Author Archives: Ben

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About Ben

I trained as a sedimentary geologist at a Canadian University, but have worked in the I.T. field as a programmer and manager for many years.

Media 101 – How to jump a shark

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“Media 101 – How to jump a shark” (2012-01-07). Anthony Watts gives a lesson in media awareness, but it ain’t the one he thinks he’s giving. Anthony’s earlier post started as a standard “them corrupt lyin’ climate scientists and their gullible mainstream media partners” post but turned into “oops, I misread a journalist’s simplification of research results and used it to falsely malign the scientists, But I was right anyway.”

Anthony’s entrée into this subject is some Christian Science Monitor and Business Insider articles, not a scientific report. But that’s more than enough for Anthony to wade in swinging.

‘Peer-reviewed journal’ Business Insider said:

Researchers from the University of Queensland found the hybrids to be a mix between the common black-tip shark and the smaller Australian black-tip, which thrives in warmer waters than its global cousin.

“Renowned scientific pillar” Christian Science Monitor said:

The team is looking into climate change and human fishing, among other potential triggers.

Now Anthony acknowledges:

the [actual researcher’s] press release DOES NOT contain the words “global warming” nor “climate change”.

Hence he is once again shouting about nothing. What’s the lesson again Anthony?

I’ve been Lenfesteyed

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“I’ve been Lenfesteyed“ (2012-01-03). Anthony Watts thinks the only remedy needed for people who disagree with his version of science and politics is to just change the radio station when a partisan “radio personality” starts regurgitating Anthony’s lies.

Yes, as long as Anthony’s misinformation isn’t heard by me it will have no consequence.

Anthony pretends he’s laughing off James Lenfestey’s January 2nd commentary (“The state of fear at the new year“) in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, but he has to go completely off-topic to find something irrelevant to attack his critic with. James writes poetry! (Note to commenter “Chris Smith” this is an actual example of ad hominem.)

Lord Monckton, who positively lives for strutting about and stirring things up, has also decided to respond. He’s sent a weaselly letter to the paper containing his usual collection of debunked assertions that he simply expects will not be checked before publication. I howled at his characterization of Professor John Abraham’s truly epic take-down of Monckton’s presentation at Bethel University as a “driveling attempted rebuttal of it by a non-climatologist at a local bible college”. That’s the sign of a puffed-up poser who knows he’s been publicly thrashed. The references to the usual tiny circle of denialist personalities and “supporting links” to his denialist scienceandpublicpolicy.org website and Ken Cuccinelli’s shameful legal assault on Dr. Michael Mann are weak tea indeed.

Anthony and Lord Monckton, face it: Being invoked by an ignorant blow-hard partisan talk-show host is the pinnacle of your achievements.

Canadian Senate Testimony – Skeptic side now being heard in Canadian politics

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“Canadian Senate Testimony – Skeptic side now being heard in Canadian politics” (2012-01-01). Anthony Watts approves of Canada’s Conservative government. They’re allowing “skeptics” to speak! Intellectual freedom finally reigns and the Global Warming hoax will now wither away in the bright sunshine of public scrutiny! Or something like that.

Of course the “skeptic” position has never been repressed. They never shut up no matter how completely their arguments are refuted. In Canada conservative media and politicians have been pounding the denialist drum for years because it feeds into their political prejudices.

What’s really changed? In 2011 the Conservatives eked out a small majority government with less than 40% of the ballots because of a split in the progressive vote, and are now busy inflicting their agenda on Canadians, shutting down debate.

In climate policy the Conservatives are now dismantling Environment Canada to prevent awkward research, abandoning the Kyoto Protocol in spite of wide support among voters, and as seen here staging politically useful ‘expert testimony’.

What would you think of a group of experts (Timothy Patterson, Ross McKitrick, Jan Veizer, and Ian D. Clark) that by pure chance only contained denialists? Actually, I have to give the Conservatives some credit. It’s awfully hard to find that many denialists who won’t be immediately laughed out of the room and they put in the hard work gathering them together. It’s kind of like a singing dog: it’s not that the dog can’t sing well, it’s that it even tries.

But isn’t this the kind of repressive, undemocratic, secretive, manipulative government that Anthony claims to be fighting against? Apparently not.

Be careful today and tonight, billions may die

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“Be careful today and tonight, billions may die” (2011-12-31). Anthony Watts makes a fart joke! Somehow a rather sensational 2007 article about methane clathrates, on a left-wing political website called The Canadian, has exposed all those climate scientists as lily-livered Chicken Little worrywarts. The article said 4.5 billion people would could die from Global Warming-related causes by 2012, and they didn’t! Well, not yet. Hah! Thus ending Global Warming once and for all.

Then Anthony makes the witty fart joke:

If it happens, it will be the gaia fart heard round the world.

What’s actually funny is that “pesky” methane clathrates have been a legitimate scientific concern for years (see Real Climate in 2005, 2010, and 2012 and the IPCC website) but the denialist response has largely been to try to dismiss it with witty fart jokes.

If the Arctic clathrates did outgas abruptly I don’t think it would be comparable to a harmless frat house prank as Anthony tries to imply. I predict that Anthony, dripping with empathy, would offer up “My bad! I never dreamed this could really happen” and switch to arguing about how the secret world government controls survival shelter funding.

Update on Jan 8th, 2012: More RealClimate wild methane alarmism on January 7th! Read this with denialist disgust:

But the methane worst case does not suddenly spell the extinction of human life on Earth. It does not lead to a runaway greenhouse. The worst-case methane scenario stands comparable to what CO2 can do. What CO2 will do, under business-as-usual, not in a wild blow-the-doors-off unpleasant surprise, but just in the absence of any pleasant surprises (like emission controls). At worst comparable to CO2 except that CO2 lasts essentially forever.

WUWT search engine issues and site update

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“WUWT search engine issues and site update” (2011-12-31).  You know why Anthony Watts’ website isn’t the top science website in the whole world? Because we’re not Googling “global warming” and diligently hunting for and then clicking on WUWT. Get clicking, only you can stop the secret communist world government take-over! Speak truth to Power!

The blogger “” has concluded that “Google hates WUWT … and more than likely is actively trying to repress the site.”

Although famously opaque, it seems that the painful truth is that Google’s heartless search algorithms have figured out that Anthony’s website is pretty much the least useful place to look for information about “global warming”.

A controversial look at Blackbody radiation and Earth minus GHG’s

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“A controversial look at Blackbody radiation and Earth minus GHG’s” (2011-12-26). Anthony Watts provides more space for ill-informed attacks on “the Greenhouse Theory”. Here a savant named Reed Coray eagerly proves his wishful thinking, ominously triggered by Lord Monckton’s blithering. Funny how Anthony lets others espouse ideas that he’s officially too embarrassed to defend.

In this case everyone, except Reed, has miscalculated the Earth’s albedo and therefore there is no Man-made Global Warming. I guess the Earth’s albedo must have mysteriously, and naturally, changed in the last century.

Still, when his thesis is peppered with expressions like “I’m not sure what the definition of the ‘Earth’s characteristic-emission temperature’ is”, “If I am correct” and an apparent belief that he’s the first person to notice clouds and oceans, we are forced to conclude that we are dealing with an ill-informed but enthusiastic amateur with the usual opaque motivations.

It’s always entertaining when cranks latch on to black body radiation. If he’d referenced a spherical cow there might have been some redeeming comic value, but I think one of Anthony’s commenters sums it up best: “This is painful to read.”

Merry Christmas – open thread

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“Merry Christmas – open thread” (2011-12-24). Anthony Watts takes up a new cause, the “War on Christmas”, by not wishing Happy Holidays to his readers. It’s Christmas or nothing! Funny how everything he does has a myopic, xenophobic tinge to it.

He also reminds his followers to remember Winston Churchill’s advice: “Never give up, never give in.” Yeah, Winston was all about encouraging ignorant people to stubbornly resist the facts. Here’s three Churchill quotes Anthony may want to ruminate over during his holidays:

  • A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.
  • A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.
  • Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on.

Thanks for all the schmaltzy YouTube videos though.

Here at Wotts Up we take a skeptical view of the alleged life of Jesus and of all demands for faith in the unproven. We do hope that you take advantage of this Western cultural ritual to enjoy some time with friends and family.

Update: Of course, even while trying to quote Winston Churchill Anthony Watts manages to both misquote and be selective. Churchill’s full remarks are here, some particularly relevant excluded words are in bold:

never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.

Honour and good sense are provably anathema to Anthony and his supporters.

Congressman Rohrabacher’s speech on climate issues

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“Congressman Rohrabacher’s speech on climate issues” (2011-12-17). Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher stands up and recites the current extended list of stupid denialist arguments (“ice caps on Mars”, “CO2 is not a pollutant”, “systematic oppression”, “global elites” hate “meat eaters”, etc.). He holds in his hand a list of fifty communists… scratch that… an editorial from Investor’s Business Daily to prove it.

This is now “a matter of public record” for the approving Anthony Watts, thus ending Global Warming once and for all, again.

Rohrabacher for President! He’ll read whatever we shove under his nose!

A little security help for my friends

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“A little security help for my friends” (2011-12-16). Anthony Watts, that paragon of transparency and objectivity, passes on a b-grade security tip to his fellow sneaks now that British denialist Roger Tattersall (aka “Tallbloke”) has had his computers seized as part of the criminal investigation into the second release of old “Climategate” e-mails.

Keep everything important on a USB thumb drive and be ready to smother it with mayonnaise and swallow same on a moment’s notice. This includes your chemtrail studies and skynet preparations.

Because everything you’re doing is totally on the up-and-up.

The IPCC gives me a shock

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“The IPCC gives me a shock” (2011-12-16). Anthony Watts boasts that as eminent ‘citizen-scientist’ he’s been appointed to the IPCC:

I’ve been appointed as an expert reviewer for the IPCC AR5. I’ve viewed the invitation letter and it’s the real deal.

His “qualification”? He found a web page and entered his e-mail address.

Nobody recruited me, I was not invited by IPCC to apply, I was given a tip by another skeptic on the application page – Anthony

Anthony’s also been appointed customer-in-line #53 by his local butcher and has found the mailing address for submitting  letters-to-the-editor at the Carmichael Times. It’s the trifecta!

His readers (some of them have received the golden ticket too) don’t seem to understand the difference between writing a scientific report and being allowed to whine about same. Are they one of the cool kids now or is it a trap?