Arguments
How SkS-Material gets used - Slovenian translation of the Scientific Guide
Posted on 17 June 2013 by gvert, BaerbelW
In the last two decades a changing climate has started to show devastating consequences – ranging from some extreme weather events to sea level rise and rapid Arctic ice melt. At the same time peer-reviewed studies showing the effects of human activities on the climate system have grown into a vast body of evidence for anthropogenic climate change. On the other hand, those in denial have grown in number and gained a great deal of attention in politics, media and public debates. Fortunately, some internet sites try to bridge the chasm between accurate, but rather dry scientific reports and the knowledge of an average layperson about climate change. Undoubtedly, Skeptical Science fits this category by providing a vivid and accurate picture of climate change for the general public.
The Slovenian Meteorological Society, a team of a little more than one hundred people interested in meteorology, was very pleased to see the Skeptical Science internet site for the first time some years ago. We immediately decided to translate well-written scientific answers on skeptics’ arguments. It took us a few months to translate 60 articles in Slovene language. Our activities about climate change later focused on a presentation of climate change science to the broader public. A paper titled Stališ?e Slovenskega meteorološkega društva o podnebnih spremembah (Statement of Slovenian Meteorological Society on Climate Change) was issued in our journal Vetrnica.
In spite of these described activities, something more was needed to counteract the growing denial movement in Slovenia. The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism became available at that time and we decided to create a translation for it. In September 2011 the Slovenian version was published on Skeptical Science. Due to lack of financial resources, we were unable to print and distribute the guide to the broader public at the time. After a year and a half, in early spring this year, we had gathered sufficient funds for printing 1000 copies.
Three months ago we decided to prepare and organise lectures at which we will distribute the Guide to the general public. The aim of this teaching campaign is to present the climate change science as well as to debunk the wild claims of those in denial. Several presentation versions are being prepared to fit targeted groups with different background knowledge, from primary school pupils to university teachers and other interested groups. We hope that the teaching campaign will have started by autumn this year. Luckily, at around the same time IPCC is planning to issue the first part of its fifth report on climate change, so we hope this will spark the interest of the public and the media about the topic.
We kindly thank the Skeptical Science team, especially John Cook, for all the efforts done to inform the public about the climate change issue and providing material to be used by many, among them the Slovenian Meteorological Society.
This post was written by Gregor Verta?nik from the Slovenian Meteorological Society. Gregor also organises the Slovenian translations of Skeptical Science content. If you'd like to help with translations into other languages, please get in touch via the contact form by selecting option "enquiry about translations" in the drop-down box.
'Think globally, act locally' is the way to go. I never lose an opportunity to correct misinformation when an article on climate change is being attacked by trolls and translated material on SkS is of great help. Resisting those trolls in comment section is probably more helpful than it seems, since it gives a casual reader a chance to dig further.
I'm not sure what author meant when he talked about a growing denial movement in Slovenia. I haven't noticed any. Sure, a well-known know-it-all contrarian published a book soon after climategate, but I think almost nobody is taking him seriously.
Mišo Alkalaj is the leader of this movement, but there are some others, teaching at the University of Ljubljana. Two articles disputing anthropogenic global warming were written in Življenje and Tehnika journal (Life and Engeneering) a few years ago, one by Radko Osredkar and the other by Rafael Mihalič. One physicist at Jožef Stefan Institute, Erik Margan, claims CO2 is not responsible for the current warming period (see for example http://www-f9.ijs.si/~margan/CO2/). There are even some amateur meteorologists claiming global warming is a hype or just a natural process.
Unfortunately, politics is often mixed into a debate about global warming, creating "arguments" against global warming based solely on political motives and ignoring all the physical evidence of global warming.
I've noticed those pathetic efforts, I just thought they didn't gain much traction at the time, Alkalaj being an arguable exception. Rudolf Podgornik also seems to be on their side, though I sense a hint of circumspection in his position.
But I think situation is actually improving, since TV doesn't feel a need to invite 'skeptics' anymore when they air a show on climate change. Margan, the latest contrarian, has nothing new to offer. I took the time to ridicule his article.
Anyway, I just wanted to say to keep up the good work.