by John Goetz
I just ran across the following news article from Pitchfork Media:
Jarvis, Feist Sail to Arctic to Investigate Global Warming
Laurie Anderson, Robyn Hitchcock, Martha Wainwright, and Ryuichi Sakamoto too!
Feist, Jarvis Cocker, and a bunch of other artists board a ship to the Arctic to investigate climate change. It sounds like a strange reality show, but it’s actually straight-up reality.
Yesterday (September 25), a crew of scientists, artists, engineers, and journalists boarded a science research vessel in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland bound for Disko Bay. Soon, they’ll travel across the front of the Jakobshavn Glacier, “one of Greenland’s largest glaciers moving at a faster rate than ever before, losing 20 million tons of ice every day,” according to the description from expedition organizers Cape Farewell.
The point of the trip, in addition to scientific research, is “to inspire the creative team to respond to climate change both in the Arctic and on their return.” Apparently, at the airport, “Feist checked her guitar (Robyn Hitchcock requested that everybody who has one bring it for a little Arctic jam).”
In addition to Feist and Jarvis Cocker, the list of musicians on board includes Robyn Hitchcock, Martha Wainwright, Ryuichi Sakamoto, KT Tunstall, Laurie Anderson, and…Vanessa Carlton. How fitting!
I admit I am not hip. I have never heard of these artists. But it appears this trip includes a veritable who’s who of today’s influential artists.
- Luke Bullen, an English drummer and percussionist. Bullen joined the band Addict in 1995 and later formed the band Zanderman with Addict’s lead singer Mark Aston.
- David Noble, a youth leader, consultant, researcher, writer, speaker, activist and “something of a rogue” with a crazy vision of an entire generation of young people contributing all they can in the collective response to the global climate crisis.
- Tracey Rowledge, an artist who works with the traditional materials and techniques of bookbinding and gilding, making books and wall pieces that explore the line between spontaneity and the deliberately crafted.
- Julian Stair, a potter, academic and writer.
- Graham Hill, a self-described serial entrepreneur, do-gooder and designer, who started TreeHugger.com in 2004.
- Nicole Krauss, the author of the international bestseller, The History of Love, which won France’s Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger and Amazon’s #1 Book of the Year, and was short-listed for the Orange, Médicis, and Femina prizes.
- Marcus Brigstocke, a stand-up comic, writer, presenter and actor, who hosts The Late Edition, a live topical TV show on BBC 4.
Of course, all of the artists have obtained advanced degrees in climatology, which is why we should pay attention to their trek north and respect any conclusions they draw.
That’s so right Anothony .We dare not disagree with anyone who’s on the global warming wagon but now if we disagree with all the global warming nuts then we are narrow minded.
More suckers for a bad cause. But very media saavy. As a targeted attack on the minds of today’s youth, this is very effective.
From the Good Book (Luke 12:51-53) and 2nd Thessalonians 2:11
“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
11 “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie”
Out of context, yes, but appropriate to the situation.
Gee, I hope somebody warned them about all the starving polar bears.
The song “Ride, Captain, Ride” comes to mind..
“Ride, Captain, Ride, upon your mystery ship…”
It is always so strange that the warmers pick the coldest place on the planet to demonstrate global warming.
I have no idea why ice and snow has become the symbol for global warming. Obviously, this is a place that could benefit from a little warming. Why don’t they go to the Sahara desert or Death Valley or something? Why do people fall for a photo op on a glacier or a frozen Arctic ocean?
That saddens me. Artists, writers and musicians are the “soul” of a society. The AGW sickness has struck deep within our very core when they go along with a lie.
[snip none of this kind of talk -Anthony]
Oh spare us these activists and eco-tourists.
The Greenland Ice Sheet receives about 3 feet of fresh snow per year. If the glaciers around the periphery didn’t discharge huge amounts of ice, after ten thousand years there would be a mound of ice taller than Mount Everest. After a few million years it would go all the way to the moon.
AGW brings out a lot of stupidity in people, but nowhere is it more evident than around Greenland.
I think they started a little late – maybe they ought to talk to the kayaker.
such a shame – there’s never a submerged iceberg around when you need one. (aplogiies to John Derbyshire)
Of course, they purchased appropriate carbon credits from Gore. Considering their proximity to the very thing they claim they want to protect, those credits should be very expensive.
At last! Thank the Lord that at last we have a bunch of climate experts who can finally resolve this warming dillema!
Sorry! Dilemma!
Tom in Texas (17:31:58) :
I think they started a little late – maybe they ought to talk to the kayaker.
Yeah, but they’ll have a better chance of getting stuck in new ice.
What was the name of those two women that went to the arctic to see the damage from global warming? They brought special suits so that the could swim between icebergs. Both ended up with severe frostbite having found themselves stuck in -100 F temps.
I wonder if this bunch of coconuts will suffer a similar fate? Or will they bother even getting off the boat? Any chance they end up like Ernest Shackleton?
“Of course, all of the artists have obtained advanced degrees in climatology, which is why we should pay attention to their trek north and respect any conclusions they draw.”
Well, at least we know Laurie Anderson is an expert:
Chris D:
Aaaaah! My ears!! MAKE IT STOP!!
That saddens me. Artists, writers and musicians are the “soul” of a society. The AGW sickness has struck deep within our very core when they go along with a lie.
Don’t let it bother you. Those bazoos have been wrong about every important issue from foreign policy to demographics to the environment for as long as I can remember.
This is one of those “the more things change the more they stay the same” things.
And no, they will never admit they were wrong, and no, they will not learn from the experience.
No point losing any sleep over it. What is, is.
[snip none of this kind of talk – Anthony]
The Greenland Ice Sheet receives about 3 feet of fresh snow per year. If the glaciers around the periphery didn’t discharge huge amounts of ice, after ten thousand years there would be a mound of ice taller than Mount Everest. After a few million years it would go all the way to the moon.
Not to mention that Disko Bay has been dumping huge amounts of ice for a century. Moerner (IIRC) commented that the only difference is that the rate is slower now than it was in the past.
I’ll betcha they’ll all be wearing state of the art extreme cold weather gear, brought to them by the evil oil empire.
Seriously though, what the hell do they expect to “investigate”?? It’s cold and there’s ice. Done. None of them are qualified to “investigate” anything except the inside of a rubber room.
Artists should always team up with scientists and other experts. Not a kumbayah moment or anything but that’s always my stand. They are not going there on their own, I believe. At least they are walking the walk not just talk. These aren’t your regular annoying celebrity good-doers or do-gooders with an image to propel, like Sharon Stone.
Wait a minute, Ryuichi Sakamoto ??? I just saw Furyo a while back and he was in that movie with Bowie (dunno who he was but his name was on the credits). Cool! I thought he was like dead or anything, coz that film is so old. Now, that makes me want to check out their voyage.
Hey folks, its simple really –
They go up there, see some harp seals and polar bear cubs and write songs about the poor threatened animals due to CO2 production. They do it as a benefit album complete with high power pics and maybe a special case. Charge a mint for it – you know, to save the animals. Our kids buy it and make it a best seller. The grammies trip all over themselves to give these artists an award for bring the truth about gorbal um global warming to the masses and it’s all over prime time TV. Your teen turns to you and says “Thanks for screwing up the world for me pops.” You have a stroke and go to the hospital.
Simple really….
Mike
I would be fascinated to hear Ted Nugent’s take on all this.
I am always very annoyed when the spin doctors trundle out a bunch of ‘stars’ to support whatever it is that they are promoting at the time.
It happens in politics endlessly and every campaign to save some cuddly little (or big) creature, or some swamp or river valley or whatever has its own bunch of ‘star’ promotors.
Of course they can do whatever they like and they are entitled to be heard as much and however they like.
But what makes the opinion of a warbler or string plucker or actor or …( whatever) any better than Joe Blow’s opinion on any subject?
Do people really listen to them? Does it change the way they vote? Are ordinary people really that silly?
I hope not! But I’m also afraid that the spin doctors wouldn’t trot them out unless people really did listen to them and form their own opinions accordingly.
Just to broaden your “spot the artist” data John G., Martha Wainwright is a Canadian song writer and vocalist. She should really stick to what she knows.
With any luck, they will see a polar bear chow down on a seal, that would cause an apoplectic moment of cognitive dissonance.
“I admit I am not hip. I have never heard of these artists. ”
You know Feist. She is most famous for being on the Ipod commercials.
What’s a Ipod?
Artists and science…
Oh brother!
Artists are always in search of a “greater than life ’cause'”.
Anyway, they ought not be expecting Greenland to melt away anytime soon…certainly not during their little publicity tour.
http://wxmaps.org/pix/temp2.html
They can pull strings,
hit keys and
beat drums.
But that doesn’t qualify them to preach to us on what is right and wrong.
Arrogant. holier than thou fools.
I was able to stomach about 90 sec. of that Anderson clip, and not more.
Well I’m a professional musician, and I’m not going (don’t think they would like my opinion anyway. Too much Bach trains the mind.
They just want the rest of us to pay for their holiday (sorry, VACATION in the US)!
Artists! They sow not, neither do they reap; except from the labour of others.
See “Ship of Fools” in Wickipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Fools
They don’t seem to be risking it by going to far north
http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewImage.do?aid=9126&id=17718
Even in 1979 its unlikely they would have got trapped in the sea ice
http://igloo.atmos.uiuc.edu/cgi-bin/test/print.sh?fm=09&fd=20&fy=1979&sm=09&sd=26&sy=2008
Don’t you get it?
If they’re going to do your job, YOU get to do theirs!
Everyone who is a climatologist, or a professional in ANY field….
YOU are now a post-modern “performance artist!”
So come on, start doing some of that ‘weird-for-the-sake-of-weird’ cool performance art crap everybody!
I hope they dress warmly. Temperatures in Greenland are forecast to be far below normal, with temperatures in the interior below -20C.
http://wxmaps.org/pix/temp2.html
Some places along the coast of Greenland have received more than 20 inches of snow during the last week.
http://www.snow-forecast.com/maps/static/europe/last7days/snow
No doubt that despite the snow and cold, they will report back on the “devastation of global warming.”
John Nicklin (23:00:19) :
I’ve Got the Seal-Eating Polar Bears Blues”
In the world of AGW, observational evidence is of no value. The only reality is what is going on inside Hansen’s head.
Kohl,
Sorry to break it to you, but yes, people are that uninformed on most things. I taught a high school class this last year on using a console (sound board). I was shocked at the lack of understanding of science, physics, history and other basic subjects these people should have had cold. This was supposed to be a school with high expectations for the students it taught
Now they did know about their favorite rock stars, Oprah, and what happened on American Idol the night before. They will go to internet sites but only in the above categories.
That’s where they’re getting their information. With all the information channels available they know less and less about the world they live in, what makes it tick and how it got to be the way it is. They know nothing of scientific method, only what their favorite star says about science and the newest acne cream.
Be afraid, be VERY afraid.
Mike
That saddens me. Artists, writers and musicians are the “soul” of a society. The AGW sickness has struck deep within our very core when they go along with a lie.
Don’t be too sad, Bruce. I think you will find that artists are still doing their thing in society. This crowd look like wannabes – they couldn’t get onto ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here!’, so they are trying this instead. It makes sense – if the press will automatically provide coverage for ‘climate change’, then you will get self-publicists all over.
One thing I think we should watch – local emissions of soot are going to be particularly effective when depositited right on the ice-cap. We may be seeing a clever attempt to get the Arctic ice-free…?
Michael J. Bentley (06:51:20) :
” They know nothing of scientific method, only what their favorite star says about science and the newest acne cream. ”
Watch Mike Judge’s film, “Idiocracy,” to see where this is leading.
As everywhere in the world starts to increasingly resemble everwhere else, the Arctic seems to be a trendy place for well-heeled tourists. Scheduled jet services to Svalbard and Russian arctic vessels for hire. Expensive (compared to a regular cruise ship anyway) but exclusive.
Looks like Cape Farewell, the organisers of this particular event (and other similar ones), are cashing in. The Climate Change tie-in no doubt gets them plenty of free publicity, and makes people feel better about all the jet fuel and diesel they are consuming.
I am an artist, though a sculptor not a musician. Musicians have to be hip always. They can’t help it.
I’d like to live in a parallel universe in which most artists weren’t grandstanding poseurs, faking a deep concern for whatever neurosis happens to be flavour of the month.
But I’m stuck in this one.
I also hope they get stuck in the ice, forming fast I hear, with sea surface temperatures 2-8C colder than this time last year. The National Weather Service just issued a Sea Ice Advisory for the Western and Arctic Alaskan Coastal waters for significant ice developing in the next 10 to 14 days.
btw, no they aren’t wannabes, they are all leading players, though more indie than poppy if that means anything to you. This is what makes them so achingly caring.
Stephen Fox says:
I am an artist, though a sculptor not a musician
There could be a role for you too on one of their trips, Stephen!
Sorry link failed, along with the joke. What I meant to say was…
There could be a role for you too!
dipole
better get up there, y’know this Worbal Gloming is the greatest threat that faces us, blah blah….
Seriously, I doubt if I could improve on nature there. I’d just cock it up…
The first week of autumn has brought temperatures in Greenland as cold as -50F.
http://www.wunderground.com/history/station/04416/2008/9/21/WeeklyHistory.html
11 “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie”
Out of context, yes, but appropriate to the situation.
Slam: Not out of context at all, Bobby. The same “father” (John 8:44) that drives evolution, drives this myth called man made global warming.
While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
COLD AND HEAT,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.
(Gen. 8:22)
Bruce Cobb (17:00:59) :
“That saddens me. Artists, writers and musicians are the “soul” of a society.”
They are not the soul of a society, but they are sometimes a welcome diversion from the reality of society. The soul of society is in the unnamed common people that raise their families, work at their jobs, and wish that the artists, writers and musicians really represented their values.
Maybe these artisits are a reflection of their (and “youths” in general) education.
To get the science right, is it time we got the education right first.
Regardless of the science, if the education is biased, so are the the next generations.
EDUCATION that is the root of the problem,
going forwards.
As a luckless licence payer of the BBC, I’d like to point out that while Marcus Brigstocke is a tireless pontificator about “environmental” issues, he’s not remotely funny and presumably gets his gigs only because he’s a reliable fount for all the identikit, politically correct, right-on platitudes. It’s a cause of amusement that “artists” such as those above, who no doubt fondly imagine themselves to be cutting edge and avant-garde are really exemplars of slavish group-think. Let Alice Cooper have the last word:
“If you’re listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you’re a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we’re morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal.”
Having examined at the weather for the “expedition,” it is my carefully considered opinion that it will be cold.
” …The point of the trip, in addition to scientific research, is “to inspire the creative team to respond to climate change both in the Arctic and on their return. ””
So… the “creative team” will see cold weather, snow, ice, clouds…
and be inspired to… “respond to climate change?”
So… I guess we can look forward to hearing lyrics like, “it’s &#$!@*& COLD in the Arctic!”
ha ha… no, it’ll still be about Bush, oil, greed, and polar bear cannibalism
This is getting weird. Which is great! Reduces the level of trustworthiness in the AGW theory. The more they trot out these kinds of spin adventures the less the media will pay attention as a serious story. It will be relegated to the stars reports and gossip shows instead of the evening news.
@Pamela Gray:
The whole AGW religion is aimed at the youth who will one day assume the mantle of responsibility. Unfortunately, this sort of stunt resonates with youth who lack the experience to see it for what it is.
And we come back to the indoctrination debate. As the Jesuits say “Give me the child and I will give you the man.”
They’re going to look for the rubber ducks. Probably on a ship with a couple huge diesel engines prodding along at a few knots.
“..btw, no they aren’t wannabes, they are all leading players, though more indie than poppy if that means anything to you. This is what makes them so achingly caring…”
Thank you for the correction, Mr Fox.
Though I must admit, rarely have I been prouder of my ignorance….
Hello out there,
after getting stuck in the ice for 3 weeks the US gov. spent $60,000,000 to get a Russian ice breaker to save the mentally retarded.
Insurance anyone? Nope they have all gone bust saving the planet savers.
I found the most recent Disko Bay blog entry pretty amusing. Francesca Galeazzi walked across the glacier and opened a CO2 canister. She then had this to say:
Before she paid for carbon credits to offset her releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, she probably should have determined the origin of that CO2: