Speaker: Michael E. Mann is a Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science and director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. He has received many honors and awards, including selection by Scientific American as one of the 50 leading visionaries in science and technology. He contributed to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He has received the Award for Public Engagement with Science from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. In 2020, he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and in 2023, he was named Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association. In 2024, he was elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society. He is the author of seven books, including Dire Predictions, The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars, The Madhouse Effect, The New Climate War, Our Fragile Moment, and Science Under Siege.
Abstract: From pandemics to the climate crisis, humanity faces tougher challenges than ever. Whether it’s the health of our people or the health of our planet, we know we are on an unsustainable path. But our efforts to effectively tackle these existential crises are now hampered by a common threat: politically and ideologically motivated opposition to science. I discuss my collaboration with public health scientist Peter Hotez examining the five forces behind the modern-day anti-science movement, informed by our decades of experience on the front lines of the battle to convey accurate, reliable, and trustworthy information about science in the face of determined and nihilistic opposition. I reveal the five main forces threatening science: plutocrats, pros, petrostates, phonies, and the press. It is a call to arms and a road map for dismantling the forces of anti-science, empowering ourselves to promote scientific truths, shining light on channels of dark money, dismantling the corporations poisoning the planet, and ultimately averting disaster.
Hybrid event, with option to join in person at Wolfe Street Building/W2030 (Paige Hall) or via Zoom.