Merchants of Doubt - How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming

Key Facts and Insights from Merchants of Doubt

1. The book argues that a few influential scientists, with deep connections to politics and industry, intentionally spread doubt and confusion about scientific consensus on critical issues.
2. The authors explore how this doubt-merchant strategy was initially employed by the tobacco industry in the mid-20th century to cast uncertainty over the harmful effects of smoking.
3. The same strategy was later used to undermine scientific consensus on other environmental and health issues, including acid rain, the ozone hole, secondhand smoke, and global warming.
4. These doubt merchants were not necessarily experts in the fields they...

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