Demystifying science—communication of complex science to reduce community fear of industry

Abstract

There are many claims made by those in opposition to CSG that the science behind this industry is not yet known, despite the fact that comprehensive environmental impact statements have been prepared and approved by both the state and federal governments, for three of the four major Queensland CSG-LNG projects.

Those in opposition to the CSG industry, whether individuals or organised groups (the anti-CSG lobby), use self-generated online, newsprint and TV media to promote highly emotive messages to gain broader community support for their desire to stop the development of the CSG industry.

Many of the claims made by the anti-CSG lobby are based on anecdotal evidence, untested hypothesis and incomplete scientific analysis, and are more specifically designed to evoke fear of the industry. Seldom have anti-CSG groups provided a true and balanced view of the likelihood of the risk, as to allow critical thinking or true debate of their claims.

This paper describes the impact of the conformational bias, whereby anti-CSG groups have created their own interpretation of the science associated with CSG extraction. This interpretation of the science has been built into to the community’s understanding of the industry. The major issue with confirmatory bias is: the more evidence on the safety of the industry that the government and industry provides to the community, the more defiant the anti-CSG groups become. This is referred to in the paper as the backfire effect.

This paper also looks at the methods used by the anti-CSG lobby to convey the risk associated with the industry, and makes the recommendation that to counteract the deliberately exaggerated consequences of the risks presented, the industry needs to respond with a balanced argument based on the risks’ likelihood—demonstrating through simple scientific language—that in most cases, the community should have a no rational reason to fear this growth and economically rewarding industry.