Science News Daily

Science's policy clout diminished, but oil risk looms large

More people are likely to believe scientific studies claiming that oil drilling is riskier, not safer, than was previously thought, according to a new study of attitudes in California. What's more the findings, which appear in the journal Public Understanding of Science (PUS), published by SAGE, show that scientists' efforts to influence public opinion have a limited effect.Authors Jessica Feezell and Eric Smith, both from the University of California, Santa Barbara, together with Juliet Carlisle of Idaho State University, Kristy E.H. Michaud from California State University, Northridge and Los Angeles media consultant Leeanna Smith think that prior beliefs may turn out to play a critical role in many policy disputes, muting the influence of scientific studies."This is not a conclusion that is likely to bring joy to the hearts of the scientific community," says Smith. But how do people decide which scientific claims and which experts to believe?Some social scientists hold that people most often beli

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