HUMAN-INDUCED climate change is real – or is it? Swine flu vaccine is safe – but how can you know? Nuclear power is our only hope for the future – but what if it goes wrong?
People struggle to understand the benefits and risks associated with emerging technologies, but their efforts are often thwarted by misinformation. An Academy Times public forum, sponsored by
The Irish Timesand the Environmental Protection Agency, will look at these issues later this month.
The forum, called Threats to our Environment: Information and Misinformation, will give the public a chance to question the experts and to hear how misinformation works against understanding. Panellists include Prof Peter Mitchell, of UCD; Prof Peter Lynch, of UCD; Prof Martin Cormican, of NUI Galway; and Darina O'Flanagan, of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
The forum takes place on January 18th at 6pm at the Royal Irish Academy on Dublin’s Dawson Street. It is free, but places must be booked. Register on the academy’s website, ria.ie.