There is a new movie /documentary entitled Merchants Of Doubt that is supposed to be getting released into theaters this weekend, but I couldn't find any theaters, and certainly not any locally. A book by that title was published in 2010 and there are some videos on the net on this topic so we'll watch a video or two and discuss the topic.



From http://merchantsofdoubt.org/index.html



The troubling story of how a cadre of influential scientists have clouded public understanding of scientific facts to advance a political and economic agenda.

The U.S. scientific community has long led the world in research on public health, environmental science, and other issues affecting the quality of life. Our scientists have produced landmark studies on the dangers of DDT, tobacco smoke, acid rain, and global warming. But at the same time, a small yet potent subset of this community leads the world in vehement denial of these dangers.

In their new book, Merchants of Doubt, historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway explain how a loose–knit group of high-level scientists, with extensive political connections, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. In seven compelling chapters addressing tobacco, acid rain, the ozone hole, global warming, and DDT, Oreskes and Conway roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how the ideology of free market fundamentalism, aided by a too-compliant media, has skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era.

“A well-documented, pulls-no-punches account of how science works and how political motives can hijack the process by which scientific information is disseminated to the public.”—Kirkus Reviews


“Anyone concerned about the state of democracy in America should read this book.”—Former Vice President Al Gore, author of An Inconvenient Truth

I've updated this Meetup. For more details, see the full listing:
http://www.meetup.com/Rationalist-Society-of-Saint-Louis/events/220223761/

When: Sunday, March 8,[masked]:00 PM

Where: Kathleen's House
4252 WEstminster Pl
Saint Louis, MO 63108

RSVP limit: 20 "Yes" RSVPs

This Meetup repeats on the 2nd Sunday of every month.

If the changes affect your plans to attend, please take a moment to update your RSVP. (You can RSVP "No" or "Yes".)

You can always get in touch with me through my group profile on Meetup.