Does the general population believe in science?

Cybelli Barbosa

Extreme weather events are more frequent each decade: extended drought periods, intense thunderstorms, floods, cyclones, typhoons, heatwaves, high rates of biomass burning and pollutant emissions (IPCC, 2014).

Researchers showed that the occurrence of extreme events (i.e.: floods, fires or melting of glaciers outside the normal range) draws the public’s attention to the effects of climate change for a few weeks, but after the peak people are generally skeptical about long-term effects (Anderegg and Goldsmith, 2014).

The anthropogenic actions lead to environmental impacts such as lack of potable water, soil contamination, atmospheric pollution and the increase of chronic diseases. The outlined consequences can generate different future scenarios. These are just some of the challenges, combined with social consequences for public health, economy, governance, environmental regulation and social attitudes.

Despite the different prospected scenarios (IPCC, 2020), most scientists agree that those consequences are driven by global warming (Anderegg and Goldsmith, 2014). And the daily activities accelerate the process: fossil fuel emissions, increasing number of fires, rampant use of clean water, inadequate waste disposal, and excessive use of chemicals in the soil, for example. In the course of progress, the general population is not aware of the magnitude of this joint effect: some think this is something not to worry right now, as the consequences will occur far in future and space, as they do not fell the impacts on the local or regional scale. This might be due to a lack of outreach and vulgarization from science/scientists.

A survey conducted to elucidate how science is viewed by the general society has revealed that Central and South America are behind the rest of the world in terms of trust (Figure 1). Worldwide, 70% of the population believe in science and that the scientist work is beneficial for the population. This number decreases to 62% in Central America and Mexico, and to 55% in South America. That means, roughly almost 50% of the population mistrust science. And in the context of denial in a rapid changing world, these numbers are an alert for the scientific community.

Figure 1: Percentage of the population who think the work that scientists do benefits people like them worldwide and by region. Answers from left to right: Yes, No, Do not know or refused to answer. Source: Gallup, 2019 (adapted).

By 2019 up to 86% of adults would have some level of confidence that the scientists would act in the interest of the society. And more than 50% of American adults have a positive view about the work of environmental research scientists. Yet, just the minority believe that scientists provide accurate information and are transparent about conflicts of interest (PRC, 2019).

Wynne (1992) describes, with the examples of serious environmental accidents, how the credibility of scientific communication for the population was affected, due to the amount of contrasting information disseminated, the lack of institutional recognition, and the historical distance from the day-by-day concerns.

From a closed box, to an open discussion topic, the majority of the interviewed stated that the general population should be more active in guiding policy decisions related to scientific issues. And 60% confirmed that scientists should take an active role in policy debates (PRC, 2019). One of the stablished guidelines of the World Economic Forum is to support research (WEF, 2020), to ensure in a near future a safe, clean, and circular economy, based on citizen’s engagement.

Even with a general skeptical society on specific dimensions of science and technology, the population judges it is necessary to adjust proficiency levels in science classes, because this would drive substantial changes for the environment and natural resources protection (EC, 2020).

Nowadays, that question is still valid, and scientists need to work in consonance with the press release to deliver the accurate information, and also to approach the population to the research field. Understanding Latin America as a very diverse and complex scenario, the work of young scientists is essential to connect and engage the community, share knowledge, make it accessible, and spread accurate information on all research fields. Science, as a public good, should be available in an easy and comprehensive way to the society.

Image by Dominika Syska. Source: https://oxsci.org/public-trust-in-science-sink-or-swim/

REFERENCES

Anderegg, W.R.L and Goldsmith, G R. Public interest in climate change over the past decade and the effects of the ‘climategate’ media event. Environ. Res. Lett. 9, 054005. 2014. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054005

EC. Delivering on Europe’s recovery through research and innovation. European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, Jul 2020. doi: 10.2777/349838.

Gallup. Wellcome Global Monitor. How does the world feel about science and health. Wellcome. 2019.

IPCC, 2014: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Available online: < https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_summary-for-policymakers.pdf>

IPCC, 2020: Climate change and Land - Summary for Policymakers. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. January 2020. Available online: < https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/ >

PRC. Trust and Mistrust in Americans’ views of scientific experts. Pew Research Center, August 2019.

WEF. The Global Competitiveness Report Special Edition 2020: How Countries are Performing on the Road to Recovery. World Economic Forum, Switzerland. 2020. The report and an interactive data platform are available at <www.weforum.org>.

Wynne, B. Public Understanding of Science Research: New Horizons or Hall of Mirrors? Public Understanding of Science, 1 (1992), 37-43. Doi: 10.1088/0963-6625/1/1/008.