Big Picture News, Informed Analysis

Canadian journalist Donna Laframboise. Former National Post & Toronto Star columnist, past vice president of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Turning the Page

I have a new blog, for my new book. Come visit and sign up.

April 17, 2022

Moving Forward

Everyday decisions by ordinary citizens matter more than who’s in the White House.

November 4, 2020

Science, Skepticism, and Irony

An impressive new book about the shortcomings of scientific research is inadvertently ironic.

August 31, 2020

Benghazi, Fake News, and Extraordinary Heroes

Much of the conservative narrative about Benghazi is wrong.

August 10, 2020

Environmentalism for the Non-Naive

Like colonialists of old, affluent green activists impose their will on poor people in impoverished countries who have no means of defending themselves. 

July 27, 2020

Sea Turtles and Plastics – The Bigger Picture

Plastics saved sea turtles, when tortoiseshell luxury goods became mass market items. 

July 13, 2020

Freeman Dyson: Quotable Quotes

An important scientist has left us, but his books and interviews remain.

March 2, 2020

Fieldwork Fail: Funny Book About Natural Science

A great gift for all ages.

September 18, 2019

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.

December 12, 2016

Is Science Really Self-Correcting?

No one wants to confront scientific fraud. Not managers, not journals, and not lab colleagues. So the system isn’t designed to prevent it.

April 11, 2016

Another Look at Science

Since the early 1980s, grave concerns have been raised about the process by which scientific evidence gets produced.

April 1, 2016

Bob Carter: Scientist, Mentor, Extraordinary Human Being

A shining beacon of how to lead by example, I am fortunate to have crossed paths with him.

January 24, 2016

Fanatics for Mother Gaia

French philosopher Pascal Bruckner says fundamentalist eco activists are steering society in a scary direction.

February 15, 2015

Waking Up from the Green Nightmare

A scathing critique of anti-human environmentalism, by a prominent French philosopher, is now an affordable e-book.

October 20, 2014

The Royal Society & the Scottish Referendum

Why has the president of the world’s oldest science body issued a statement about Scotland’s independence vote? Why go near that thoroughly political question with a 10-foot pole?

September 26, 2014

Skepticism Used to be a Scientific Virtue

20 years ago, scientific superstar Carl Sagan urged us to use our brains – to be actively skeptical.

February 24, 2014

Climate Skepticism in Norway

There should be spaces in our communities where climate skeptics can speak freely. A group in Norway is an excellent example.

November 25, 2013

The Three Languages of Politics

People see the world differently. If we’re going to do more than preach to our respective choirs in the climate debate, we need to recognize this.

October 27, 2013

Canadian Thanksgiving

I’m feeling especially grateful for a recent book review in the Tuscon Citizen – and for the ones left by readers on Amazon.com and it’s related websites.

October 11, 2013

The Bad Novel and the New Climate Report

Pachauri’s 2010 work of fiction and the credibility of the IPCC’s 2013-2014 climate report are now inextricably linked.

September 29, 2013

My ‘Wall Street Journal’ Op-Ed

There are many reasons to distrust the UN’s climate panel. Let’s start with political meddling and authors linked to green lobby groups.

September 25, 2013

Into the Dustbin (my new book)

My new book takes a close look at Rajendra Pachauri, the man in charge of the UN entity that will release a new climate report later this month. It’s available as a paperback, a Kindle e-book, or an instantly downloadable PDF.

September 10, 2013

See You in September

The (fully-searchable) electronic version of my book, The Delinquent Teenager, will soon cost $7.99 rather than $4.99. This is the only book-length evaluation of the IPCC by an independent journalist. The IPCC will release Part 1 of its new climate assessment in late September.

August 7, 2013

The IPCC, UFOs & Pseudoscience

The head of the IPCC has written a novel in which the central character is infatuated with pseudoscience and in which UFO enthusiast Shirley MacLaine is presented as credible. The final installment of the Nobel Laureate Summer Reading series.

July 31, 2013

Nobel Laureate Summer Reading – Part 4

Girl spurns boy, marries someone else, and is anally raped on her honeymoon. Girl comes crawling back to boy, begging for forgiveness, and pleading for one more chance.

July 29, 2013

Nobel Laureate Summer Reading – Part 3

There’s nothing wrong with writing a sex-saturated novel. But IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri says this book is “all about spirituality.”

July 27, 2013

Nobel Laureate Summer Reading – Part 2

Between the ages of four and six, our hero is judged to be the smartest, gets “revenge against the whole world,” and is preferred by the girls.

July 25, 2013

Nobel Laureate Summer Reading – Part 1

Tidbit #1 from Rajendra Pachauri’s 2010 novel. HSBC, the huge multinational bank, has linked its brand to this strange, stilted prose.

July 24, 2013

More on Stephen Emmott, Author of ‘Ten Billion’

A new book appears to be a rehash of 40-year-old environmental scaremongering endorsed by that era’s men of science.

July 3, 2013

The Coming Hellhole – Exhibit #7 of the Drama Queen Files

Emergency! Catastrophe! Earth is turning into an unprecedented hellhole – according to an Oxford professor and Microsoft official.

July 2, 2013

Why Fossil Fuels Improve the Planet

A free, shortish book defends – and celebrates – oil and coal.

June 6, 2013

The Way Nature Intended

The natural world is heartless and cruel. Yet we humans equate ‘natural’ with ‘good’.

May 12, 2013

David Suzuki: All Mining Must Stop

According to Canada’s most prominent environmentalist, the mining of gold, silver, copper and other minerals poses an unacceptable risk to the planet’s atmosphere.

May 2, 2013

How Climate Scientists Think

Nobel-winning work about self-delusion and flawed judgment applies to all of us – even climatologists.

April 26, 2013

Earth Day an Oil Industry Scam?

According to 1960s radicals, the environmental movement has been funded and orchestrated by fossil fuel interests.

April 23, 2013

Earth Day 1970 (The Drama Queen Files, Exhibit #4)

The language being used in 1970, the year Earth Day was born, hasn’t changed much: Crisis. Catastrophe. Endangered. Extinction.

April 22, 2013

New Beginnings

It’s springtime. Here’s hoping that our eyes are opening along with the blossoms.

March 29, 2013

Speaking of the Children

Half of children perish in pre-industrial societies. Take your pick: a bucolic, green fantasy world – or one that’s safe for kids.

March 26, 2013

For the Sake of the Children

Climate crusaders urge us to Think of the children! But that can be used by anyone to advance any argument under the sun.

March 25, 2013

Seeing Polar Bears

Most polar bear info is filtered through an activist lens. Here are some alternative views.

March 17, 2013 · 1 Comment

Papering Over Sappy Bill McKibben

A new, 73-page paper about America’s “most visible environmental activist” doesn’t mention that he’s an emotional basketcase.

March 12, 2013

Writing About Climate Change

Is a new academic network just a cover for climate activists?

February 8, 2013

Happy New Year!

The German translation of my book is now in bookstores, readers of this blog are generous souls, and a troubling examination of free speech on university campuses sheds light on the climate debate.

January 2, 2013

Celebrating Human Life

A searing critique of environmental thought has emerged from an unlikely source – contemporary French philosophy.

November 6, 2012

Australia, I’m Looking Forward to Meeting You

Reserve your spot on my four-city speaking tour – or purchase the brand new Australian edition of my book.

June 13, 2012

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.

May 26, 2012

Bob Carter: A Geological Perspective

A climate debate that includes Al Gore’s climate ideas – but not Bob Carter’s – is no debate at all.

February 6, 2012

German-Language News

It’s official. The Delinquent Teen is being translated into German and will be for sale in German bookstores later this year.

January 14, 2012

What Financial Meltdowns Teach Us About the IPCC

When I describe the surreal world of climate science to people who are strangers to that world I know it sounds fantastical. But there are strong parallels with the recently destroyed economies of Iceland, Greece, and Ireland.

January 5, 2012

‘Delinquent Teen’ Press Clippings

Reviews of my book continue to appear in Switzerland, South Africa, the UK, and the US.

December 12, 2011

My Own Josh Cartoon

The IPCC has, so far, ignored my book. But perhaps I’m having an impact nevertheless.

December 3, 2011

News & Reviews

At the end of 2011 Treehugger.com continues to portray IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri as a saint.

November 14, 2011

When the IPCC Makes an Error, Is it the Journalist’s Fault?

I trusted the IPCC’s website when it listed the lead authors of one of its chapters. If that list is wrong am I the party who hasn’t been careful?

November 4, 2011

Book Sightings & an Invite to Germany

Some book reviews, an excerpt in The Huffington Post, and an invitation to speak at a climate change conference in Munich.

November 3, 2011

A Paperback is Born

My book is now available as a paperback. Thank you for your patience.

October 28, 2011

I’m Interviewed About Peter Gleick & Other Matters

I’ve not commented on Peter Gleick’s one-star review of my book on Amazon.com prior to this interview.

October 28, 2011

Paperback Update

The paperback edition of The Delinquent Teenager will make its debut within the next 48 hours.

October 26, 2011

WWF Issues Press Release About My Book

The World Wildlife Fund says the charge that scientists linked to its organization have infiltrated the IPCC is ‘ludicrous.’ I suppose it’s a total coincidence that more than 2/3rds of the IPCC report’s chapters included at least one WWF-affiliated individual.

October 24, 2011

National Post Excerpt & Review

Canada’s National Post newspaper is running an excerpt of my book this weekend. It may be the only newspaper on the planet employing three climate skeptic journalists.

October 21, 2011

Book Review in an Arizona Newspaper

The Delinquent Teenager has been reviewed in the Tuscon Citizen.

October 20, 2011

You Folks Are Fantastic!

Thanks so much for the purchases, the reviews, and the growing momentum! See a sample of the PDF edition here.

October 19, 2011

Please Review My Book on Amazon

Please consider leaving a review of my book on the Amazon store websites. These reviews really do matter.

October 15, 2011

A Book is Born

Digital editions of my book can now be purchased from Amazon.com, as well as Amazon outlets in the UK, Germany, and France. An instantly-downloadable PDF edition is also available.

October 13, 2011

Of Footnotes & Factchecking (book update)

My book-length exposé of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will be available soon.

September 7, 2011

About My Book

My book has a new title – and will be available in September.

July 14, 2011

E-Book Tipping Point

Amazon.com says e-books have begun out-selling hardcover and paperback books combined. Climate titles that don’t have an e-book edition are now at a serious disadvantage.

May 22, 2011

Bill McKibben’s Bad Example

Those seemingly nice people brimming with such concern for the planet are actually profoundly intolerant.

February 11, 2011

Is Everything Really Getting Worse?

David Suzuki says the planet is in “far worse shape” today than 50 years ago. But a growing library of exhaustively researched books claim the opposite.

February 8, 2011

Future Babble

Possessing scholarly expertise is one thing. Being able to predict the future is another matter entirely. Future Babble is a book that explores the question of why expert predictions fail – and why we believe them anyway.

December 27, 2010

Speaking of Holiday Cheer…

Please consider supporting this blog and my book-in-progress. Via a PayPal donation button, you can buy me a holiday cocktail, so to speak.

December 4, 2010

Why I’m Giving ‘The Hockey Stick Illusion’ for Christmas

It’s difficult to read Andrew Montford’s Hockey Stick Illusion book and not conclude that something is terribly amiss – in the world of science, in scientific publishing, and within the bowels of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

December 3, 2010

The Shoddy Climategate Inquiries

A new report examines three UK inquiries launched after the Climategate documents surfaced in late 2009. Intended to restore public confidence, those inquiries have done nothing of the sort.

September 14, 2010

The Book the IPCC Plagiarized

Entire passages in the IPCC’s 1995 report were lifted from a 1993 book authored by Anthony McMichael – the IPCC person in charge of the health chapter.

September 3, 2010

IPCC Says Climate Prediction Impossible

In its 2001 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change admitted that long-term climate prediction is not possible. So why are we telling kids the world won’t be habitable by the time they grow up?

June 30, 2010

The Auditor – A Cartoon by Josh

A cartoon pays homage to Steve McIntyre, a private Canadian citizen who believes climate research findings need to be verified by independent third parties. Having led a multi-year crusade to ensure this happens, an excellent book has now been written about McIntyre’s efforts.

March 16, 2010

Let There Be No More Scientific Consensuses

Science is about doubt – not certainty. Journalism is supposed to reveal – not conceal. When scientific organizations claim there’s a consensus, they step over the line into political advocacy. When media outlets trumpet said consensus they “disappear” highly-qualified, dissenting scientists.

February 26, 2010

The Cult of the Expert

Experts have often been spectacularly wrong. Believing their predictions – rather than thinking for ourselves – isn’t smart.

February 16, 2010

Our Hyperactive Planet

Planet Earth experiences frequent volcanoes, earthquakes, electrical storms, tsunamis & tornadoes. It’s unlikely that this immense, complex system can be controlled by humans.

December 8, 2009

We HAVE Heard This Rhetoric Before

A book published in the 1970s argued passionately that society couldn’t afford to ignore the danger posed by global cooling. The evidence was too strong, it said – and scientists who disagreed were being irresponsible. Sound familiar?

December 8, 2009

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.

November 17, 2009

Bullies Need Not Apply

Rather than working to persuade the skeptically-minded, global warming activists condemn. They name-call. They accuse. This isn’t the sort of behaviour one associates with an iron-clad case.

November 13, 2009

Climate Confusion

Roy Spencer is a bona fide climate scientist who disagrees with the dangerous global warming hypothesis. I review his book Climate Confusion – and also discuss Bill McKibben’s The End of Nature.

November 12, 2009

Political Idealogues Are Bad for the Environment

When political ideology is taken to an extreme, when it becomes the primary driving force behind decision-making, really bad things happen to both humans and the environment. Mao’s War Against Nature is a scary book – and a cautionary tale.

October 24, 2009

Bias: How the Media Distort the News

Bernie Goldberg worked on news shows for 28 years at CBS television. His book has illuminating things to say about purported investigative news programs & other topics. “Scaring the hell out of people makes for good television,” he writes, “even when it makes for shallow journalism.”

Exploring a long list of highly questionable media scare stories, Goldberg reminds us that, in 1987, Oprah Winfrey told her viewers 1 in 5 American heterosexuals would be dead from AIDS within 3 years.

October 23, 2009

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.

September 27, 2009

An Appeal to Reason

Nigel Lawson’s An Appeal to Reason provides an overview of the good reasons to be skeptical of the hype surrounding global warming. The world would be a more sensible place if journalists, politicians & educators spent a few hours reading its 100 pages.

September 26, 2009