Media Environment and Mind Set. Jay Ingram Producer and Host of “Daily Planet”, was the keynote speaker for the 2010 Upwind DownWind Conference held in Hamilton February 24th. The theme of his talk was - “how do people assess information about climate change.” His most recent book Theatre of the Mind: Pulling Back the Curtain on Consciousness was at play here. He asked us to look inside of ourselves and think about how we receive new information. Do we change our minds when faced with facts that we might not already agree with? Who do we trust to give us the truth in Scientific Matters. With the hot topic of Climate Change being attacked again recently by “Climate Gate”, the door has opened wider for the nay sayers. He asked the audience for anyone born before 1945 to illustrate that our society has lived with Oil as the basis for all of their life. That we would not know how to function in a life without it as our Grandparents or Great Grandparents did. Our Economy is based upon Oil, and policy making promotes the use of Oil and Oil related products, has forced all of us in the advanced countries of the world to live a lifestyle that makes sure we need the increased use of Oil. But it isn't just the lack of affordable Oil, it is the exponential increase in Global Warming that is the direct result of burning Oil and the release of more CO2 in the atmosphere. Most of it from the past one hundred years. As we continue to populate the earth and re-enforce the rule of Oil by thinking we all need to drive to work and drive to purchase food in plastic containers, we push the limits of Earths resources beyond it's ability to renew itself. With a population of nine billion, the increased Oil spills, the clear-cutting of forests to look for more Oil resources, we see the extreme inequality of riches growing obscenely out of balance. We need journalists and media outlets to give news reports that tell the story, not supply sound bytes that give little or no information. Thankfully in Hamilton we have cfmu-fm University Radio still bringing detailed news stories that cover talks like the one Mr Ingram gave, in it's entirety.