“The paper by Harvey et al. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/68/4/281/4644513 is the best rebuttal against the deniers when it comes to polar bears.”
I was so impressed with the read and since it has a Creative Commons Attribution, I'm going to take advantage of their invitation and share the entire paper here and hope that a few make the time to read this informative collection of facts.
Internet Blogs, Polar Bears, and Climate-Change Denial by Proxy
Jeffrey A Harvey, Daphne van den Berg, Jacintha Ellers, Remko Kampen, Thomas W Crowther, Peter Roessingh, Bart Verheggen, Rascha J M Nuijten, Eric Post, Stephan Lewandowsky ...
BioScience, Volume 68, Issue 4, April 2018, Pages 281–287, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix133
Published: 29 November 2017
Abstract
Increasing surface temperatures, Arctic sea-ice loss, and other evidence of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) are acknowledged by every major scientific organization in the world.
However, there is a wide gap between this broad scientific consensus and public opinion.
Internet blogs have strongly contributed to this consensus gap by fomenting misunderstandings of AGW causes and consequences.
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have become a “poster species” for AGW, making them a target of those denying AGW evidence.
Here, focusing on Arctic sea ice and polar bears, we show that blogs that deny or downplay AGW disregard the overwhelming scientific evidence of Arctic sea-ice loss and polar bear vulnerability.
By denying the impacts of AGW on polar bears, bloggers aim to cast doubt on other established ecological consequences of AGW, aggravating the consensus gap.
To counter misinformation and reduce this gap, scientists should directly engage the public in the media and blogosphere.
(CC: May I suggest students and lay-people have a responsibility to defend the science - scientists are busy with their work! Besides most contrarian arguments have nothing to do with the actual science and everything to do with rhetorical deception.)
