Is there a hole in the ozone layer of your climate change? From scientific culture to popular culture

Abstract

Eight out of ten Spaniards think the hole in the ozone layer, caused by human actions, is the key physical cause of climate change. This belief, constructed from scientific elements (concepts, images, icons, discourse), is a product of popular culture. Science has never confirmed this relationship. It was the ability of popular culture to incorporate scientific «objects» according to its own epistemology that established and popularised the idea until it became a global cultural belief. The divergence between social and scientific representation invites us to reflect upon how contemporary societies embrace and remodel scientific culture to construct representations for interpreting reality and directing responses (or inaction) to threats identified by science. ; This article is part of the Resclima Project, funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Government of Spain within the VI National R+D Programme 2008-2011, year 2012, REF. EDU2012-33456 (www.resclima.info) ; SI