Thank Goodness for the Industrial Revolution
Long the whipping boy of environmentalists, the Industrial Revolution lifted humanity out of misery and squalor.
Jordan Peterson: Climate Change Won’t Unite Us
Concern about global warming is dead last amongst 16 priorities.
Recycling: Wasting Your Time & Your Money
Spending scarce resources on a separate collection system for material no one wants isn’t sensible.
Competing Worldviews
Attempting to understand why people vote the way they do is more useful than sneering at half a country’s population.
Systematically Ignorant Nobel Laureates
Scientists score lower than chimpanzees when quizzed about basic, state-of-the-world facts.
UN Climate Panel: Meaningless Mental Masturbation
Scores of scientific minds. So much tomfoolery.
IPCC: Where Dictators Overrule Scientists
No matter how undemocratic, impoverished, sparsely-populated, or terrorism-promoting a nation might be, a sentence written by scientists will not survive if that nation objects.
IPCC: Redefining ‘Global Warming’ at the 11th Hour
On what planet is it OK for politically-determined definitions to supersede those written by actual scientists?
Mysterious IPCC Expertise
The IPCC publishes the citizenship and gender of its authors – but says nothing about their scientific expertise.
The IPCC’s Cynical Ploy
The latest IPCC report was a setup – a cynical ploy to produce alarmist media headlines that succeeded beautifully.
The Last Chance Climate Saloon
November 2000 and December 2009 were both supposed to be our last, best chance to save the planet from climate disaster. This week, the media is once again spreading this message.
IPCC Pretends the Scientific Publishing Crisis Doesn’t Exist
If climate research is like other research, half of the IPCC’s 6,000 academic citations are dubious.
Which Women Should We Believe?
Hundreds of women insist the current US Supreme Court nominee is tremendously supportive of female equality. Why doesn’t every news story offer us a chance to believe them?
Stories Versus Facts
Last week, in a sickening spectacle, grownups behaved as though a vague, wholly unproven story involving teenagers 30+ years ago is relevant to whether a candidate is fit to be a US Supreme Court judge.
Third Quarter Report
The most smug, most self-indulgent, least curious journalists in history.
BBC Ignores Widely Publicized IPCC Problems
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is essentially a law unto itself, an entrenched culture with no meaningful oversight mechanisms.
The BBC’s Naive View of the UN’s Climate Machine
The BBC is a huge bureaucracy. The geniuses running it have declared another bureaucracy – the UN’s IPCC – a font of scientific truth. How pathetic.
Harvard’s Social Justice Infection
‘Social justice’ is an extremist, left wing political analysis many consider repellent and infantile. It’s as though academics have no idea the rest of us think they’ve gone insane.
Yale: Social Justice Training Camp
Entities explicitly committed to social justice: Yale’s School of Nursing, School of Medicine, School of Public Health, School of Art, religious organizations.
The Nightmare on Campus
Reading Heather Mac Donald’s new book is like stepping into a bad dream.
School Homicides: More Unreliable Data
The average number of school-related homicides per year appears to be 33. The US Dept. of Education’s claim of ‘over 100’ in 2015-2016 should be treated with grave skepticism.
School Shootings: Why Fake Numbers Matter
Bad data fuels ill-informed decisions, wastes money, and scares kids.
Fake School Shootings
A US government report about school shootings is riddled with errors.
Sweden Democrats: That’s Enough Now
How should women dress in public given the religious views of some immigrants? Jimmie Åkesson says men ‘who feel they can’t control themselves’ are welcome to wear blindfolds.
Fooling Canadians About Refugees
As a historic number of people were applying for asylum last year, journalists insisted nothing unusual was going on.
Evidence Free Journalism
The Swedish political party that has been shouting itself hoarse about anti-Semitism is the one journalists keep describing as neo-Nazi.
Beware Swedish Election Coverage
Every time the media mentions the Sweden Democrats, we’re reminded of sins decades in the past. But there’s no parallel, incessant reminder of the Green Party’s documented links to the Nazis.
The Earthquake About to Hit Sweden
Sweden’s population: 10 million. France and UK total population: 133 million. Sweden has accepted more asylum seekers than France and UK combined.
Trump, Censorship & Media Bias
Journalists can’t seem to help themselves. Every blessed thing gets twisted.
Swedish Car Fires: A Numerical Perspective
If 3,260 vehicles had been torched in America, how safe would ordinary people be feeling?
Public Trust & Press Freedom
There’s a world of difference between denouncing media bias and sending in the military to close television stations.
The Media’s War on the Public
When Donald Trump rails against fake news he speaks for millions of people who are tired of being silenced and smeared.
InfoWars Ban: Why Hermione Granger is Smiling
The people who removed InfoWars content from Facebook, YouTube, and iTunes this week need to re-read the fifth Harry Potter book.
Behavioural Change: The Guaranteed-to-Fail Climate Solution
Changing people’s behaviour is profoundly difficult.
Media Memes
The covers of news magazines such as Time and The Economist used to tell the truth.
Polar Bear Dies, National Geographic Lies
Iconic magazine admits it published fake news. Makes no promise not to do it again.
Plastic Straw Ban: Humorous Memes
Online jokes about plastic straws provide welcome comic relief.
Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen
Why does the city of San Francisco need a full-blown Department of the Environment?
Ocean Plastic: The 1% Solution vs the 55% Solution
If we want to protect the ocean from plastic, we need to think strategically.
Coercing Your Neighbour Over Plastic Straws
Green activists are in the business of taking away choices.
Butter, Cream & Grains of Salt
Peer-reviewed science can be found to support nearly every position.
Secretive Blacklists & The Economist Magazine
Reporting on peer review, The Economist misses the elephant in the room – and advocates unjust hiring practices.
Wholesome Family Fun
Unlike many dads cast by Hollywood, this one is competent, accomplished, and a pillar of the community.
More Oxford University Fake News
A webpage vetted by Oxford is misleading the public about a fake geological era.
Greenpeace’s Nazca Vandalism: Half-Truths & Trifling Consequences
Only one person has been held accountable. To this day, Greenpeace refuses to identify the full list of culprits.
What the Thai Cave Rescue Teaches Us About Nature
Humans make things safe, clean, and healthy.
Oxford University Spreads Fake News
The most reputable publishers imaginable are misinforming the public about basic geology.
Anthropocene: The Media’s Fake Geological Epoch
Journalists declaring something to be the case before it has actually happened is outrageous and unethical.
The Recycled Plastic Scandal
Green groups fantasize about a world in which everything is virtuously recycled. They’re prepared to use other nations as refuse heaps in pursuit of that fantasy.
Second Quarter Report
Green groups are not David with a slingshot. They are Goliath. Please support the scrutiny & skepticism I bring to environmental issues.
Hallucinations in High Places (More on the 1988 Hansen Climate Hearing)
Powerful people construct amazingly inaccurate narratives about their own lives.
What Really Happened 30 Years Ago?
In the climate world, the line between real and fake is strangely murky.
Journalists Relied on James Hansen’s Say-So
The media’s climate frenzy was sparked by a scientist who’s research was still unpublished.
Laundry Blues & Greens: Part 1
A friend has long complained that her energy efficient, front-load washing machine takes forever.
Extinction is Inevitable
Species come and species go. Humanity’s role is smaller than most of us imagine.
Banning Plastic Straws, Harming Real People
Causing real harm with no realistic chance of improving the world makes no sense.
From Carbon Footprint to Plastic Footprint
Polluted waterways are one more reason not to litter. Rather than making this point, greens are demonizing plastic.
Greens Are Pivoting, Plastic is Their New Obsession
Politicians & 10-year-olds think banning drinking straws in rich nations will address improper garbage disposal in poor ones.
Ehrlich’s Guide to Being an Intrusive A**hole
People with 8 kids should be told they “surely would not behave that way today.” Those considering a third should be accused of self-indulgence.
Why Paul Ehrlich Matters
If it had been within his power to take the steps he insisted were necessary, the human rights abuses would have been horrendous.
Anything Goes When You’re Saving the World
Paul Ehrlich advocated the use of US helicopters so that Indian peasants could be kidnapped & forcibly sterilized.
How They Sold ‘The Population Bomb’
Threats of famine, dead children, bombs, nuclear war, and oblivion.
The Science of Self-Control
Another idea, supposedly confirmed by science, turns out to have little scientific foundation.
If You See Something, Say Something
Why Scott Adams thinks we have a moral obligation to praise others.
Scott Adams on How Failure Can Breed Success
The Dilbert cartoonist remembers what it was like to be a young person from a small town, with few role models and fewer connections.
How Much Plastic is Polluting the Ocean?
Peer-reviewed studies, published six months apart, produce wildly different estimates.
Coleman Hughes on the ‘Racism Treadmill’
We regularly urge young people to think outside the box. Hughes is doing just that.
Is Tomato Soup Good for You?
‘Healthy’ is now being defined in radically different ways, by different interest groups.
Eat Your Veggies (With Lots of Butter)
In the low-carb universe, vegetables are served with lots of butter, mayonnaise, and hollandaise.
The Most Trusted Canadian Is A Dick
In person, David Suzuki is reportedly foul-mouthed and rude.
Totalitarian Thinker David Suzuki
On June 7th, the University of Alberta will lionize someone who rejects freedom of thought.
Suzuki: No iPad for You, But Australian Digs for Me
For the past 30 years, carbon-footprint-warrior David Suzuki has considered Australia his second home.
David Suzuki’s Actions Speak Louder Than His Words
He decries over-population, but fathers 5 kids. He’s against economic growth, but his once-tiny foundation now has offices in 3 cities.
Skin in the Game
Emotionally attached to ideas, some of us have little interest in how they perform in the real world.
Europe’s Jews Are Living in Fear
Naive compassion for some people endangers the safety of others.
Why is Discrimination Against Asians OK?
Full-fledged racism is being practiced by the very institutions that claim to abhor it.
Invisible Scientific Debates
Scientific debate can’t accomplish its purpose if we pretend there is no debate.
Self-Correcting Science: A Slow & Haphazard Process
The celebrated ability of science to self-correct is accompanied by some major caveats.
Perverse Scientific Incentives
There are structural reasons for the low quality of much scientific research.
Science is Not Truth
We need to lose our naivete. Many scientific findings are neither crisp nor clear.
Polar Bears & the Sleazy New York Times
A gang of 14 scientists attack a lone scientist in an academic journal. Erica Goode justifies & amplifies the assault in the Times.
The Sierra Club: Usurping Power from Elected Officials
When you give money to the Sierra Club, you’re doing three bad things.
Support the Sierra Club, Enrich the Lawyers
The Sierra Club is a lawsuit factory. Responding to its legal assaults wastes mountains of public money.
The Sierra Club’s Grassroots Deception
The Sierra Club is swimming in money from affluent individuals, wealthy foundations, and blue chip companies. This is not a grassroots organization.
Climate Change in the Courts
For well-funded green groups (and a growing list of governments), lawyers are weapons and courtrooms are a political battleground.
Is Fruit Good for You?
Fruit may be natural, but its sugar content has increased due to selective breeding.
First Quarter Report
Since relaunching this blog on January first, I’ve published 38 new posts – including one in Swedish. Please help me continue.
Chicken Wings & Potato Skins: My New Health Food
If fat were the villain we’ve been told it is, I should have gained 40 pounds.
When Scientific Evidence is Ambiguous, Private Philosophies Matter
Some discoveries are easy to measure and easy to verify. But much of science is about groping in the dark.
For Greenpeace, Honesty is Just a Word
Greenpeace tells a court that everyone knows its campaigns are based on opinions & interpretations rather than hard facts.
Free Speech Hypocrisy at Greenpeace
Greenpeace thinks people who spread ‘misinformation’ have no right to be heard. Yet, suddenly, it’s waving the free speech flag.
Forget Left/Right Politics, Read This Book
No thinking person should hold strong climate opinions unless they’ve carefully considered a range of viewpoints.
Defining High Blood Pressure
Changing definitions of ‘normal’ blood pressure means more people are coping with drug side effects.
Bogus Blood Pressure Readings
Doctors and nurses rarely follow the rules when collecting important info about our health.
Medical Flip-Flops
Standard medical practice is often pointless, risky – and a waste of money.
Sverige Begår Självmord
I Sverige dog pressfrihet för 25 år sedan.
[Swedish translation of previous post]
Muzzling the Tolerant, Celebrating the Intolerant
Journalists think their job is to shame ordinary people into silence lest they say something politically incorrect about the scale and pace of European immigration.
Numbers Matter
If 10 times more immigrants turn up than were predicted by government experts, where’s affordable housing supposed to come from?
Immigration is a Class Issue
Elites make immigration decisions, while the working class lives with the consequences.
Why We Need Jordan Peterson
While the rest of us are playing hopscotch, he’s battling humanity’s demons.
Jordan Peterson: Making Me Laugh
Taking a fresh look at some fundamental moral ideas.
Indoctrination 101
Learning to be shrill. Apparently, this is now the goal of higher education.
Taught to Think Like Censors
Young people are being systematically taught to disdain free speech. And your tax dollars are paying for it.
Freedom to Speak, Freedom to Hear
University activists now behave like fascists: stifling unpopular perspectives and denying others the opportunity to hear those perspectives firsthand.
Fossil Fuels Save Lives
It is immoral to deny needy people access to fossil fuels because experts have made dire predictions about the future.
Don’t Be Prejudiced
Our analysis of fossil fuels needs to be wholistic – not one-sided.
Experts Suck at Predicting the Future
Being an expert in a particular field doesn’t make you smart about the big picture.
Jordan Peterson: Helping Young Men Reboot Their Lives
Young people are told incessantly that everything they might want to do with their lives harms the planet.
Crucial Climate Verdict, Naked Conflict-of-Interest
IPCC scientists routinely evaluate their own work. What could possibly go wrong?
Crucial Climate Verdict, Fledgling Evidence
History’s most momentous climate decision was based on research so preliminary it wasn’t published in a scientific journal until seven months later.
Unethical Behaviour at the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association didn’t bother to replicate pivotal research before it told the public to change its behaviour. The result was an uncontrolled public health experiment.
About That French Paradox
When scientists began believing that high fat diets & heart disease went together, this wasn’t true in 8 European countries.
When Government Makes You Fat
After the high-carbohydrate Food Pyramid was introduced, diabetes shot through the roof.
Were Aerosol Spray Cans Really a Threat?
Politicians will pass laws – and regulators will issue bans – long before there’s strong evidence of harm.
The Harvey Weinstein of the Climate World
Some news outlets still haven’t reported on the 3-year-old sexual harassment allegations against prominent climate official, Rajendra Pachauri.
Lightweight Climate News
When governments manipulate the news, most journalists fall into line.
Politics Always Win
Scientists aren’t in charge of interpreting climate research. They’re cogs in a political machine.
Dangerous Climate Change: No Smoking Gun
The claim that human activity is triggering a climate apocalypse is based on expert opinion and best estimates.
Climate Change is Normal
Insisting that ‘climate change is real’ is like insisting that blood is red.
Change is Natural
The bees and the butterflies have their own story, their own rhythms.
Nature Wants You Dead
The natural world isn’t kind or pristine. We need to stop telling children that disturbing it is sinful.
Re-Launching January 1st
This blog is adopting a new format. Posts will appear every Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
Obesity, Diet Pills & Death
Whether it’s climate science or medical science, a fake crisis leads to bad decisions that harm real people.
Suddenly Sick: The Foibles of Medical Science
Climate science and medical science have things in common. Including suspect behaviour on the part of the United Nations.
Steven Chu’s Juvenile Score Keeping
When someone’s won a Nobel Prize, who cares how long they served in Cabinet?
Science Funding Misinformation
A headline on a news story falsely claims that ‘9 countries outspend the US on science.’ In fact, America spends more than all nine combined.
Bill Nye, Fake Facts & the New York Times
I’m aware of two occasions in which the Science Guy has misled the public. But the New York Times says he’s saving us from misinformation.
Science and the Issue of Trust
Many messages emanating from the world of science are entirely bogus.
Trump, Stalin & Fake News
Australia’s chief scientist falls for a fake news story, compares President Trump to Joseph Stalin.
US Scientific Integrity Rules Repudiate the UN Climate Process
The US government says it’s a violation of scientific integrity for political officials to alter scientific findings. But political revision is central to how IPCC reports get produced.
Politicizing Science at the US Dept. of Energy
How does encouraging scientists to criticize government policy enhance scientific integrity?
Obama’s War on the Media
After promising the most transparent government in history, President Obama sharply curtailed press access, aggressively prosecuted leaks, and spied on journalists.
Medical Researchers vs the UN Climate Panel
An organization representing medical researchers believes unpublished work is too shaky to be included in grant applications, yet the world’s most important climate body has long relied on such research.
Wind Turbines: Lots of Problems, No Free Energy
In the dying days of 2016, three serious wind turbine malfunctions occurred in a small corner of Europe.
Our Ignorance is Breathtaking – We Should be Humble
We humans consistently miss the big picture. The world is improving dramatically, but our brains are addicted to worry and fear.
Fake News: Not New and Not Rare
The fairy tale about Nobel laureate climate experts demonstrates that just because you hear it on the BBC or read it in The New York Times doesn’t mean it’s true.
Greens & Feminists: Equally Nasty
Preparing a 20th anniversary edition of my first book helped me realize that environmentalism and feminism both began as reasonable social movements. But then they turned intolerant and extremist.
Left-wing Climate Reexamination
UK Labour Party veteran says climate policies that hurt the poor must be abandoned.
Empty Bellies and Carbon Taxed Food
Carbon taxes at the gas pump are just the beginning. Oxford University researchers think we should pay carbon taxes on food.
How Peer Review is Used to Shut Down Debate
Some inhabitants of the Ivory Tower are using peer review – a process that helps scholarly journals decide what to print – as a shield to hide behind. Delegitimizing public input about publicly-funded science is arrogant and counterproductive.
Peer Review Is Bunk
A report I wrote for the Global Warming Policy Foundation was released today. It explains that peer-reviewed research is as likely to be wrong as right. Basing public policy on findings that haven’t yet been reproduced is nuts.