Queensland University of Queensland, Australia, states that keeping ahead of climate change deniers is exhausting. The problem is that the simple question “What is causing climate change?” has an infinite number of wrong answers and only a few correct ones.
Almost every week deniers cook up some new theory, each more ludicrous than the last: The sun is getting hotter (coming in a future posting). The thermometers are in the wrong places. It’s all part of a natural cycle. Scientists are liars. Something about cosmic rays (ignoring The Chilling Stars). The multiplicity of these facts gives climate change deniers an advantage in debates—they know exactly what scientists are going to say, but scientists have no idea what cockamamie theories to prepare for.

John Cook, (the same asshole who did the sham study that 97% consensus paper and did a ''Colonial Clink'' on anyone questioning it) is a climate communication fellow at the University of Queensland and the creator of the website pushing warming dogma, Skeptical Science, is coordinating the course. It will feature climatologists, modellers, chemists, computer scientists, meteorologists, and glaciologists—real scientists talking about science, pushing the ''it's settled'' line rather than honestly looking at the facts. Is it a crazy idea to think that these are the REAL deniers !.
The eight-week course will give students a grounding in the science of the greenhouse effect and climate change (which will hopefully be a review), as well as explain why the most common climate denial theories are wrong. The instructors will address the alleged (but real) “pause” in global warming and the role the sun plays in changes to the earth’s temperature.

Motivated reasoning is just one of many explanations for the phenomenon. There is also evidence that climate change denial is a form of tribalism. The psychology of climate deniers is a fascinating topic.
The university touts, ''With a virtual diploma from the upcoming MOOC, you can turn a debate with a climate change denier from an argument over science into a deep exploration of your opponent’s motivations and psyche.'' I guess that’s a lot more interesting than the climate “debate” itself, which is, you know,''settled''.
About this course (in Uni-Speak)
In public discussions, climate change is a highly controversial topic. However, in the scientific community, there is proven consensus that 97% of climate scientists concluding humans are causing global warming has been discredited.
What you'll learn- How to recognise the social and psychological drivers of climate science denial
- How to better understand climate change: the evidence that it is happening, that humans are causing it and the potential impacts
- How to identify the techniques and fallacies that climate myths employ to distort climate science
- How to effectively debunk climate misinformation.
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Gavin Cawley |
Some of the Instructors:
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Daniel Bedford |
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Our Dud-Predictor Ove .H. Guldberg |