Merchants Of Doubt Analysis

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Public discussion is frequently a positive platform for opening discussion topics and easy worldwide access. However, in Merchants of Doubt authors Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway presents the dangers of relying on the public or popular platform. One of the major issues is the public platform is the number of people in the discussion only fuels to the argument, thus it takes longer to achieve their objectives. The other issue is the stakes and implications the debates have on policy. In general, Merchants of Doubt teaches readers it is important to understand the source of the issue versus what is being debated and to further examine the purpose behind each side.
A large part of science is analyzing the difference between data and speculation,
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Jastrow, Seitz, Nierenberg, and Singer are driven by ideology and follow the belief any government interference was risking free markets. The authors explain that with their influence in the government and the use of media, the public was easily deterred the people. For instance, Oreskes and Conway, provides compelling survey data, “just over half (56 percent) of Americans thought that average global temperature had risen -despite the fact that virtually all climate scientists that so” (169). This type of behavior is a reoccurring theme of the 20th century, how powerful people have dangerous influence. In the science field alone, Merchants of Doubt describes how the group of scientist use taglines such as no scientific consensus or degree of uncertainty in several cases. The tobacco industry, global warming, and the ozone layer depletion are only a few examples where the science has been attacked to stop government involvement. However, being deceived isn’t the only issue. Scientists have provided overwhelming evidence on global warming alone yet many still consider it a myth. The issue with no following up is global warming is still there. The issues that the public puts aside, due to confusion, are not being resolved. Policy is being decided based on completion and the market rather than the need to sustain resources and the environment. Not only is this a …show more content…
Oreskes and Conway take us back through the history and the science in order to understand the underlying issue. The authors also provide evidence of scientist like Ben Santer being attacked to fully comprehend the implications biased public debate has. The media is supposed to impose reliability on the government and balance decisions. Yet, when propaganda and diversion tactics are used, public decision becomes a hinderance rather than a tool. It is vital to recognize what is going on in our government and the media to change the outcome for the

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