Michael Mann, a former UVA professor and climate scientist whose work resulted in a lawsuit from former attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, will speak about his book, The Madhouse Effect, at 7pm September 15 at City Council Chambers.
“Through satire, The Madhouse Effect portrays the intellectual pretzels into which denialists must twist logic to explain away the clear evidence that man-made activity has changed our climate,” Mann says.
In April 2010, when Mann was an assistant professor at the university, Cuccinelli sued UVA in an attempt to discredit Mann’s research. A judge dismissed Cuccinelli’s suit, and when the AG appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, the court ruled in the university’s favor. The Washington Post described the litigation as “a climate change witch hunt.”
Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist Tom Toles, who illustrated the book, will accompany Mann at the event sponsored by the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter and Virginia Organizing.
Calling themselves “commonsense crusaders,” Mann says their book “enlivens the gloom and doom of so many climate-themed books—and may even convert a few of the faithful to the right side of science.”