Mann, Michael E. “Climate Contrarians Cook Up New ‘Controversy.'” Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com Inc., 18 May 2014. Web. 7 Sept. 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-e-mann/climate-contrarians_b_5347614.html
In April 2014, a Swedish scientist named Lennart Bengtsson joined the Global Warming Policy Foundation’s (GWPF) Academic Advisory Council. GWPF refuses to believe in climate change and advocates against trying to find solutions. As a result of this union, the scientific community largely criticized Bengtsson’s decision. Bengtsson responded with claims of McCarthyism, translating the disagreement into a nonexistent witch hunt.
However, the more important issue in this article is how mainstream media distorted the rejection of a paper written by Bengtsson. Declined by Environmental Research Letters, the paper argued against climate change action. As a result, media claimed that the paper went unpublished in order to cover up flaws in climate science. In reality, it was rejected for poor quality.
I still find it incredible that there is even controversy at this point about whether or not climate change is real. In the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, skeptics still exist. I think the media in the very least has a social responsibility to take published evidence seriously, instead of publicizing contrived controversy.
