Why would scientists dedicated to uncovering the truth about the natural world deliberately misrepresent the work of their own colleagues? Why would they spread accusations with no basis? Why would they refuse to correct their arguments once they had been shown to be incorrect? And why did the press continue to quote them, year after year, even as their claims were shown, one after another, to be false?
Naomi OreskesIt's extremely hard to know what the economic consequences of any decision will be. And I'm not a, a, a financial analyst, so I, I generally don't try to make some kind of prediction about that.
Naomi OreskesScientists are scientists. They're not really in a position to speak clearly on the moral dimensions, and they're not really comfortable doing that.
Naomi OreskesScientists should continue doing what they've always done, which is to understand the Earth as well as they can.
Naomi OreskesI think it is important for people to understand that there are real serious economic costs and real serious economic damages associated with inaction on climate change.
Naomi OreskesScientific monitoring is going to be terrifically important, because whatever steps we take ... we will have to monitor those steps in order to know if they're actually working.
Naomi OreskesAt a recent conference, a colleague told one of us that in IPCC discussions, some scientists have been reluctant to make strong claims about the scientific evidence, lest contrarians "attack us". Another said that she'd rather err on the side of conservatism in her estimates, because then she feels more "secure."
Naomi Oreskes