Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed mauris ex, rutrum vitae nunc sed, tincidunt euismod velit. Duis quis cursus felis, nec viverra tellus. Donec lobortis gravida ex vel imperdiet. Morbi id dui mattis ex accumsan mattis. Etiam augue tortor, lacinia vitae auctor nec, blandit congue tortor. Aenean aliquet elementum scelerisque. Suspendisse sodales, odio in cursus aliquet, velit turpis volutpat est, id egestas mauris nibh ac massa.

Cras sed accumsan augue vitae et sapien

  • enim in risus
  • velit a posuere
  • fringilla ligula
Etiam sollicitudin bibendum ligula nec imperdiet. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae. Maecenas ut sapien vitae justo feugiat tempus nec non nisl. Fusce sit amet accumsan nibh, sed commodo enim. Fusce elementum nisl a ante aliquam, in pellentesque massa fermentum.

Sorry, that wasn’t the right answer

Susan Crockford presents herself as a scientist but ignores the scientific consensus about the threat that climate change poses to the arctic environment and many species, including polar bears.

Listen to and compare what many experts say, not just your favourite one. Scientific consensus can be a good starting point to trust what you hear, even if it’s incomplete. After all, Newton famously claimed that if he could see further than others, it was only because he was standing on the shoulders of giants.

How do you decide that you can trust what an expert says? Here are some questions you can ask:

  • Do other experts agree on the topic? If most experts agree on a scientific viewpoint, this is a good sign of the reliability of that viewpoint.
  • Disagreements among scientists are common, but they do sometimes reach a consensus. For example, in the 1970s, scientists found that smoking tobacco was harmful, and in the 90s, it was agreed that global warming was caused by CO2 emissions. Can you find evidence of agreement in the news?
  • Sometimes, untrustworthy sources may ignore scientific consensus and share information as if they were part of a balanced discussion. If you find information that indicates that scientists haven’t reached a consensus, ask if it’s a genuine disagreement. Or is someone, possibly with vested interests, trying to make it look like a real disagreement? 1, 2, 3
Additional Resources
  1. Fact Checking The Claim Of 97% Consensus On Anthropogenic Climate Change Forbes
  2. The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change Science
  3. How to Determine the Scientific Consensus on Global Warming Scientific American

Additional information: