Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
of gloom and doom. Each ad will invite the
listener/reader to call or write for further
information, thus creating a data base.” The
test campaign reportedly revealed that au-
diences trusted “technical sources” most,
activists and government officials next,
and industry the least. ice concluded that
industry should find scientists to serve as
spokesmen.
The campaign identified two target audi-
ences: “Older, less educated males,” who are
receptive to “messages describing the moti-
vations and vested interests of people cur-
rently making pronouncements on global
warming—for example, the statement
that some members of the media scare the
public about global warming to increase
their audience and their influence. . . .”; and
“younger, lower-income women,” who “are
more receptive to factual information con-
cerning the evidence for global warming.
They are likely to be 'green' consumers, be-
lieve the earth is warming, and to think the
problem is serious. However, they are also
likely to soften their support for federal
legislation after hearing new information.”
Following the success of their test cam-
paign, Western Fuels released the docu-
mentary
The Greening of Planet Earth: The
Effects of Carbon Dioxide on the Biosphere
. As
noted in chapter 3, the movie, produced by
the Greening Earth Society and reportedly
funded by Western Fuels, suggests that in-
creased carbon dioxide would significantly
benefit plant growth, which is an over-
simplification. As of this writing, the video
is available on YouTube. The now defunct
Greening Earth Society also published a
journal, edited by Patrick Michaels. In 1998
the Greening Earth Society produced a sec-
ond documentary in which, according to
the website of the Center for the Study of
Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, “expert
scientists assert that CO
2
is not a pollutant,
but a nutrient to life on earth.”
Delivering the message:
The Role of media
Steven Milloy may be the most obvious ex-
ample of a well-placed corporate spokesper-
son spreading the gospel of climate change
denial. He got his start with Philip Mor-
ris and was once the executive director of
the denial advocacy group The Advance-
ment for Sound Science Coalition. Now he
is a commentator for Fox News and also
runs the website junkscience.com, a pro-
industry website that includes articles
denying or downplaying climate change.
On his website Milloy, a self-proclaimed
“Junkman,” defines junk science as “faulty
scientific data and analysis used to advance
special and, often, hidden agendas.” Milloy
is certainly not a trained journalist: he is
a hypocrite, guilty of the very tactics he
claims to expose, using “faulty” science to
advance his own hidden agenda.
The climate change denial industry need
not rely on public relations firms and lobby-
ists posing as journalists. The very nature
of the modern media plays a major role
in promoting doubt over climate change.
