User talk:William M. Connolley/The science is settled

NPR, at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9047642, stated that Al Gore told Congress that "the science is settled" on Global Warming.

Thus, when Mr. Connolley says: "The science is settled" is a slogan attributed by opponents of the Kyoto Protocol and global warming theory to supporters notably in the Clinton administration. There are no known examples of its use outside the skeptic press...", he is incorrect, unless NPR is part of the skeptical press. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rvmartinez (talk • contribs)

I fear that you have missed a subtlety. NPR said "The science is settled, Gore told the lawmakers", not ""The science is settled", Gore told the lawmakers". Can you spot the difference, now I've pointed it out? William M. Connolley (talk) 21:53, 2 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I would think it fair to say that, although examples of scientists using that exact phrase have not been found, it has been used by activists in the environmental movement itself. I've discovered over the years that, be it evolution, the big bang, or global warming, frequently the general-populace promoters of a theory are just as - if not more - ignorant about what the theory is as those who attack it. »S0CO^{(talk|contribs)} 02:18, 3 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

How about: "The case of detecting climate change is closed, period, RPS or any other climate skeptic notwithstanding." Michael Schlesinger NYT "Dot Earth" blog~ tbarker —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.69.210.64 (talk) 00:26, 2 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Another sighting of a close relative: "Climate change, however, is not a matter of personal belief. Instead, among experts, it's just settled science that people are changing the climate." Richard C. J. Somerville, 12 July 2006, in "Refuting denialists: an inconvenient truth"Mark Hadfield (talk) 22:02, 17 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Richard Somerville has recently clarified his position here Mark Hadfield (talk) 22:41, 18 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This phrase has also been adopted by anti-tobacco activists in reference to passive smoking. Spokespeople for ASH Uk regularly use it. Presumably, in the lobbying and PR world it is thought effective: as are frequent uses of the phrases "evidence based policy" and "peer reviewed science". Jonathan Bagley