Homans Article Flashcards
Who is Jon Coleman, and what are his qualifications?
He’s KUSI’s weatherman
Qualifications: spent half a century in TV weathercasting, had once been an accredited meteorologist, and is a virtuoso forecaster; his degree was in journalism
What is the difference b/t weather and climate? And why are meteorologists not climate experts?
Weather: the short-term behavior of the atmosphere
Climate: the broader system in which weather happens
Meteorologists aren’t climate experts b/c meteorology and climatology aren’t the same field
Note in the Wilson/Emory University survey how climate researchers and meteorologists differ in their views on global warming.
29% of meteorologists think it’s a scam
8/10 climate researchers are convinced on climate change while ¾ of TV meteorologists believe climatologists are wrong
What do Americans know and think about climate change?
Not very much – most people aren’t interested in digging through the scientific literature and they reply on other ppl/orgs to guide them through the complicated & risky issue
Who does the public trust for information about global warming?
66% of respondents trust TV weather reporters – higher than media, Al Gore, Pres nominees, religious leaders, and corporations
What is the downside to meteorologists being scientifically conversant? What does the author conclude about meteorologists recognizing the limits of their own training?
It bolstered their sense of their expertise outside of their own discipline without necessarily improving the expertise itself. They see scientific authority from their own haphazardly informed intuition
They clearly recognize the limits of their own training
Most scientists don’t like speaking on subjects outside their own field, but they’re pressured since they’re typically the only one at the station with any science background
