Public discourse has been polluted now for decades by corporate-funded disinformation - not just with climate change but with a host of health, environmental and societal threats. The implications for the planet are grim.
Michael E. MannRead
The trouble is that the hockey stick graph become an icon and deniers reckoned if they could smash the icon, the whole concept of global warming would be destroyed with it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The hockey stick graph symbolizes the reality of global warming, and detractors aim to discredit it to undermine climate change evidence.
Michael E. Mann's quote highlights the significance of the hockey stick graph in representing the rise in global temperatures over time. As an iconic illustration of climate change, skeptics and deniers have targeted this graph in an attempt to delegitimize the broader understanding of human-driven climate change, asserting that if they can disprove this specific reference, they may dispel the entire concept of global warming and its implications for the planet.
Themes
Global WarmingHockey Stick GraphClimate ChangeScienceDenial
In practice
Example use cases
During a climate change discussion panel.
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