Internet Assignment Despite widespread consensus among the vast majority of the world's scientists-and a majority of the Supreme Court-that global warming is happening, that it has serious negative impacts on human health and the environment, and that human activity is one of its causes, many still want to blunt that message.
The Global Climate Coalition, for example, ran a multi-million dollar ad campaign in the late 1990s arguing that the Kyoto Protocol would severely undermine the U.S. economy. Find out what you can about the now-disbanded Global Climate Coalition.
Who were they? What were their goals? Find out what you can about the following organizations who are skeptical about taking action to slow global warming:
• George Marshall Institute
• Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)
• Greening Earth Society
Who funds them? Investigate the individuals who are prominent within the organizations.
What is their expertise? What awards or achievements do they possess that would lend them credibility on this issue? If they have done research, how was it funded? Try www.sourcewatch.org, a project of the Center for Media and Democracy or the Integrity in Science project at www.cspinet.org. Ask the same questions of the Center for Media and De-mocracy and the Integrity in Science project.