Email
“The consensus gap” describes the yawning chasm between the expert consensus that humans are driving global warming (about 97% agreement) and the public perception of the expert agreement (which polling puts around 50% in the USA). Less than 10% of Americans realize the expert consensus is as high as 97% on this issue.
Research has shown that when people are aware of the expert consensus, they’re more likely to accept the fact that humans are causing global warming, and also more likely to support taking action to address the problem. Hence the consensus gap is a significant roadblock preventing us from tackling global warming.
To help close this gap, the website Skeptical Science has launched a 97-hour social media event starting today, 9/7. Each hour, the site will publish a relevant quote from a climate scientist, along with a playful caricature drawn by Skeptical Science founder and University of Queensland researcher John Cook. Each caricature lists the scientists’ name, title, expertise, and academic institution.
An interactive webpage featuring the quotes and caricatures will be available at http://sks.to/97. They will also be Tweeted each hour from the Skeptical Science Twitter page (@skepticscience) with the hashtag #97hours, posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page, and the images will be made available on Imgur.
This is a great opportunity for people to engage in this social media event, spread the word about the 97% expert consensus on human-caused global warming, and close the consensus gap.
;