The purpose of this article is to show how the battle for the citizens’ opinions and actions regarding climate change has been played out via language, i.e. via written documents or oral statements, in the media in the U.S. and in Sweden. The results show the importance of language and discourse in our understanding of science and of the relations of power between consensus scientist and contrarians. They also show how these groups have a different resonance in the media as a result of the media logic, the journalistic narrative form and the journalists’ professional ideologies as well as of the journalists’ and ordinary peoples’ lack of knowledge when it comes to the conditions and restrictions of science.

In this paper is brought forward certain scientific research for showing the physical and biological premise for our discussion. Secondly, it is wanted to show the necessity of linking physical and biological processes with societal practices for understanding how physical, biological and societal systems interact with each other. The third purpose of the paper is to show how those current conditions, processes and interactions affect global food security.

Through a qualitative and critical Discourse analysis of three chilean newspapers (El Mercurio, La Tercera, La Segunda) an examination has been undertaken of how issues, which according to scientific findings are directly linked to environmental problems and/or climate change. this paper deals mainly with the discourses published by the chilean newspapers El Mercurio, La Tercera and La Segunda during two weeks in 2007 and hoa they have addressed, or not addressed in those media. the results of the analysis reveal the ideologi- cal significance of “the absent”, as well as the way by which the modification-process operating within this medium creates a certain order of discourse: neoliberal and neoclassic.

Through a qualitative and Critical Discourse Analysis of three Chilean newspapers and the discursive context in which they are being distributed, an examination has been undertaken of how issues, which according to scientific findings are directly linked to environmental problems and/or climate change, have been addressed, or not addressed, within this medium. The results of the analysis reveal the ideological significance of “the absent”, as well as the way by which the commodification-process operating within this medium creates a certain order of discourse.

Denna text har för avsikt att sammanställa komplexitetsteorins ontologiska och epistemologiska utgångspunkter samt att belysa dess tillämpningar inom natur- och samhällsvetenskap. Det som lyfts fram är teorins holistiska och icke-reduktionistiska utgångspunkt samt hur olika strata av verkligheten - t.ex. den ekonomiska, den naturvetenskapliga och den samhällsvetenskapliga - interagerar med varandra. I samband med detta diskuteras även hur begreppsmässiga låsningar förhindrar förståelsen av nya vetenskapliga upptäckter.