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Conservative activists and Fox News are up in arms about what they are calling “Climate-gate” – a controversy over stolen emails from England’s University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit. The content of the emails are being cast as proof that scientists have engaged in a vast conspiracy to exaggerate claims that the planet is warming as a result of human activity. Some scientists are lashing back, with 25 leading figures in the US having sent a letter to Congress on Friday asserting that global warming is indeed a grim reality. The bizarre controversy comes as the UN’ Climate Change Conference has kicked off in Copenhagen where world leaders are coming together in an historic gathering to agree on emissions reductions. At the same time, the public seems more confused than ever over global warming and the scientific consensus. Anti-climate propaganda efforts have resulted in only 51% of Americans now believing that global warming is really happening, compared to 71% two years ago. Is this a measure of the success of corporate and conservative PR groups, or the failure of scientists to effectively communicate the results of their work?

GUEST: Randy Olsen is a marine biologist turned film maker, creator of Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus, and his latest, Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy, author of “Don’t be such a scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style.”

Randy Olson, a scientist-turned-filmmaker and author, is entering the fray with a screening of his film “Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy” at UCLA’s Bridges Theater at 7pm on Monday, Dec. 7. Olson will be signing copies of his book “Don’t Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style,” and will be joined by James Hoggan, author of “Climate Cover-Up,” following the film screening.