Shawn Otto, author of the recent book, Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America, left an interesting comment at the thread of my recent Yale Forum post: The reason the [climate] skeptics have any power at all is not because what they say is credible, because based on the facts it is…Continue Reading…
I want whatever David Roberts at Grist is smoking. In his latest why-don’t-you-fools-get-it post, Roberts takes aim at his own “climate hawk coalition,” for…um…trying a new approach that backgrounds climate change and refocuses the discussion on innovation, energy security, and economic competitiveness. Now why would they do that? The old (business as usual) approach–Climate doom!…Continue Reading…
And extreme discomfort with the issue, judging by this story: In an effort to survey Republicans on climate change, National Journal reporters reached out to every GOP senator and representative. Over the course of several weeks, reporters either attempted to interview lawmakers in person, or called or e-mailed their offices. Most of them “rebuffed repeated inquiries,” according…Continue Reading…
As someone who’s long been interested in paleoenvironmental research–especially with respect to archaeology–I have a soft spot for tree ring researchers. The development of tree ring chronologies plays a major role (under-appreciated by the public) in the understanding of many ancient cultures and the prehistoric land use and climatic changes of their time So it’s…Continue Reading…
Andy Revkin must feel like a wind dummy everyone’s punching bag. Last week, he had the temerity to say that “climategate” 2, like the 2009 episode, couldn’t be easily dismissed. So of course he got slapped around by all sorts of people in the climate concerned community, including some prominent scientists: You are claiming that…Continue Reading…
Last week, after a second batch of climate science emails were publicly released, I got the sense that most science and environmental reporters assigned to cover the story were holding their noses. They dutifully reported the basics, but were not inclined to treat the latest disclosures as especially newsworthy, much less as a story with…Continue Reading…
If you’re following press coverage of the second wave of purloined email communications between climate scientists, you might have noticed that many in the media have turned their attention to the whodunit angle. This is very much a worthy story to pursue (which I’ll have more to say on in a few days), since the…Continue Reading…
The reaction thus far to the latest release of climate science emails (“son of climategate”) has played out along two tracks. Each has separate storylines. In the feverish precincts of the climate blogosphere, especially those in permanent battle mode, the response has been predictable. Anthony Watts is in full swoon and Marc Morano has turned on all…Continue Reading…
No doubt, regular readers have already heard the news. Lucia’s header is clever, but I like mine better. So the timing is obvious, of course, as Andy Revkin sardonically notes in a tweet. Richard Tol seems wearily perplexed: and here we go again — as if Durban isn’t dead enough During some back and forth…Continue Reading…
Governments of the world’s richest countries have given up on forging a new treaty on climate change to take effect this decade, with potentially disastrous consequences for the environment through global warming. Ahead of critical talks starting next week, most of the world’s leading economies now privately admit that no new global climate agreement will be reached…Continue Reading…