Topic: Global Consensus

The BBC has issued internal guidance to staff to avoid giving "equal airtime" to climate change deniers, comparing the scientific consensus to the factual result of a football match. Critics argue this policy suppresses legitimate scientific dissent and ignores the complexities of computer modeling. The segment disputes the "97% consensus" figure, suggesting it is a manufactured statistic used to marginalize opposing viewpoints.

John C. Dvorak takes an online global warming survey from KQED/PBS. Based on his answers—that warming is natural and not a personal threat—he is categorized as a "Dismissive." The hosts argue that "consensus is not science" and criticize the survey for using leading questions to pigeonhole skeptics as "born-again Christians" or "conservative males."

President Obama speaks at the COP21 summit, claiming a "global consensus" on climate change. The hosts notice that the frequently cited "97% of scientists" figure has been inflated by Obama to "99.5%." They comment on the President's low energy and "defeated" demeanor during his address to world leaders.

An analysis of the widely cited "97% consensus" on human-caused global warming reveals that the figure is derived from a subset of papers. The original study by John Cook examined 11,944 climate abstracts, finding that 66.4% expressed no position on AGW. The 97% figure only represents the portion of the remaining 32.6% of papers that endorsed the consensus, meaning only about 30% of the total papers explicitly supported the theory.

A review of BBC science coverage by Professor Steve Jones suggests the network should stop giving "false balance" to marginal opinions on topics like global warming and vaccines. The BBC announced it would appoint a science editor to ensure reports align with scientific consensus. The hosts criticize this as a move toward government-sanctioned agendas and the suppression of dissent.