Why climate-change denial persists - The Irish Times - Thu, Aug 28, 2008

The cause of climate change "was settled in the scientific community a decade ago", so [Naomi Oreskes] wanted to find "how this has come to be, who is behind this campaign to claim there is scientific disagreement" on the issue.

She puts it down to a vigorous and persistent effort by special interest groups to counter accepted scientific facts with findings purporting to come from credible scientists.

"We know where the money is coming from. We know this has been funded by a mix of sources including the fossil-fuel industry and particularly the coal industry," she says. "It is based on getting scientists to challenge scientists on anything that challenges the free market system."

Valid findings are regularly countered by "experts" who may have scientific credentials but seldom in the areas relevant to the area of science being brought into doubt. "We need to be more discriminating about who we think is an expert," she suggests.

It creates a situation in which the public is left confused over apparently conflicting evidence even though there is no real grounds for conflict. This in turn encourages the public to doubt all climate science findings and to assume that all are based on theory rather than fact.