Posts filed under ‘activist scientists’
The Activist Economist & the IPCC (Part 2)
The author of a 2007 book on climate change failed to mention his own IPCC involvement while pointing to that body as an authority. This is called an undisclosed conflict-of-interest.
The Activist Economist & the IPCC (Part 1)
How can claims that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is objective be taken seriously when one of its authors has been arrested at an anti-coal protest?
David Suzuki’s Smoke & Mirrors
Would a scientifically rigorous organization have the owner of a PR firm as its chairman?
Eco Narcissists & Their Last Chances
For half a century green activists have insisted that their historical moment – and a particular generation – are the planet’s last hope.
The Royal Society’s Blatherfest
A Royal Society-hosted conference is being billed as a gathering of scientists. I guess that’s why politicians, bureaucrats, musicians & political activists will be there in full force.
Canada’s Senate, David Suzuki & The Delinquent Teenager
My book is discussed in the Canadian Senate – and the David Suzuki Foundation behaves like a rabid dog.
Fairy Tales on the Road to Rio
Nine papers are being distributed by an upcoming save-the-world conference. They’re explicitly intended to influence the behaviour of world leaders at the Rio summit in June. But the claim that they represent the latest scientific thinking is a gross distortion.
Where Is Ground Zero for Climate Change?
Everyone thinks ground zero for climate change effects is somewhere different. Most of these claims, therefore, must be wrong.
17 Days Later, Peter Gleick is Back in the Saddle
Peter Gleick confessed to lying and stealing less than three weeks ago, but that didn’t prevent him from delivering a keynote speech to the California Water Policy Conference yesterday.
UN Climate Chief’s ‘Green Crusader’ Award
The head of what is supposed to be a neutral scientific body saw no impropriety recently in accepting an award that applauds his environmental activism.
Where Do Gleick’s Apologists Draw the Line?
If it’s OK for scientists to lie to advance the fight against climate change what other bad behaviour is acceptable?
Peter Gleick – Then and Now
Eleven years ago Peter Gleick was declaring that the debate is over. Now he says other people are preventing it from taking place.
Opinion Disguised as Science
Iowa scientists have signed a letter about climate change. News reports don’t mention their activist leanings.
Gleick Speak
Peter Gleick issues a statement about the Heartland documents.
Closed Minds at the IPCC
A Dutch professor has examined a draft of the upcoming IPCC report. He says it has been written by people who start from the assumption that dangerous, human-caused global warming has been proven.
The Royal Society’s Joyride
In recent years the world’s oldest science academy has been taken for a joyride. Three centuries of neutrality have been impulsively abandoned – in the name of fighting climate change.
Scientific Consensus, Leadership & Stephen Schneider
Is it any wonder that young climate scientists behave badly? Their elders set the example – by hurling insults at dissenters.
What Pachauri Means by ‘Sustainable’
For the head of the IPCC, sustainable is just another word for a global anti-poverty campaign. Which means that organizations such as his own TERI institute, in poor countries such as India, receive lots of funding.
Medical Journals Spearhead Climate Lynch Mob
Why are the editors of leading medical journals trying to suppress climate free speech? Since this isn’t their area of expertise how dare they harass those with a different point-of-view?
IPCC Scientists – Guests of the Environmental Defense Fund
A powerful lobby group supplied their meeting space, helped with their travel documents & subsidized their meals. Top IPCC scientists went along for the ride.
Those Who Claim to Speak for the Future
A collection of NGO brats, self-important rich folks, and UN bureaucrats have taken it upon themselves to be the voice of future generations.
Rajendra Pachauri: Ever the Activist
According to the head of what is supposed to be a neutral scientific body, young people need to be mobilized to become major agents of change. Does it really need to be said that science is no longer science if those with activist agendas are in charge?
Pachauri’s Green Torch Bearers
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is supposed to be a neutral and impartial body. But its chairman is encouraging business students to be green activists.
WWF-Affiliated Personnel in Working Group 1
Most chapters in Working Group 1 of the 2007 Climate Bible contained at least one scientist who is affiliated with professional climate lobbyists. In one instance, four of the lead authors were tainted in this manner.
78 Names
The scientists on this list either played some role in the 2007 Climate Bible or are helping to write the next one expected to be completed in 2013. In many cases, they’re doing dual duty.
All of them have a documented, public relationship with professional lobbyists.
Glaciergate’s Other WWF Connection
The erroneous Himalayan glacier prediction was based on a WWF report. The IPCC chapter in which that mistake occurred was led by two WWF-affiliated scientists.
Here an Activist, There an Activist
In a single IPCC chapter we find an author affiliated the WWF, another with Greenpeace, and a third with the Environmental Defense Fund. Sure, this is a scientific document.
How the WWF Infiltrated the IPCC – Part 2
Two-thirds of the 2007 Climate Bible’s chapters include personnel affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund. Fifteen chapters were led by WWF-affiliated scientists.
How the WWF Infiltrated the IPCC – Part 1
Between 2004 and 2008 the World Wildlife Fund recruited 130 “leading climate scientists mostly, but not exclusively, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change” to help it heighten the public’s sense of urgency.
Behind the Aliens-Will-Smite-Us News Story
The up-and-coming generation of scientific minds appears to assume that humans are a pox on the planet.
Why I Won’t Be Renewing my ‘Economist’ Subscription
Rather than helping to keep climate authorities honest, The Economist magazine now serves up a steady diet of green pap. When sound journalistic judgment leaves the building, I stop renewing my subscription.
Naming Names: Marine Experts Tainted by Activist Cash
The list of people who’ve accepted $150,000 from an advocacy organization is a long one. There are lots of PhDs here, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with full-blown political activists.
Pew, What’s That Smell?
An activist group has been funding a particular corner of scientific research to the tune of $1 million a year for more than two decades. Do we really think this hasn’t influenced how those working in that field see the world?
IPCC Bigwigs Spout Political, Childish Nonsense
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is supposed to stick to the science. But not only do its leaders make political pronouncements – these pronouncements are startlingly unsophisticated.
Chris Landsea and the Moral Midgets
The scientific community expects us to trust its judgment on the question of whether global warming is the fault of human beings. But its response to the Chris Landsea affair demonstrates that that judgment is impaired.
Landsea, the IPCC & the Union of Concerned Scientists
There’s a link between hurricane expert Chris Landsea, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. That link is James J. McCarthy.
The Activists, the Media, and the Public
When activists hoodwink the media – and questionable environmental scare stories are the result – why don’t we care?
Pachauri’s Cause
The chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says responding to climate change is part of a larger goal: transforming the world economy.
Two Population Predictions
40 years ago scientists said radical change was necessary if humanity was to survive. Along the way they endorsed a population prediction that now seems foolish.
How Much Harm to Humans is OK?
An IPCC official thinks that quadrupling gasoline prices could help save the planet. What effect such a policy would have on human beings appears to be irrelevant.
Climate Change & Violent Fantasies
When did it become acceptable to pen violent fantasies about people with whom you disagree? When did it become OK to talk – luridly and out loud – about their death?
David Suzuki is a Drama Queen
While the rest of us approach challenges with determination, optimism, and faith in ourselves as problem solvers, drama queens see only worst-case scenarios. They exaggerate. They emotionalize.
Swedish Show Trial
Rather than championing logic and reason, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences now stages political theatre. Humanity is accused, tried, and convicted in a “court case” in which the verdict was determined in advance.
The Case of Michael Oppenheimer
Perhaps the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change doesn’t regard activist scientists as damaged goods because neither the National Academy of Sciences nor the American Association for the Advancement of Science does, either.
Ka-Ching! More Greenpeace Money
One of the most senior authors for the upcoming climate bible has spent the past 17 years cashing cheques from Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.
Hansen, Suzuki & Greenpeace
Regarding James Hansen’s (tax-payer funded) salary, David Suzuki’s despair, and Ross Gelbspan’s professional activism.
The State of the IPCC’s Leadership
Rajendra Pachauri, as chairman of what is supposed to be a respectable science body, has – with deliberation and forethought – publicly linked that body to left-wing political analysis and activism.
The IPCC’s Activist Chairman
Rajendra Pachauri does not display the aloof, dispassionate demeanour traditionally evoked by the term “scientist.” Instead, he repeatedly lends the good name of the scientific body he chairs to activist endeavours.
The IPCC’s Pretend Neutrality
Actions speak louder the words. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change claims to be impartial and evenhanded – but that’s not how it behaves.
Politically Incorrect Prof May Lose His Job
A UCLA professor who found no link between a certain kind of air pollution and premature death is fighting to keep his job. But the state employee with the fake PhD merely got demoted.
Message From Australia
Australians are outraged by a Prime Minister who, prior to last summer’s election, said there’d be no carbon tax – but is now implementing one. At a recent protest rally, a scientist explained why he thinks the dangerous global warming hypothesis has been proved wrong.
Earth to Scientists
Half a century ago, a science journalist discovered that anything less than reverential reporting was interpreted by scientists as hostility. It would seem that climate scientists who label critics ‘anti-science’ come from a long tradition.
Peer into the Heart of the IPCC, Find Greenpeace
The mere presence of environmental activists undermines the integrity of scientific endeavours. Yet the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has long embraced Greenpeace personnel.
Was the Fix In Before the IPCC Existed?
In 1970s and ’80s some scientists already believed human CO2 emissions would cause global warming. How do we know the IPCC’s 2007 conclusions weren’t preordained?
Dr Nadelhoffer, I’m Not Impressed
An expert who testified to Congress this week reached well beyond his own scientific expertise. By advocating a particular response to climate change he brings science into disrepute.
The WWF Vice President & the New IPCC Report
Why is a Vice President of an activist group taking part in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change workshops – and serving as a review editor for the upcoming edition of the climate bible?
Scientists Speak Out
Two physics professors – one in America and one in the UK – are condemning the behaviour of prominent climate scientists. They say it’s a violation of scientific honesty and integrity.
Scientists Have Allowed Themselves to Be Used
An award-winning meteorologist says he’s ashamed of – and embarrassed by – his profession.
Andrew Weaver vs Tim Flannery
Two activist scientists, both committed to the climate change fight, have starkly different views of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. One says it’s the most “rigorous scientific process” in which he has been involved. The other says it isn’t good science, but “lowest-common-denominator-science.”
How Do You Say ‘Independent’ in Australian?
Any government body headed by eco-campaigner Tim Flannery cannot possibly be considered “independent”.
John Holdren’s IPCC Myths
President Obama’s science advisor says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change bases its conclusions on source material that has been vetted in excruciating detail. According to IPCC insiders, this is bunk.
Climategate 2.0
A recently-released collection of candid insider comments confirms many of our worst fears about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
NASA, Climate Change, and Children
NASA used to be about the right stuff. It used to be about knowledge, human ingenuity, and the triumph of sheer brainpower in the face of unfavourable odds. Now, rather than seeking to inspire kids, NASA tries to frighten them.
Credit Where It’s Due
A news account suggests Michael Oppenheimer is a class act. Rather than calling climate skeptics “deniers” he admits they might be smart people.
The Uses and Abuses of a Nobel Prize
A news story tells us we should believe a report because a “Nobel Prize-winning climate scientist” is associated with it. But the Nobel turns out to be the same Peace Prize awarded to Al Gore – and the report’s findings are highly improbable.
The Silent Treatment
Should AGW proponents acknowledge critics? Or should they avert their eyes and block their ears?
Does Global Warming Look Like Australia?
In early 2009 the Los Angeles Times said hot, dry Australia was a warning to us all – and that things would only get worse. The very next year, dry areas were flooded and snow fell during the summer.
Forty Years of Drama Queen Scientists
No matter what the concern, drama queen scientists have been pushing the same solution for decades: less consumption, less travel & less freedom. For them, every problem is a crisis that requires radical social change.
If the Science is So Persuasive, Why the Theatrics?
If climate change science is so convincing, why did Timothy Wirth schedule James Hansen’s historic 1988 testimony during the hottest time of the year? And why did he sneak into the hearing room the night before & open the windows so there’d be no air conditioning?
A Powerful New Research Tool
A hyperlinked and annotated version of the 2007 climate bible gives us new ways of viewing this document. Produced by two dedicated volunteers, it’s a gift to the public as well as the research community.
Kevin Anderson: The Ration Card Man
Kevin Anderson says additional nuclear power plants are unnecessary because climate change can be easily dealt with. Instead, he wants to establish a costly, intrusive, liberty-restricting bureaucracy to ration your access to energy.
The Royal Society’s Big Oil Award
The UK’s Royal Society awarded an Esso Energy medal annually for 25 years. A short time later, when opinions on climate change diverged, the society began painting Esso’s parent company, ExxonMobil, as demon spawn.
Why Good Judgment Matters
Data is collected, recorded, adjusted & interpreted not by disinterested robots but by people. Because highly-educated individuals can look at the same data and come to different conclusions, the degree to which a person’s judgment can be trusted becomes a central concern.
Lest We Forget the Importance of Liberty
To a large degree the climate change story is a media story. Journalists are supposed to be guard dogs, not lap dogs. Instead, they’ve become arbiters of scientific truth – refusing to report on non-conformist perspectives.
Last of a five-part series.
Another IPCC Train Wreck: Species Extinction (Part 2)
When five out of ten lead authors of an IPCC chapter have documented links to the World Wildlife Fund their findings aren’t credible.
If We Are Not Free to Disagree, We Are Not Free
The video in which people are summarily executed for questioning the need for emissions reduction is being denounced by prominent global warming activists. Organizations that have aligned themselves with the 10:10 Campaign – such as Sony, Oxford University, and UK local governments – also need to distance themselves from it.
David Suzuki’s Odd View of Women
David Suzuki thinks women are capable of saving the world. I agree. But before we support him financially and in other ways, shouldn’t we spend a few minutes looking closely at the kind of world he wants us to fight for?
Seven (Real) Questions for David Suzuki
David Suzuki has been asked a series of softball questions by a mainstream newspaper reporter. My own list of questions begins with:
1. You think there are too many human beings, that our numbers over-burden planet Earth. Why, then, did you yourself father five children?
Anti-Science Claim Is Devoid of Meaning
During the first half of this month, activist-scientist-blogger Joe Romm described other people as anti-science on 16 separate occasions. This is the equivalent of a toddler calling everyone from the babysitter to grandad a poopy head.
Politicians Dressed in Lab Coats
When a forensic pathologist testifies at a murder trial he describes bruises, lacerations & bullet holes. He does not decide whether the accused is guilty. Nor does he opine to the media about how such murders might be prevented.
So why do climate scientists think it’s their business to prescribe solutions – rather than telling us about their data and only about their data?
The New Graduate Who Served as IPCC Lead Author
A recent medical graduate with no relevant publications was a lead author of the IPCC’s first health chapter. That report was supposed to have been written by the world’s top experts.
The Book the IPCC Plagiarized
Entire passages in the climate bible’s 1995 health chapter were lifted from a 1993 book authored by Anthony McMichael – the person the IPCC placed in charge of that chapter.
IPCC Author Profile: Alistair Woodward
In June the IPCC put Alistair Woodward in charge of the climate bible’s health chapter. He thinks doctors should “educate and encourage” their patients in “climate change action.”
Who is William R.L. Anderegg?
A naive grad student is the lead author of a controversial paper that purports to assess the credibility of scientists who hold a variety of views on climate change.
Scientists & Science Journalists – Please Grow Up
The “screaming death spiral” scientist now admits he might have overstated the Arctic ice melt situation.
The Activists, the Poll & the Data
When the biographies of university-affiliated “researchers” talk about saving the world from climate change, the polling data they produce should be taken with a grain of salt.
Shielding Climate Orthodoxy from Free Speech
American professors are encouraging journalism students to suppress certain kinds of news so that the public won’t be confused by climate skepticism. This turns journalists into arbiters of truth and treats the public like children.
James Hansen Drags NASA into His Personal Politics
Activist scientist James Hansen is entitled to his personal political views. But he should not be citing his employer in order to advance them.
NASA’s Mistaken Glacier Info
NASA’s website parroted the climate bible’s inaccurate prediction regarding the melting of Himalayan glaciers. Rather than independently confirming this prediction by collecting its own evidence, the agency simply accepted the IPCC report as authoritative.
Scientific Organizations – Should We Trust Them?
Since the 1970s, some scientists have embraced social & political activism. The public needs to be aware, therefore, that not every pronouncement made by a “scientist” is neutral or disinterested.
The Honest Broker
A moderate and pragmatic voice in the climate debate, Roger Pielke Jr. argues in this book, The Honest Broker, that scientists deserve this label when they present a variety of options to the public – rather than advocating a single course of action.
James Hansen and the Experts
Activist scientist James Hansen says the “experts agree” that meeting our current energy needs is possible via efficiency measures & carbon-free sources. But lots of experts don’t agree. Does he make a habit of pretending those with contrary opinions don’t exist?
