Colorado State University’s School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES) will sponsor a  screening of the film Merchants of Doubt, Sept. 30,  6-8 p.m., at the Lory Student Center Theater. This event is free and open to the public, no ticket is needed. Diana Wall, director of SoGES, will make an introduction prior to the film.

Inspired by the acclaimed book by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, Merchants of Doubt takes audiences on a satirically comedic yet illuminating ride into the heart of conjuring American spin. Filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the curtain on a secretive group of highly charismatic, silver-tongued pundits-for-hire who present themselves in the media as scientific authorities – yet have the contrary aim of spreading maximum confusion about well-studied public threats ranging from toxic chemicals to pharmaceuticals and climate change.

A Sony Pictures Classics Release, this film has been an “official selection” at the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, and New York Film Festival. It is rated PG-13 due to brief strong language. Run time is 1 hour 36 minutes.

Naomi Oreskes, professor of the history of science and affiliated professor of earth and planetary sciences at Harvard University, co-authored Merchants of Doubt, which identified some parallels between the climate change debate and earlier public controversies, in 2010.

Oreskes was a Monfort Professor-in-Residence at Colorado State University in 2013 and delivered a lecture about her book. She has worked on studies of geophysics, environmental issues such as global warming, and the history of science.

For more information about the free screening of Merchants of Doubt,  call (970) 492-4215 or visit the SoGES website.