As a parent of two small children, one who gives me grief if I forget to turn out a light in our apartment, I can relate to the eco-guilt heaped on this Economist blogger: The kids bug me when I drive to the neighbourhood store rather than walking, because it “poisons the atmosphere”. They bug…Continue Reading…
I tend to think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about the meaning of peak oil, a term that is becoming ubiquitous in public discussions of energy and climate change. So I want to highlight this articulate definition, which is devoid of hyperbole and concludes with a modest nod to peak oil’s relevance: In my opinion,…Continue Reading…
To understand why the new global warming survey by Stanford’s Jon Krosnick is such a mixed bag for climate advocates, just read Kevin Drum’s despairing reaction to it. But I’m getting ahead of myself. As Krosnick lays out convincingly in this meaty NYT op-ed: huge majorities of Americans still believe the earth has been gradually…Continue Reading…
Climate skeptics may be loathe to admit this, but they have a Monckton problem. The guy is just too clownish to be taken seriously, as Lucia recently demonstrated. Yet, there’s no denying he’s the go-to-guy, the U.S. Congressional Republican witness, the conference headliner, the unofficial spokesman who is quoted prominently by the NYT. So this…Continue Reading…
I’m currently moving to a new and better comment system, which means all the site’s comments (from the last year) are now migrating to the new place. But it’s taking a little while. All comments will reappear within the next half hour or so. I hope this makes for more readable threads. **UPDATE** All comments…Continue Reading…
Are traditional journalists who take a vow of objectivity walking around like libido-suppressed priests? Except that reporters struggle to keep a lid on their opinions? Here’s Matt Welch, a former UPI reporter, on the Helen Thomas eruption: I am tempted to feel bad for an 89-year-old lady getting caught in what might be passed off…Continue Reading…
People are rarely what they appear to be. This seems odd: Even though I write about environmental issues a fair bit, I don’t care much for nature, personally. Never go on strolls through the woods or hikes through the hills. The snippet of green space inside D.C. traffic circles is about as much as I can…Continue Reading…
Judith Curry is at it again. This time she’s mixing it up with the denizens of Climate Audit, including its host. She’s been active in some of the recent CA threads, jousting with McIntyre, but this duel on climate data is notable. I will say this: she’s treated more politely over there by folks who…Continue Reading…
The NYT uses the Gulf oil disaster as a hook to examine the peak oil “collapsitarians.” Some of them are a bit overwrought, it seems, and want to do more than rub their worry beads. Fortunately, there’s a new cottage industry catering to their anxieties. The theme of the NYT story can be gleaned from…Continue Reading…
There’s no resisting a great headline, so thanks to Michael Tobis for pointing me to this bit of hilarity via his Google reader. But if you absolutely must take James Cameron seriously, then head over to Revkin’s place. As for Cameron’s walk-on role in the gulf oil gusher epic, my brain tells me that Andy’s…Continue Reading…