“Australia dumps Carbon Trading Scheme“. Politicians focussing on short-term political goals in the face of partisan opposition is somehow proof to Anthony Watts that Global Warming isn’t happening. Whatever.
By the way they delayed the carbon trading scheme, they didn’t “dump” it.
HuffPo: “Deniers” clogging up the blogosphere. Now the Huffington Post isn’t exactly science central, but watching Anthony Watts try to mock them is like watching a cretin laugh at an idiot.
The article is here; Climate Deniers are Polluting the Blogosphere, but Anthony’s summary is “Gosh, excercising [sp] free speech and questioning assumptions, why, why, they’re TERRIBLE!” He also repeats the unsupported hope that “the bulk of opinion has shifted.”
Actually among other things the article identifies these familiar denialist tactics:
Deniers often pile up comments on climate change-related articles, most of which may be grouped into the following categories:
- Humor (i.e. “What’s next, cow farts?” or “Since carbonated beverages release CO2 into the atmosphere, will CalEPA be outlawing beer and sodas in California?”)
- Political (making fun of Al Gore, partisan name calling)
- Bullying, name calling, threats
- Despair (i.e. “we’re all doomed, humans will go extinct anyway”)
- Junk science — quoting disreputed sources that reinforce denier preconceptions, or using simple but wrong aphorisms (confusing weather and climate, or saying the climate is always changing)
- Obfuscation – burying your opposition under a mountain of obscure but usually irrelevant statistics
- Economic fear — (i.e. “if we take action on climate, all businesses will leave CA, and we’ll lose jobs”)
Looks to me like someone’s noticed Anthony’s army of ditto-heads.
“Gore associate said to be named in brewing ethics scandal“. Anthony Watts is excited that a Republican operative is promising a scandalous revelation about a Gore Obama associate on talk radio today.
Update:
Surprising documents made available to this author reveal that Assistant Secretary of Energy Cathy Zoi has a huge financial stake in companies likely to profit from the Obama administration’s “green” policies.
Those “surprising documents”? Disclosure forms submitted by Zoi when she was hired by the Department of Energy. Ooooh, good sleuthing.
“Global warming: The Oxburgh Inquiry was an offer he couldn’t refuse.” A criminal conspiracy theory from Thomas Fuller, a denialist political commentator at the San Francisco Examiner, who asks a number of ominous leading questions about the Oxburgh Inquiry into the claimed scientific criticisms that arose from the Climategate e-mails.
Do I believe the ‘mob directed the investigation?’ Of course not. Do I believe that Lord Oxburgh had additional reasons to weight the findings of his investigation in favor of the status quo? It’s certainly possible. Do I think that having an underworld connection to renewable energy subsidies prejudices almost every decision made about renewable energy? Definitely.
Eeek! Sounds like a job for Steven Seagal.
Note that Fuller was a very early actor in the effort to leverage the inconsequential stolen Climate Research Unit e-mails into a scientific and political scandal.
Graham comes to his senses, dumps support for climate bill, “Lurch” in a lurch. A Republican politician, South Carolina’s Senator Graham, withdraws his support for an energy bill because he doesn’t like an immigration bill. Clearly, the problem was with the energy bill and Sen. Graham as “come to his senses”.
Oh, wait. The Washington Post article actually says that Sen. Graham felt that “only a focused effort on a climate and energy bill could ensure its passage.“
Kind of the opposite of Anthony’s headline.
Anthony’s commenters aren’t fooled though, they know that Sen. Graham is a despised “Democrat in Republican clothing.”
“Airlines Blame Flawed Computer Modelling For Up To $1.7 Billion Loss“. Anthony Watts rounds up some like-minded comments about the impact of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption. Apparently gubmints are ruining everything and computer models are all flawed.
The IATA, a lobby group for the airline industry, would have preferred to roll the dice and keep flying through the ash clouds from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. The astroturf Global Warming Policy Foundation says ‘right on, them gubmits can’t tell us what to do!’
The GWFP is actually just co-opting this topic to declare that they want “to bring reason, integrity and balance to a climate debate that has become seriously unbalanced, irrationally alarmist, and all too often depressingly intolerant”. We have to “balance between risk and reward“, in this instance, the airline’s profits versus their passenger’s lives. Just like coal and oil company profits have to be ‘balanced’.
The dangers of flying through an ash cloud. Source: BBC News.
What’s happening in the air? The criticized Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment (NAME) has been updated with new safety thresholds based on better detection and risk assessments. Commercial flight has resumed with much smaller “no-fly” zones.
Denialists are trying to paint this as another example of a computer modeling failure, but the system, which accurately modeled the ash dispersion, has simply been updated with better risk analysis.
“AAAS Delta Force“. Anthony Watts reports on an initiative by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to gather input from the “at-large scientific community” on America’s national scientific and technological priorities.
Of course Anthony’s take on it is: “Here’s the political spin pitch“. Those damn Democrats!
I wouldn’t wish the “input” of Anthony’s horde of idiots on anyone…
"Whenever I see that smiling face, I have to smile myself"
Lindzen: “Earth is never in equilibrium”. Denialist favorite Dr. Richard Lindzen has published an opinion piece in Fredericksburg, Va’s renowned Free Lance-Star and Anthony Watts wants you to know about it! I guess this is a close as it gets to peer-reviewed denialist science.
Here’s some samples of the Professor’s argument.
“we experience temperature changes of tens of degrees in a single day”. We shouldn’t worry about a permanent 2° rise I guess.
“no statistically significant warming for the past 14 years”. I guess Lindzen hasn’t got the bulletin on that boner yet…
“The interests of the environmental movement in acquiring more power, influence and donations are reasonably clear.” and “It is probably no accident that Al Gore himself is associated with such activities.” Ah, Gore Derangement Syndrome and conspiracy theories! Always good for a chuckle.
There’s similar misrepresentative bunk scattered throughout. He finishes with a sneer:
Finally, there are the well-meaning individuals who believe that in accepting the alarmist view of climate change, they are displaying intelligence and virtue. For them, psychic welfare is at stake.
“Climate Craziness of the Week – Greenpeace posts threats“. Greenpeace can talk tough, but Anthony Watts can talk tough right back. He throws opinion polls at ’em. Hard.
Actually, the Greenpeace post is about Micronesia challenging expansion of the Czech Republic’s most polluting coal power plant. When Environment Minister Dusik’s intention to reject the expansion plans was countermanded he resigned, apparently citing pressure from lobby groups and big business.
That part is inconsequential to Anthony.
Singer's denialist project.
“Singer on Climategate Parliamentary Inquiry“. I love it when Anthony Watts quotes Fred Singer. Trained as an electrical engineer, this guy has spent the last thirty years collecting contrarian, anti-regulation causes. CFC’s and UV damage, DDT risks, second-hand smoke, etc, etc. He’s associated with fourteen different anti-regulation “foundations”, he was behind the debunked Leipzig Declaration, and he or his organizations receive significant financing from oil interests and far-right ‘libertarian’ benefactors. When Fred opens his mouth you know that nothing but beautifully constructed bullshit will flow out. He loves the sound of his own voice.
This post is an ‘editorial’ titled “ClimateGate Whitewash” tries to inject some energy into the denialist chant about the British House of Commons’ Science and Technology Committee’s ‘Climategate’ Inquiry. The Inquiry was pretty conclusive that the fabricated accusations against Dr. Phil Jones and the Climate Research Unit were groundless. This leaves the denialists with only the tactic of waving their hands wildly and talking loudly about things that the Inquiry didn’t talk about because they weren’t relevant. A pretty low-percentage play if your audience is paying attention.
Singer flails away enthusiastically and completely without evidence:
Only a thorough scientific investigation will be able to document that there was no strong warming after 1979, that the instrumented warming record is based on data manipulation, involving the selection of certain weather stations, [and the de-selection of others that showed no warming], plus applying insufficient corrections for local heating.
Thirty years and he still hasn’t proven a thing.
Wott's Up With That? 