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“The more educated and knowledgeable the public is about science ... the more responsible they can be when it comes time for voting or expressing opinions about public policy,†adds Leslie Fink, a public affairs specialist at the National Science Foundation in Washington.The importance of getting the word out has science organizations scrambling to explore new channels, from souped up websites to asking Hollywood for help.The current climate-change furor has become the poster child for what happens when there’s a communications gap between scientists and the public. The vast majority of scientists see compelling evidence that the world’s climate is about to change significantly, and that the change is largely driven by human activity. Yet polls show public opinion becoming more skeptical about climate change.Contributing to that swing have been efforts by skeptics to point out flaws in specific portions of the landmark 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and question whether other findings might have been manipulated. An usually snowy winter in parts of the United States has also brought scorn from critics, who ask, “Where is the global warming?†(Data tell another story: Worldwide, last January was one of the warmest on record, and the decade 2000-2009 was the hottest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization.)The result has been a “corrosion†of public confidence in climate science, says Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). That “damage,†he says, “has spilled over into other fields of science.â€...One effort, announced at the meeting, will recruit Hollywood to help scientists tell their stories. NAS and the University of Southern California will team up to draw on USC’s expertise in film, TV, websites, and video games. The partnership will be the first between a federal agency and a film school.“Entertainment media has been pretty much untapped as far as science literacy goes,†Dr. Fink says. A huge portion of the public doesn’t go to science museums or watch science programming on TV, she says. “Those are the eyeballs we’re trying to capture.â€
One effort, announced at the meeting, will recruit Hollywood to help scientists tell their stories.
Yeah, I need to be lectured about science by a bunch of drama queens who barely never graduated high school.
I thought hollywood already tried that with the movie : "Day After Tomorrow", or somesuch........and it was an epic flop.....doc
