During this engaging talk, Naomi Oreskes, Harvard professor and co-author of Merchants of Doubt, will discuss how climate change denial has been rooted in market fundamentalism—the belief that government action in the marketplace threatens personal freedom and puts us on the “road to serfdom.” Despite hundreds of scientific reports, thousands of peer-reviewed articles, and a near unanimous consensus among climate scientists, political and social action has been inadequate to address the unfolding crisis. She’ll discuss how American business interests cultured, advanced, and sustained market fundamentalism and how this political ideology continues to be a major force blocking climate (and other important political) action today.

About the Speaker
Naomi Oreskes is a world-renowned earth scientist, historian, and public speaker. She is the Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. She co-authored the best-selling book Merchants of Doubt (2010) with Erik Conway, and she is a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action. Her new book, with Conway, is The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market.

About the Event
Hosted by the SOJC’s Center for Science Communication Research, in partnership with the Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments; the Oregon Humanities Center; and the UO Environmental Studies program, this lecture is part of the this lecture is part of the SOJC Hearst Visiting Professionals Lecture series, with additional support provided by the Robert B. Frazier Distinguished Lecture in Journalism Writing fund.