Thursday, March 20, 2014

Climate Change and the Ethics of Inquiry

My department colleague Lawrence Torcello is wading through hate mail as a result of this piece he published online:
https://theconversation.com/is-misinformation-about-the-climate-criminally-negligent-23111

He evaluates the level of harm done by those who knowingly, willfully discredit climate scientists in order to derail the public policy that would address climate change.

The piece has caused a firestorm across climate skeptic sites, including this report at FOX News:
"Philosophy Professor Demands Imprisonment for Climate Change Deniers"

Am I reading the same piece they are?

The university (president, dean, provost, chair, HR) has been receiving tons (hundreds? thousands?) of calls for his termination. The university refers letter-writers to this statement:
http://www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=50607