Q & A with Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum

Chris pointed out here that climate change denier extraordinaire Marc Morano may be dead wrong, but he's articulate, well funded, and there's no one on the science side that competes with him. What specifically can be done to change that?

It’s simple: Things won't change until the world of science invests in creating counter-Moranos. There are many talented and extremely young intelligent people in science today who could fill that role, but there is little training available for them, and even less of a career trajectory for them to get there.

Generally, young scientists have been exposed to a very traditional academic menu of courses, when instead it would behoove us to offer more interdisciplinary and media skills to those who are asking for it. And that's not just to create counter-Moranos; it's fundamentally necessary to address an imbalance in the academic pipeline today.
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Indeed, what's available on “science” blogs also includes awful misrepresentations and distortions of the truth, which have fueled the modern anti-vaccination movement, anti-evolutionists, and most notably, climate change denialism. In fact, the latest Internet poll to determine the "Best Science Blog" awarded one such site the award based on public vote.

Best Science Blog - The 2008 Weblog Awards

Watt's Up with That