Science Museum Declines To Show Climate Change Film

sciencehabit writes "A premier science museum in North Carolina has sparked controversy by refusing to show an hour long film about climate change and rising sea levels. The museum may be in a bit of a delicate position. It is part of a state agency, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The state government has been perceived as hostile to action on climate change; last year, the legislature passed a bill forbidding the state coastal commission from defining rates of sea-level rise for regulation before 2016."

Comments

Fixed summary for you

[Anonymous Coward]

"A premier science museum in North Carolina has sparked controversy by refusing to show an hour long film about climate change and rising sea levels and 'mocks North Carolina politicians'. The museum may be in a bit of a delicate position because residents of a state don't enjoy having their state made fun of."

Re:Fixed summary for you

[FriendlyLurker]

The museum may be in a bit of a delicate position because residents of a state don't enjoy having their state made fun of."

Oh, because the politicians are "the state"? We shouldn't question our elites? Nice servitude attitude you got going on there.

Maybe it being banned has something to do with those same politicians having their hand in the till of the yearly multi-million dollar campaign to sell climate science denial. Forget facts. Forget science. Yay for forum shills, newspaper and television paid climate science denial.

At least we will know who to persecute with extreme prejudice if (when?) climate chaos ends up killing millions.

Re:understandable

[Kythe]

There are STILL people who think a single season, storm, or record defines climate?

Thankfully, they seem to be fewer and farther between than ever. Hard to deny the evidence for global warming right in front of you, developing year after year.

Re:In the USA

[Joce640k]

"But ... But Florida will be under water!" cry the anti-climate change zealots. I can live with that. There's nothing but retirees, crazies, and scientologists down there anyway.

Um, won't they all leave Florida and go to live near you...?

Re:Is it science?

[bill_mcgonigle]

That's why it's a Science Cafe - which is about outreach and discussion - and not a university lecture.

OK, so rule #1 of outreach - don't mock the people you're trying to reach. Check out an IMAX film for an idea of how to do entertainment and science at the same time. There's a reason they're so popular at science centers (I mean real IMAX...).

Sounds like the museum director made the right call here.

Re:understandable

[bill_mcgonigle]

So.. AGW is not real because you don't like the proposed courses of action that might help counter it. Got it.

Everybody can see that you're twisting his meaning, which just gives more ammo to those who do not believe the AGW models. "See, they can't even engage in honest debate!".

Re:In the USA

[ElectricTurtle]

I love how when anti-global warming types point at a big snow storm or what-have-you and say 'look, global warming can't be real!' and the pro-global warming crowd points out, rightly, 'weather isn't climate' ... but then when there is a big wind storm or what-have-you the pro-global warming types start crying 'look what global warming is doing! waaaaa!'

Weather isn't climate.

That being said, any fantasy about humanity being at risk for significant biological hardship is ludicrous considering that we can eat almost anything, live almost anywhere, are more resistant and adaptive to toxins and pathogens than most other large animals, and we have this thing called "technology" that allows us to move anything anywhere, radically adjust our environments, etc. etc.

We really need to get over the conceit that we developed in the one true immutable biosphere. 99% of previously extant species are extinct, and that's going to keep happening regardless of what we do because the environment has never been static. Without mass extinctions like what occurred during the Oxygen Catastrophe, animal life wouldn't even exist.