Saturday, April 21, 2012

Science Deniers' Tactics Pay Off

The best way to win a battle is, of course, before it even begins, simply through intimidation. And that's apparently how contrarians of science kept the Discovery Channel from mentioning man's influence on climate change in a seven-hour exploration of the crysophere. Here's how the series' producer, Vanessa Berlowitz, explained the omission to the New York Times:
“I feel that we’re trying to educate mass audiences and get children involved, and we didn’t want people saying ‘Don’t watch this show because it has a slant on climate change.’ ”
Sun Tzu might have been proud. A win that lacks nobility is still a win.

6 comments:

YFNWG said...

David,
If they mention mann-made climate change, then they have to explain why/how the current Arctic changes are different from past Arctic climate changes and how the poor polar bear survived those. And they would have to use real data, not mann-made climate models.

Dano said...

...and they would have to waste time explaining how Gish-galloping denialist drivel is really just hand-flapping to sow FUD.

Best,

D

David Appell said...

YFNWG:
1) Current Arctic changes are different because now the energy imbalance is a result of human forces, not natural ones.

2) Michael Mann doesn't make climate models.

YFNWG said...

1)That's the theory. Proving that difference is something altogether different. Hence the significant debate still occurring re attribution of observed climate phenomenon to AGW.

2)I know Mann doesn't create models. The point I was trying to make is that climate models can't be used as proof of an AGW effect when they in of themselves have not been verified as accurate.

charlesH said...

A new "denier"?

James Lovelock, the maverick scientist who became a guru to the environmental movement with his “Gaia” theory of the Earth as a single organism, has admitted to being “alarmist” about climate change and says other environmental commentators, such as Al Gore, were too.

“The problem is we don’t know what the climate is doing. We thought we knew 20 years ago. That led to some alarmist books – mine included – because it looked clear-cut, but it hasn’t happened,” Lovelock said.
“The climate is doing its usual tricks. There’s nothing much really happening yet. We were supposed to be halfway toward a frying world now,” he said.
“The world has not warmed up very much since the millennium. Twelve years is a reasonable time… it (the temperature) has stayed almost constant, whereas it should have been rising -- carbon dioxide is rising, no question about that,” he added.
He pointed to Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and Tim Flannery’s “The Weather Makers” as other examples of “alarmist” forecasts of the future.



http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11144098-gaia-scientist-james-lovelock-i-was-alarmist-about-climate-change

Dano said...

Boy, that Lovelock piece is sure making it's way to the darkest corners of the denialosphere, innit? They all seem to be dutifully parroting it.

Best,

D