Climate Change: Listen to the experts

You all know about CONvergence, and by now you've probably heard about or even seen or heard on the Internet one or more of the many panels that were done this year. But those recordings were impromptu and while useful, they are unpolished.

Also, the panels at CONvergence themselves tend to be informal, unmoderated or moderated by helpful volunteers, and everyone has a hangover. People attending the panels drew on important expertise and experience, but most panels were casual, with little preparation.

But a couple of the panels were different, most notably two panels on Climate Change. These panels were designated early on in the CONvergence planning as being key, and a lot of attention was given to them. The panelists were all experienced speakers on the topic and knew long in advance what the topic of discussion would be. Most of us communicate on a daily basis about climate change related issues, and have known each other and worked with each other on science communication for the last few years. Desiree Schell was flown down from Canada to moderate the panels. I spent a fair amount of effort outlining possible topics and running this outline past the panelists for their contribution, and we passed this information on to Desiree, who then worked out an interview and moderation plan. In other words, more hours of work were spent in the background prior to the panels than the two hours of public discussion that they turned into.

Then, we had two hours of panel discussion and questions from the audience. Professional level equipment was used to record the panels.

THEN, KO Myers, the producer of Skeptically Speaking, took this two hours of panel discussion and locked himself in the studio with it and converted or senseless yammering it into a final finished product of the highest quality.

And all this was done for you, dear reader, so that you could learn all about climate change.

CLICK HERE to access the podcast.

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us

Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America

More like this

Because it's not a person, it's a radio show. Run by a person. And some other people. I want to extend my warmest congratulations to Desiree Schell and Skeptically Speaking, the Canadian skeptics radio show and podcast with the motto: "Call In. Question Everything." Desiree has been cranking…
One of the more interesting and useful individual projects I was involved in over the last year was the production of two expert panels about climate change at CONvergence 2012. The panels were moderated by Desiree Schell, recorded, and edited by KO Myers into an episode of Skeptically Speaking…
Today is the first day of SkepchickCON at CONvergence. CONvergence is the largest fan run fantasy and science fiction convention in the US and or World and possibly Universe, depending. It is held in a suburb of Minneapolis. One gazillion people are in attendance. There are many activities and…
The term “War on Science” comes from multiple sources, one being Chris Mooney’s book “The Republican War on Science” (see below) and another, the made up “War on Christmas,” a term attributed to Bill O’Really. Throw in a little “Culture War” rhetoric and I think we have a good basis for the origin…

Good job...a lot of effort has gone down obviously,getting the word out on climate change needs creativity too,thumbs up!

By Femi Aturu (not verified) on 21 Aug 2012 #permalink