nisbetmc | February 26, 2010
The School of Communication at American University in partnership with the School of Public Affairs has established a new 2 year MA degree program in Political Communication. The program is currently accepting applications for Fall 2010. Follow this link and see details posted below.
The joint SOC/SPA degree is one of several new programs moving forward at AU, as the university and School of Communication pursue an ambitious new strategic plan.
The Master of Arts in Political Communication is a 36 credit hour degree program combining education in political sciences and communication,…
nisbetmc | February 25, 2010
Last week I presented at a workshop hosted by AAAS on "Promoting Climate Literacy Through Informal Science." There were a number of outstanding presentations and themes discussed including a plenary talk by historian Naomi Oreskes detailing the central arguments of her forthcoming book on the origins of the climate skeptic movement.
There are plans to make available online the various presentation materials, so I will post again when those are ready. In the meantime, I have pasted below the text from remarks I gave as part of a panel on framing. These remarks also follow closely some of…
nisbetmc | February 25, 2010
Last week I posted about the increasing problem of incivility at comment sections for blogs and news sites. As I noted at the end of the discussion thread that was started, I plan to return to the topic in depth, perhaps as part of an article or study.
My thoughts on the topic are apparently at least partially shared by Richard Dawkins. In a post yesterday, Dawkins lashed out against many commenters at his own site, noting their "remarkable bile" and extreme reaction to a change in comment and editorial policy at RichardDawkins.net. The full post should be read, but here is just an…
nisbetmc | February 24, 2010
Monday night, March 1, starting at 630pm, American University's School of Communication will be hosting a panel discussion focused on "The Climate Change Generation: Youth, Media, and Politics in an Unsustainable World." [Follow the link for location on campus and directions. This is a rescheduled event from February that was postponed due to weather.]
Joining me on the panel will be the Washington Post's national environmental reporter Juliet Eilperin and Mother Jones energy and environmental reporter Kate Shepard. The panel will be moderated by AU journalism professor Jane Hall.
The…
nisbetmc | February 12, 2010
I've long questioned the value of anonymous blogging or commenting. Much of the incivility online can be attributed to anonymity. And with a rare few exceptions, if you can't participate in a dialogue about issues without using your full name and true identity, then what you have to say is probably not that valuable.
These long standing thoughts were called to mind again after reading a post by Andrew Revkin at Dot Earth. Quoting as the subject to his post a line from Monty Python "is this the right room for an argument?," Revkin writes:
Michael Palin asked that question nearly 40 years…
nisbetmc | February 9, 2010In my remarks as part of a panel at Harvard last week, I predicted that a new public accountability narrative about climate scientists had been locked in by the "ClimateGate" controversy and that each successive event such as the dispute over the Himalayan glacier data would be re-interpreted and amplified through this lens.
Partisan segments of the public--whether on the left or the right--pay close attention to accusations of political wrongdoing on the part of officials and scientists are not immune to this interpretation. In fact, public accountability is an enduring theme and focus…
nisbetmc | February 9, 2010
Tonight, PBS Frontline airs "Flying Cheap," a co-production with American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop. Above is an excerpt from the Frontline report and below is a description. The production has also received strong advance reviews from the New York Times and Washington Post.
One year after the deadly airline crash of Continental 3407 in Buffalo, NY, FRONTLINE investigates the accident and discovers a dramatically changed airline industry, where regional carriers now account for half of the nation's daily departures. The rise of the regionals and arrival of low-cost…
nisbetmc | February 8, 2010
UPDATE: Due to the weather, the Forum is postponed until the end of February or early March. When a date is finalized, I will post details.
Tuesday night at 7pm, American University's School of Communication will be hosting a panel discussion focused on "The Climate Change Generation: Youth, Media, and Politics in an Unsustainable World." [Follow the link for location on campus and directions.]
Joining me on the panel will be the Washington Post's national environmental reporter Juliet Eilperin and Mother Jones energy and environmental reporter Kate Shepard. The panel will be moderated by…
nisbetmc | February 6, 2010Below are text of the remarks that I opened with at the Harvard panel last week on "The Public Divide over Climate Change: Science, Skeptics and the Media." To listen to audio of the panel, find links to news coverage, and read a detailed discussion of the panel, go to this post.
A little more than a year ago, when President Obama in his inaugural speech promised to "restore science to its rightful place" in America, there was great hope that the President and a Democratic Congress would soon pass major legislation on climate change and lead the world to a new climate treaty. However, today…
nisbetmc | February 6, 2010
On Thursday, at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, I served as one of the panelists at the event "The Public Divide over Climate Change: Science, Skeptics and the Media." The two hour session drew roughly 100 attendees, was organized and moderated by Belfer Center fellow Cristine Russell, and featured Andrew Revkin of the New York Times' Dot Earth blog and Thomas Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at the Kennedy School.
Audio of the panel is available at the Kennedy School web site and the event was covered in detail by the Columbia Journalism Review and the…
nisbetmc | February 2, 2010A reminder for readers in Boston and Cambridge: Thursday this week I will be a panelist on a discussion about climate change and the media at the Kennedy School of Government. Details are below and at this link. Audio of the panel discussion will be archived online and I will post a link when available.
The big draw, of course, will be fellow panelist Andrew Revkin, making one of his first public appearances since taking a buyout from his full time position at the New York Times.
The Public Divide over Climate Change: Science, Skeptics and the Media
Seminar
Series: ENRP Seminar
Open to the…
nisbetmc | February 2, 2010
In his State of the Union speech last week, President Obama called for significant government investment in nuclear energy, telling Congress that "to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country." The declaration brought members from both parties to their feet with some of the strongest applause of the evening (video above.)
This week, as the NY Times reports, the Administration in its proposed budget plans to triple the size of the Energy…
nisbetmc | January 29, 2010
Much calamity has been made in popular books and by liberal commentators about the public's scores on quiz like survey questions tapping basic knowledge of scientific facts or the public's recognition of prominent figures in science.
Yet as social scientists have shown in various studies and have argued, we really shouldn't be surprised by the survey results on science literacy. Nor do studies find that these scores on literacy quizzes account for much of the variance in public opinion and perceptions about science-related debates, especially in comparison to other more influential factors…
nisbetmc | January 27, 2010Two surveys released this week provide more information on how public opinion may or may not be shifting relative to climate change and energy. I provide some highlights and quick context below on fears over a growing "climate fatigue."
Pew: Global Warming and Energy Wane as Perceived Priorities
Earlier this week, timed to tonight's State of the Union address, Pew released its annual survey of perceived policy priorities for the President and Congress. As has been the case the past few years, global warming ranked last among the more than 20 issues polled with only 28% of Americans rating the…
nisbetmc | January 26, 2010In the two days leading up to their annual conference in San Diego later this month, AAAS will be sponsoring a two-day workshop on improving climate change literacy through informal education activities.
I will be participating in one of the panels and I hope to be blogging summaries of the event. Below is a description of the special invitation only conference and go here for an agenda.
More than 150 educators from informal science institutions and projects--including science centers, museums, zoos, and aquariums; media projects; and community programs--will gather in San Diego to expand…
nisbetmc | January 25, 2010Nature magazine ran an editorial last week arguing the need for new directions in climate change communication, reflecting directly many of the themes shared at this blog and in past articles or presentations. Specifically, the Nature editors conclude:
The climate-research community would thus do well to use a diverse set of voices, from different backgrounds, when communicating with policy-makers and the public. And scientists should be careful not to disparage those on the other side of a debate: a respectful tone makes it easier for people to change their minds if they share something in…
nisbetmc | January 25, 2010For readers at Harvard, I will be participating in a panel discussion at the Kennedy School of Government on Thurs. Feb. 4 from noon to 2pm. Details are below and at this link.
The big draw, of course, will be fellow panelist Andrew Revkin, making one of his first public appearances since taking a buyout from his full time position at the New York Times.
February 4, 2010 - 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Contact Name:
Christine Russell
Cristine_Russell@hks.harvard.edu
Harvard Kennedy School Nye B/C, Taubman Building, 5th Floor 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA
"The Public Divide Over Climate Change: Scientists…
nisbetmc | January 21, 2010
Last week the NSF Science Indicators report was released, triggering more dramatic calls to action and overstated warnings from commentators about the alleged decline of science in American society. This predictable reaction is part of a decades enduring "fall from grace narrative" about the place of science in American society, a distracting if not harmful myth that I discussed in a co-authored article with Dietram Scheufele published earlier this year.
Since Sputnik, each decade has spawned a novel form of this American jeremiad, whether it be the Cold War race against the Russians,…
nisbetmc | January 20, 2010
The Katzen Arts Center on the American University campus will be host to a discussion of the civic and personal challenges that college students face on climate change.
Here's a head up on a very timely panel and forum to be held here at American University on February 9th and to be broadcast live on NPR affiliate WAMU. If you can't attend, the broadcast will be archived at the WAMU site. More details will be forthcoming, including a social media site where forum attendees and listeners can weigh in with their comments and feedback.
The Climate Change Generation: Youth, Media and Politics…
nisbetmc | January 12, 2010
After nearly 8 years as founding editor of The Scientist magazine, Richard Gallagher is stepping down to pursue new journalistic ventures. Gallagher helmed The Scientist as it grew into one of the top international outlets for reporting on trends in research, industry, politics, and ethics in the life sciences. In his final editorial for the magazine, Gallagher reviews what he predicts to be the top ten issues facing the life sciences in the years ahead. Of note, a majority of these issues revolve directly on dimensions of public engagement and how scientists interact with societal…