Hypothesis

"Most people have an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of Global Warming and its related concepts."

In a 1994 study by  Bostrom, Morgan, Fischhoff and Read, on ‘What People Know About Global Climate Change?’, they concluded that , “despite widespread media coverage of global climate change ...  lay mental models of  global climate change suffer from several basic misconceptions.” With the groundbreaking Kyoto Protocol in 1997, Al Gore's, ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ in 2006, and the recent Copenhagen Climate Summit 2009, Global Warming has been a hot topic in the media and the issue of the 21st century. With the heightened exposure of this issue in the media, are people still holding on to their personal theories?

In a study by Taber & Taylor (2009), of Upper Elementary students, they found there was, “Confusion between .... global warming and the hole in the ozone layer, is one of the most commonly held misconceptions by many individuals, not only children.” Plamer and Suggate, (2005 ) indicated that serving teachers often confuse the two processes of Global Warming and damage to the ozone layer.

We hope that the media frenzy around the Copenhagen Climate Summit last year, has disspelled many of the misconceptions about Global Warming. Come join us to discover if those misconceptions persist, as we stroll among the cobbled streets of Rouen.