Richard D. Besel

Opening the “Black Box” of Climate Change Science: Actor-Network Theory and Rhetorical Practice in Scientific Controversies

In this essay, Joseph Bartons controversial congressional investigation of the well-known “hockey-stick” study of climate change, produced by Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley, and Malcolm Hughes, is analyzed though the critical lens of actor-network theory. Turning to the works of Bruno Latour, Michel Callon, and John Law, this essay illustrates how the hockey-stick node of this rhetorical climate change actor-network was successfully defended by invoking the entire actor-network as an inventional resource. Suggestions for improving environmental communication and the theoretical linkages between rhetorical criticism, rhetoric of science, and actor-network theory are discussed.

Words That (Don’t) Matter: An Exploratory Study of Four Climate Change Names in Environmental Discourse

Most Americans are familiar with the term “global warming.” However, three other possible phrases—“climate change,” “climate crisis,” and “climatic disruption”—have been championed by different influential advocates. To date, no studies have assessed the effects these four names might have on an audience. Recognizing the scientific importance of this subject, we conducted an exploratory experiment (N = 225) to determine if a chosen name affected beliefs related to changes in the Earths temperature. Based on our initial investigation we conclude that (a) there is little evidence to support the notion that “climate crisis” is the ideal term to be used, (b) “climate crisis” performed the worst of all terms because it, surprisingly, led to observable backlash effects of disbelief and reduced perceptions of concern, and (c) “climatic disruption” performed the best in each of the areas where we found statistically significant differences. Because this is an initial study, directions for future research are also discussed.

A life history approach to perceptions of global climate change risk: young adults’ experiences about impacts, causes, and solutions

Although the general acceptance of human-influenced global climate change within the technical sphere of science is important to consider, public perceptions of global climate change risks, impacts, causes, and solutions are as important to policy actions as scientific findings. Yet, studies analyzing climate change risk perceptions suffer from a number of limitations or use only a handful of approaches. Using a limited life history approach, this article answers calls for additional qualitative approaches in risk perception research. This article (1) introduces risk perception researchers to the limited life history method; (2) discovers that young adults articulate climate change solutions at the individual level, often as consumers, and blend their responses to climate change risks and advocacy for solutions with a general, environmentally friendly orientation, a ‘green posture;’ and (3) contends the key sources informing young adults’ perceptions about climate change risk have changed significantly from previous studies.

Prolepsis and the Environmental Rhetoric of Congressional Politics: Defeating the Climate Stewardship Act of 2003

As a device of argumentative anticipation, prolepsis use generally is considered a positive rhetorical strategy. Turning to the Climate Stewardship Act (CSA) of 2003, this article contributes to our understanding of environmental communication, political argumentation, and rhetorical theory by examining how proleptic miscalculation can actually produce devastating consequences against ones cause when used as a source of invention. Proponents of the CSA relied on creating proleptic arguments grounded in a scientific understanding of climate change to such an extent that they mistakenly downplayed the economic arguments against the Act. This orchestrated miscalculation was encouraged and strengthened by key US senators. This article concludes by discussing contributions to scholarly understanding of prolepsis use in public policymaking and offers practical suggestions for improving communication in future considerations of environmental legislation.

Accommodating Climate Change Science: James Hansen and the Rhetorical/Political Emergence of Global Warming

Dr. James Hansens 1988 testimony before the U.S. Senate was an important turning point in the history of global climate change. However, no studies have explained why Hansens scientific communication in this deliberative setting was more successful than his testimonies of 1986 and 1987. This article turns to Hansen as an important case study in the rhetoric of accommodated science, illustrating how Hansen successfully accommodated his rhetoric to his non-scientist audience given his historical conditions and rhetorical constraints. This article (1) provides a richer explanation for the rhetorical/political emergence of global warming as an important public policy issue in the United States during the late 1980s and (2) contributes to scholarly understanding of the rhetoric of accommodated science in deliberative settings, an often overlooked area of science communication research.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” and the Politics of Cultural Memory: An Apostil

In 1998, an Atlanta Federal District Court judge ruled that Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was part of national history and that CBS did not need to seek permission to air it in an historical documentary that included a segment on the civil rights movement. The documentary, broadcast in 1994, incorporated a nine-minute excerpt of King’s historic speech. The King Corporation lawyers in the case argued that CBS had unlawfully used King’s “eloquent, creative, literary expressions.” Arguing the decision before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the King family succeeded in having it overturned two years later. Although the decision was the first to legally cement the King family’s rights, this was not the first time the copyright had become an issue, nor would it be the last. Presciently, King had copyrighted the speech a month after it was delivered and his heirs clung tenaciously to the idea that it was a bequest to them (Stout 16). Clarence Jones, King’s lawyer and confidant, filed suit against Twentieth Century Fox Records and Mr. Maestro Records for issuing bootleg copies of the speech (Branch 886). However, King granted Motown Records permission to release two recordings of his speeches (“Great March to Freedom” and “Great March to Washington”), but told Motown founder Berry Gordy that he wanted the entire proceeds to be donated to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). When Gordy urged King to keep half of the royalties for himself and his family, King insisted it go to the SCLC so as not to give the impression that he was benefitting from the cause of civil rights (Posner 175–76). King’s family, like Gordy, has seen the speech as an important source of revenue, some of which undoubtedly has been used to promote King’s legacy. Since winning their appeal against CBS, the King family has continued to exploit the copyright of the speech, agreeing to sell the French telephone company Alcatel the right to use a digitally altered version of the event for a 2001 television commercial. The commercial

Book Review: Making Truth: The Role of Metaphor in Science by Theodore L. Brown

Richard Gwyn, COMMUNICATING HEALTH AND ILLNESS. London: Sage, 2001; pp. 182,

Whale Wars and the Public Screen: Mediating Animal Ethics in Violent Times

101.00 hardcover, ISBN: 0761964746;

Subjective Posture and Subjective Affluence: Chicago Field Theories in the U.S. Media and Political Systems

33.95 paper, ISBN: 0761964754. Amardo Rodriguez (Ed.), ESSAYS ON COMMUNICATION AND SPIRITUALITY: CONTRIBUTIONS TO A NEW DISCOURSE IN COMMUNICATION. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2001; pp. 160,

Introduction: Green Voices in the Swelling Chorus of American Environmental Advocacy

28.00 paper, ISBN: 0761820795. Josina M. Makau and Ronald C. Arnett (Eds.), COMMUNICATION ETHICS IN AN AGE OF DIVERSITY: Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1997; pp. 240,