Dryad
Published December 5, 2017 | Version v1
Dataset Open

Data from: Internet blogs, polar bears, and climate-change denial by proxy

Creators

  • 1. Nederlands Instituut voor Ecologie
  • 2. VU University Amsterdam
  • 3. Works in Gouda, the Netherlands*
  • 4. University of Amsterdam
  • 5. Amsterdam University College
  • 6. University of California, Davis
  • 7. University of Bristol
  • 8. University of Alberta
  • 9. Colorado State University
  • 10. University of Wyoming
  • 11. Pennsylvania State University

Description

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.

Notes

polarbearpaper_data
Data on notebook

Files

polarbearpaper_data.txt

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Additional details

Related works

Is cited by
10.1093/biosci/bix133 (DOI)