Climate Climate & Energy

How climate skeptics like Fred Singer operate

Several posts ago, I reproduced a few emails to and from well-known climate skeptic Fred Singer.

Since then, I've had a few other exchanges emailed to me. They give great insight into how skeptics work the system to promote their view.

Here's the best one:

Important article on social norms and pro-environment behavior

This article is a little slow getting started, but valuable nonetheless.

It doesn’t make sense — and that’s the point

More than a few people were taken in by a guy peddling a coal/solar hybrid system at Solar Power 2007. "But, smokestacks on the roof -- that just doesn't make sense," said a government bureaucrat, who shall remain unnamed pending resolution of my grant proposal.

Indeed, it doesn't. As the less credulous might have predicted, it was a marketing spoof by Sharp Solar:

Rush Limbaugh calls climatologist James Hansen a ‘double agent’

Earlier this week, the notorious Rush Limbaugh got in trouble for calling soldiers in Iraq opposed to the war "phony."

Thursday he called the science of ozone depletion "phony" and the science of climate change "fraudulent." Limbaugh went on to accuse Dr. James Hansen, America's top climatologist, of being "dishonest," compared him to a "CIA double agent," and said he should be "drummed out of NASA."

Does anyone take Limbaugh seriously anymore? Apparently, the answer is yes. Here are facts and links for the open-minded:

European fisheries ‘poor,’ island nation Palau rich in corals

Stakes in the seas are high, but in at least one case, an interest in ocean health can lead to cooperation between unlikely teammates ...

... the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution held an international conference on the possibility of mitigating global warming by seeding the ocean with iron, a controversial procedure which would theoretically boost phytoplankton populations ...

... meanwhile, the scientist behind the theory that the earth is a living organism suggested installing a series of giant pipes in the oceans to circulate water, creating algae blooms, under the theory that the algae would consume carbon dioxide and promote cloud production ...

On climate nightmares, the Ursula problem, and planning ahead

      A couple of weeks ago, Wroth — as we affectionately call our story editor and chief punster — gave me a call. “Sonja, I’d like some pictures of your kids for our parenting series slideshow.” Not skipping a beat, I replied, “Piercings and all?” I wasn’t sure my two teenagers quite fit […]

By popular demand

Brad Pitt on climate and energy:

Tune in to the Live Earth Concert Special tonight

A CliffsNotes version of the summer’s 24-hour eco-music event will air tonight on MyNetworkTV. The two-hour "Live Earth — The Concert Special" promises clips of the hottest performances from the seven-continent concert for a climate in crisis — as well as tips for making eco-changes in your daily life. Check MyNetworkTV for local airtimes and […]

Hansen erroneously accused of predicting an ice age

After I heard a claim that our nation's top climate scientist "once warned of Ice Age" -- I (and no doubt many others) emailed Hansen and said he should reply to the rapidly morphing and spreading myth. He has here (PDF).

I will reprint what he has to say below (you can also go to that link for an interesting commentary, "Please talk to your grandfather"):

Banks want a cap-and-trade system

A coalition of banks, which stand to benefit enormously from the new business created by a cap-and-trade system, believe that a cap-and-trade system is the preferable climate policy. In other news, dog bites man.