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NEARLY ONE THIRD of Americans still believe there is no solid scientific evidence for climate change. And half of those believe that scientists are still debating the issue.

This confusion, according to a US historian, is no accident and comes is a direct result of campaigning by special interest groups to confuse the public and sow doubts about the reality of changing climate. The nature of this campaign will be revealed in a public lecture in Dublin next week by Prof Naomi Oreskes, history professor at the University of California, San Diego.