Rising​ ​Temperatures,​ ​Differing​ ​Viewpoints:​ ​A​ ​Case​ ​Study​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Politics​ ​of​ ​Information

Drew​ ​Currie,​ ​Elias​ ​Thompson,​ ​Dessie​ ​Ali,​ ​and​ ​Livy​ ​Scott

1.​ ​Is​ ​this​ ​case​ ​study​ ​a​ ​primary​ ​or​ ​a​ ​secondary​ ​source​ ​of​ ​information?
Secondary​ ​source,​ ​as​ ​it​ ​is​ ​not​ ​a​ ​document​ ​or​ ​first​ ​hand​ ​witness

2.​ ​What​ ​overriding​ ​message​ ​is​ ​being​ ​communicated​ ​by​ ​the​ ​information​ ​in​ ​this​ ​case​ ​study?
The​ ​US​ ​government​ ​is​ ​repeatedly​ ​attempting​ ​to​ ​‘tone​ ​down’​ ​the​ ​reality​ ​of​ ​human​ ​impact
on​ ​global​ ​warming​ ​by​ ​editing​ ​the​ ​EPA’s​ ​findings.

3.​ ​What​ ​information​ ​is​ ​missing​ ​from​ ​this​ ​case​ ​study?

Dates​ ​regarding​ ​when​ ​this​ ​happened,​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to​ ​see​ ​the​ ​unedited​ ​version​ ​that​ ​was​ ​leaked,
and​ ​direct​ ​evidence​ ​to​ ​show​ ​that​ ​it​ ​was​ ​the​ ​White​ ​House​ ​who​ ​edited​ ​the​ ​documents.
Additionally,​ ​who​ ​ordered​ ​the​ ​change​ ​in​ ​the​ ​document.

4.​ ​List​ ​two​ ​possible​ ​reasons​ ​(or​ ​motives)​ ​for​ ​the​ ​publishing​ ​of​ ​each​ ​of​ ​the​ ​two​ ​articles​ ​cited​ ​in
this​ ​case.
The​ ​information​ ​that​ ​had​ ​been​ ​edited
The​ ​whitehouse​ ​would​ ​rather​ ​showcase​ ​the​ ​work​ ​of​ ​the​ ​study​ ​that​ ​was​ ​partially​ ​financed​ ​by​ ​the
American​ ​Petroleum​ ​Institute​ ​than​ ​telling​ ​the​ ​truth​ ​and​ ​showing​ ​the​ ​severity​ ​to​ ​the​ ​public.

5.​ ​Which​ ​of​ ​the​ ​following​ ​best​ ​describes​ ​the​ ​information​ ​presented​ ​in​ ​this​ ​study?

a.​ ​Differing​ ​opinions​ ​regarding​ ​which​ ​parts​ ​of​ ​the​ ​epa​ ​report​ ​are​ ​newsworthy

b.​ ​Conflicts​ ​within​ ​the​ ​science​ ​community

c​.​ ​Differing​ ​political​ ​agendas

d.​ ​Conflicts​ ​between​ ​scientists​ ​and​ ​politicians

6.​ ​List​ ​two​ ​reasons​ ​for​ ​your​ ​answer​ ​to​ ​question​ ​ ​above.
The​ ​EPA​ ​tried​ ​to​ ​provide​ ​a​ ​more​ ​accurate​ ​and​ ​full​ ​description​ ​of​ ​what​ ​is
happening​ ​with​ ​climate​ ​change,​ ​as​ ​reported​ ​by​ ​the​ ​scientific​ ​community​ ​and​ ​bring​ ​it​ ​to​ ​the
public,​ ​however​ ​the​ ​White​ ​House​ ​had​ ​parts​ ​of​ ​the​ ​document​ ​edited​ ​and​ ​changed​ ​the​ ​wording​ ​to
make​ ​climate​ ​change​ ​not​ ​seem​ ​as​ ​bad​ ​or​ ​as​ ​certain​ ​as​ ​it​ ​is.
7.​ ​Based​ ​on​ ​this​ ​case​ ​study​ ​and​ ​on​ ​your​ ​course​ ​readings,​ ​what​ ​criteria​ ​should​ ​one​ ​use​ ​to​ ​evaluate
news​ ​stories?
A​ ​news​ ​article​ ​should​ ​be​ ​from​ ​a​ ​credible​ ​news​ ​source​ ​quite​ ​obviously.​ ​Additionally,​ ​if​ ​the
article​ ​is​ ​discussing​ ​climate​ ​change​ ​it​ ​is​ ​also​ ​good​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​where​ ​the​ ​article​ ​got​ ​its
information.