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Science communication and mediatised environmental conflict: a cautionary tale

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 20:34 authored by Claire KonkesClaire Konkes, Foxwell-Norton, K
When Australian physicist, Peter Ridd, lost his tenured position with James Cook University, he was called a ‘whistleblower’, ‘contrarian academic’ and ‘hero of climate science denial’. In this article, we examine the events surrounding his dismissal to better understand the role of science communication in organised climate change scepticism. We discuss the sophistry of his complaint to locate where and through what processes science communication becomes political communication. We argue that the prominence of scientists and scientific knowledge in debates about climate change locates science, as a social sphere or fifth pillar in Hutchins and Lester’s theory of mediatised environmental conflict. In doing so, we provide a model to better understand how science communication can be deployed during politicised debates.

History

Publication title

Public Understanding of Science

Volume

30

Issue

4

Pagination

470-483

ISSN

1361-6609

Department/School

School of Creative Arts and Media

Publisher

Sage Publications Ltd.

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Rights statement

© The Author(s) 2021

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

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