Dr. Naomi Oreskes, photo courtesy Kayana Szymczak.
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Valley City will host internationally celebrated speaker and author Dr. Naomi Oreskes on Wednesday, October 4th. Dr. Oreskes is one of the world’s leading voices on climate science education and the role of science in society. She is the award-winning co-author of the book and documentary video, “Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming.”
Dr. Oreskes will present the topic, “Why Trust Science?” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Valley City State University Center for the Arts Auditorium. Her talk will include causes of climate change and controversy related to COVID vaccinations. The event is free and the public is encouraged to attend.
Dr. Oreskes’s presentation can be viewed live or can be viewed as an archive on Facebook on the “What in the World is Going On?” page. You can access it by finding the streamed video of the presentation at:
http://bit.ly/whatintheworldisgoingon
According event co-chairs Dr. Madeline Luke and Sharon Buhr, in her presentation, Dr. Oreskes will examine corporate-driven efforts to deliberately create confusion and public skepticism regarding scientific research on critical topics like climate change.
Dr. Oreskes is coming to Valley City as part of her “Red State Pledge.”
In 2019 she said, “It makes you a better scholar and a better human being when you engage with people who are viewing the world from a different perspective. So I have what I call my Red State Pledge, which is if I get invited to a red state, I do everything in my power to accept that invitation.”
“Whether you do trust science or do not trust science, you will greatly enjoy and benefit from Dr. Oreskes’ Oct. 4th presentation, so please save the date,” Buhr said.
Following a Q and A with the audience, Dr. Oreskes will be available to sign copies of her books, including the recently published “The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market.”
While in North Dakota, Oreskes will also participate in learning tours of various parts of the state. In Fargo she will meet-and-greet the public and sign books at Zandbroz from 2:00-4:00 PM on Tuesday, Oct 3rd. In Bismarck, her meet-greet/book-signing event will be at Ferguson’s Books from 5:00-7:00 PM on Thursday, Oct. 5th.
Dr. Oreskes has given more than 100 lectures on climate change. She is a Professor at Harvard University, and the author of “Why Trust Science?” (2019) and “Science on a Mission” (2021). Her TED talk, “Why We Should Trust Scientists,” has been viewed more than one million times.
The sponsor of this event, is a campus-community group called “What in the World Is Going On?” Which includes members of VCSU’s Departments of Science and Social Science for the purpose of addressing issues of local, national and international importance.
Members making Dr. Oreskes’ local presentation possible include Dr. Gilbert Kuipers, VCSU professor emeritus; Michelle Abshire, PhD, VCSU assistant professor; Madeline Luke and Sharon Buhr.
“This will be a thought-provoking evening with a noted historian and master teacher. We invite everyone, regardless of political beliefs, to come and listen,” Luke said.
The full interview with Dr. Oreskes is available below.