hoax page (www.globalwarminghoax.com/news.php?extend.133).
Evaluate the website and work with the information to answer the following questions:
Is this a reliable information source? Does it have a clear and transparent agenda?
Who runs the website? Do this person’s/group’s credentials make the site reliable or unreliable? Explain.
What is the primary message of the website? What evidence is it providing in the short article on Antarctic sea ice?
Do you have any questions about the data presented? If so, what are they?
Now go to the Skeptical Science website (www.skepticalscience.com). Click on “Most Used Climate Myths” on the left menu.
Is this a reliable information source? Does it have a clear and transparent agenda?
Who runs the website? Do this person’s/group’s credentials make the site reliable or unreliable? Explain.
What is the primary message of this website? What types of evidence does it provide to support its message?
Click on the “Antarctica is gaining ice” link. Read the article carefully and compare the main point of the article to the article on the Global Warming Hoax site. Based on this article, what are the fundamental flaws of the first article?
Which website do you find more credible? Why?