'Climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis
Climate scepticism in the sense of climate denialism or contrarianism is not a new phenomenon, but it has recently been very much in the media spotlight. When, in November 2009, emails by climate scientists were published on the internet without their authors’ consent, a debate began in which climat...
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| Format: | Article |
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White Horse Press
2010
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1371/ |
| _version_ | 1848790594098298880 |
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| author | Nerlich, Brigitte |
| author_facet | Nerlich, Brigitte |
| author_sort | Nerlich, Brigitte |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Climate scepticism in the sense of climate denialism or contrarianism is not a new phenomenon, but it has recently been very much in the media spotlight. When, in November 2009, emails by climate scientists were published on the internet without their authors’ consent, a debate began in which climate sceptic bloggers used an extended network of metaphors to contest (climate) science. This article follows the so-called ‘climategate’ debate on the web and shows how a paradoxical mixture of religious metaphors and demands for ‘better science’ allowed those disagreeing with the theory of anthropogenic climate change to undermine the authority of science and call for political inaction with regard to climate change. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:15:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-1371 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:15:05Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | White Horse Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-13712020-05-04T20:25:43Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1371/ 'Climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis Nerlich, Brigitte Climate scepticism in the sense of climate denialism or contrarianism is not a new phenomenon, but it has recently been very much in the media spotlight. When, in November 2009, emails by climate scientists were published on the internet without their authors’ consent, a debate began in which climate sceptic bloggers used an extended network of metaphors to contest (climate) science. This article follows the so-called ‘climategate’ debate on the web and shows how a paradoxical mixture of religious metaphors and demands for ‘better science’ allowed those disagreeing with the theory of anthropogenic climate change to undermine the authority of science and call for political inaction with regard to climate change. White Horse Press 2010 Article PeerReviewed Nerlich, Brigitte (2010) 'Climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis. Environmental Values, 14 (9). pp. 419-442. ISSN 0963-2719 (print) 1752-7015 (online). Climate scepticism climate science policy metaphor framing religion http://www.erica.demon.co.uk/EV/EV1919.html 10.3197/096327110X531543 10.3197/096327110X531543 10.3197/096327110X531543 |
| spellingShingle | Climate scepticism climate science policy metaphor framing religion Nerlich, Brigitte 'Climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis |
| title | 'Climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis |
| title_full | 'Climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis |
| title_fullStr | 'Climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | 'Climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis |
| title_short | 'Climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis |
| title_sort | 'climategate': paradoxical metaphors and political paralysis |
| topic | Climate scepticism climate science policy metaphor framing religion |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1371/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1371/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1371/ |