What to call those who deny that global warming is an urgent problem or who seek to delay strong action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, people like Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) or President George W. Bush or Michael Crichton, author of State of Fear, a deeply flawed novel that attacks climate science and climate scientists? This is a question that everyone who writes on climate change must grapple with.
The most commonly used term is “skeptic.” But that term is misplaced. All scientists are skeptics. Hence the motto of the Royal Society of London, one of the world’s oldest scientific academies (founded in 1660), Nullius in verba: “Take nobody’s word.”
Skeptics can be convinced by the facts, but not the Deniers. Skeptics do not continue repeating arguments that have been discredited. Deniers do.
Language Intelligence: Lessons on persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga
