The present social reality of climate change presents us with some puzzling and opposing trends. On the one hand, countless scientific bodies have affirmed the consensus view of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that climate change is a phenomenon of global concern. On the other hand, according to the Pew Research Center, belief in the science of climate change among the American public declined from 71% to 57% between April 2008 and October 2009. And the atmosphere around the issue has become increasingly acrimonious as skeptics and believers square off in a war of words. In his talk, Professor Hoffman will discuss the results of his work on breaking down the debate and understanding its deeper cultural, economic and political aspects. It is at this deeper level that individual and group acceptance or rejection of climate science lies. And solutions to breaking through to a social consensus on the issue lie at this level.
Lunch Provided.