Category Archives: "Political" Science

The Royal Society: Still Embarrassing Science

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“The Royal Society: Still Embarrassing Science“. Indur Goklany tries to gets some digs in at the Royal Society’s new publication about Climate Change. It’s an embarrassment to science! Anthony Watts, of course, agrees. His argument seems to devolve into a series of nit-picking over particular word choices and hostile semantic interpretations. That’s it?

He gets his big whopper in right off the top, for attention-challenged readers. Is it true that, as he tries to suggest, the Royal Society “now acknowledges that climate science may not be as settled as it previously implied”? Nope, that’s just a standard denialist straw-man. Like most science-based organizations the Royal Society has always made reference to statistical and historical uncertainties in the evidence of AGW.

Play on.

White House science advisor Holdren’s climate slide show at Kavli

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“White House science advisor Holdren’s climate slide show at Kavli“. Oh noes! A White House science advisor gives a speech on the topic of climate change intended for the public and doesn’t use 3,000 footnotes! I guess he didn’t learn anything from the example of the Wegman Report. Anthony Watts has him dead to rights, John Holdren’s generalized statements will never survive Anthony’s micro-nit-picking.

John Holdren’s Keynote Address to the 2010 Kavli Prize Science Forum.

Remember when the White House could be counted on to do The Right Thing? You know, muzzling NASA climate scientists, editing EPA reports to conform with political agendas, etc. The good old days, right Anthony?

Quote of the Week – David Suzuki, a farce of nature

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“Quote of the Week – David Suzuki, a farce of nature“. Anthony Watts is irritated that renowned Canadian biologist David Suzuki has the nerve to say that “we have joined God, powerful enough to influence these [hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, drought, forest fires, earthquakes, volcanic explosions] events.” Maybe he’s just alarmed that someone is stating the obvious: humanity’s actions can and do affect our weather and our climate. Never! It’s all natural!

Come on Anthony, you might well argue about the intensity of our influence, but you’re just being sullen if you try to deny it altogether with nothing but links to your own lame blog as evidence.

The Improving State of the World

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“The Improving State of the World“. Indur Goklany’s back to tell us that his new think-tank book explains how we can grow our way out of any problem. Free trade solves everything! And the more energy we use the better. Just look at the numbers for the “objective measurement of human well-being”! And that’s the end of the tunnel up there, not an on-coming train.

Goklany’s thesis is true if you think getting ready for the weekend is long-range planning, but its classic think-tank myopia. It also feeds into Anthony Watts’ theme that the crypto-communist greenies are trying to force us to live in caves eating raw potatoes.

Kilimanjaro’s snow – it’s about land use change, tree cutting

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“Kilimanjaro’s snow – it’s about land use change, tree cutting“. Anthony Watts thinks that denialists are the only ones who know that the decline in snow on Kilimanjaro is not because of AGW. It’s because of “changes in local land-use”! Wait, wouldn’t that mean it’s “anthropogenic”?

I don’t think a scientific case was ever been made that the retreating ice on Kilimanjaro is due to rising global temperatures, but Anthony keeps trying to pin it on. It’s also a chance to release some Al Gore venom, which must have accumulated painfully for Anthony. Looks like Al Gore was wrong, the warming that is melting Kilimanjaro’s snow cap is regional, not global.

This particular endlessly repeated complaint aside, An Inconvenient Truth has withstood legal challenge. The attempted one-sided rebuttal, The Great Global Warming Swindle, didn’t fare so well.

Steve McIntyre – one of the top 50 people who matter

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“Steve McIntyre – one of the top 50 people who matter“. Surprise, surprise. The Daily Telegraph’s resident denialist James Delingpole notes that although the New Statesman says that Steven McIntyre’s “influence might not be positive” he’s still had an ‘impact’.

Delingpole, and of course Anthony Watts, thinks that McIntyre’s one hell of a dude. Delingpole is sure the entire world agrees because the online comments at the New Statesman article almost universally declare McIntyre to be saintly. Apparently Delingpole has never seen a forum swarmed by denialists…

McIntyre’s real contribution seems to be showing how harassing scientists whose evidence you wish you could discard, trying mightily to magnify inconsequential errors, fixating on perceived slights and generally complaining can be turned into a decade of attention.

I spotted an amusing comment on Anthony’s blog: “What’s great about Steve is that he has absolutely no stake in the matter, save the desire to see something done correctly.” If Steven has “no stake in the matter” why has he never, ever, criticized any of the swarm of poorly argued and statistically flawed papers that the denialists keep hoping will suddenly defeat the AGW evidence?

Breaking: NASA GISS Dr. James Hansen – arrested yet again

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“Breaking: NASA GISS Dr. James Hansen – arrested yet again“. Anthony Watts snickers “Here’s our buddy Jimbo, looking dapper in a fedora, tie, dockers, and cuffs.”

Apparently Anthony can decry repression of free speech from behind his keyboard when it supports his beliefs but he finds it delicious when his opponents put their money where their mouths are, in this case the environmental damage caused by Mountain-top removal mining, and are imprisoned for it. Then authoritarian gubmint is good.

Mountain-top removal coal mining? It’s just a bit of rock dust.

Cancel all your European travel and vacation plans – carbon trading extortion is here

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“Cancel all your European travel and vacation plans – carbon trading extortion is here“. The European Union apparently has proposed requiring airlines to offset their carbon emissions through carbon trading starting in 2012. Well you know, governments will act as they best see fit. Anthony Watts seems to think that sulking in your basement is preferable to yielding to the totalitarian demands of commie Europeans.

Isn’t that what he’s already doing? Anti-Europe sentiments and statements that carbon trading is a scam get a good workout in the comments.

Rebuild California! Vote for your favorite Jerry Brown commercial idea

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“Rebuild California! Vote for your favorite Jerry Brown commercial idea“. Anthony Watts seems to think that California candidate for Governor Jerry Brown is an evil librul who probably doesn’t care about Central Valley farmers. And those kooky Global Warming Solutions Act (Assembly Bill 23) defenders fussin’ about greenhouse gases are just going to end up with dusty solar panels! Get with the Texan industrial program and vote for Proposition 23!

Is he making fun of the submissions to Brown’s promotion of voter-submitted advertising ideas, or does he think his readers are perfect candidates to submit them?

Bilderberg Group discusses “Global Cooling” at 2010 meeting

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“Bilderberg Group discusses “Global Cooling” at 2010 meeting“. Daily Telegraph crackpot James Delingpole draws Anthony Watts’ attention to a phrase in an alleged Bilderberg Group conference agenda that proves that “the global elite is perfectly well aware that global cooling represents a far more serious and imminent threat to the world than global warming, but is so far unwilling to admit it except behind closed doors.”

The Conference will deal mainly with Financial Reform, Security, Cyber Technology, Energy, Pakistan, Afghanistan, World Food Problem, Global Cooling, Social Networking, Medical Science, EU-US relations.

Are the Illuminati slipping up? Have James and Anthony fallen for a hoax? Does “global cooling” refer to geo-engineering? Delingpole ends with a cheery call for a “Global Warming” Nuremberg.