WUWT reached a new milestone with 50 million unique hits on the WordPress hit counter (in the right sidebar) early this morning. I’ve been thinking for days about what I might write when this event happened. Point is I’m just too tired to remember or write much of what I thought about, and so I have a bit of writers block tonight. Today was spent taking care of my business, which sometimes suffers as a result of this blog. So, I’ll just summarize a few points.
One of the down sides to running WUWT is that if I let it, it will consume all available hours of the day. That’s why I especially appreciate our guest posters and volunteer moderators.
Traffic this month has been on the increase. We’ve gotten some great guest posts and links from other websites are up. Google adwords are down, mainly because the ad selector has been putting up some pretty irrelevant stuff lately that interests few enough for them to click on them.
WUWT volunteer moderator and occasional guest contributor Mike Lorrey did a good summary of some points on traffic on July 27th.
A few things I can point out about WUWT and myself at this milestone:
1. We continue to be at the top in traffic and links. For example early this month, we were awarded the #1 spot by Wikio.
No other climate related blog has a 50 million hit number. Some, like Joe Romm try to claim the numbers don’t matter, or try to claim that some other number matters more. But (and it’s a big one) he doesn’t show his own number counter. At least RC does. Yesterday Joe Romm fell to a new low, even for his normal angry and juvenile fare, with this :
If you want to know why PIOMAS is a credible model , you can read the post by the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s Walt Meier on this at WattsUpWithCrap — yes, he really posted there:
(emphasis mine)
Sigh, grow up Joe, this isn’t grade school. Dr. Meier asked to post here. He didn’t ask to post at CP, and you can’t see the reason for this because you don’t allow guest posts on your blog that might conflict with your view. Dr. Meier knows that even if he writes something I might not fully agree with, I’ll still allow it as long as it is presented with decorum, facts, and respect for the readers. He doesn’t need to denigrate people to get his point across. We have a different idea, maybe it might be a more “robust” one, maybe not. We’ll all find out in September.
2. As WUWT has grown, so have the anonymous trolls. We’ve gotten some pretty ugly ones as of late. Kids, here’s the deal; read the policy page, linked on the menu bar above. I’m not going to waste time on correcting or debating people that use fake email addresses and handles. Many of you know that you’ve been snipped and blocked even if you are on our side of the argument. a poster named 1personofdifference has been the subject of such a situation. That’s not meant to pick on him, only to illustrate that supportive and well meaning people occasionally go over the top too, and get snipped or deleted. If you don’t want to be responsible for your own words, this isn’t he place to push the envelope. Moderators have been stepping up, and I appreciate that. Reasonable posts and questions, even if they disagree, are welcome, people that start off with flame or call names, generally aren’t going to see the light of day per the policy page. This goes for both sides.
3. As WUWT has grown, so has it attracted a few questionably rational people who think I couldn’t have possibly pulled this off without “big oil” or NGO funding. Newsflash there kids, there’s no “big oil” funding, there’s no NGO funding, and there’s no “handlers” or people I’m beholden to. There’s me, my volunteer team of people, guest posters, and gobs of readers. So yes, technically I haven’t done this by myself, it was done with the help of like minded people from all walks of life, from all over the world. It’s an international grass roots based operation. I suppose that some people who have never run a business, especially bootstrapping a business from next to nothing, would not understand how anyone could build a blog from zero into one that has become internationally recognized, at the top of its category, and challenging enough for it to cause the government agencies like NOAA, NCDC, and EPA to have to react to it. That’s the power of the collective readership here.
4. Some people wonder how I can keep up. Some days (like today) I do too. But, I am used to the pace. Spending 25 years on television, all while running another company or in the early days, holding down another job too, teaches one to multitask and to be deadline oriented. For me, writing a blog is just like broadcasting; you have to do several broadcasts daily, you have to meet deadlines, and you have to offer content that people understand and appreciate. If you don’t treat the viewers with respect, and offer them something interesting, you usually aren’t going to make it in electronic media.
Blogging is a lot like TV, but it uses a different medium to transmit the words and pictures. So, blogging seems natural to me. I think I’ve been more creative as a blogger than I ever was on TV because I’m not locked into a format and a specific length. Blogging is much more free form.
5. I’m really growing tired of the vociferous and voluminous name calling and people bashing, on both sides. It’s palpable. In his post, Filth and Fury, George Monbiot points out just how ugly it has gotten with some emails he’s posted. While I can’t verify those emails actually exist without some source headers, I’ll take him on his word, since I too get similarly ugly emails. I’ve had emails (and phone calls) suggesting that I commit suicide, I’ve been called a Nazi, a “traitor of Earth”, a “tool of big oil”, and most every insulting name in the book too.
How do we climb down from this? Well for one thing, if Mr. Monbiot wants to make a start, try removing the word “denier” from his vocabulary used in his online writing. It is distasteful and inflammatory, and as the saying goes, what you sow, so shall ye reap. I certainly don’t deny that CO2 has a role (And I think that is the general viewpoint of WUWT readers and contributors), but as we’ve seen just recently from peer reviewed literature like this one on black carbon soot, it isn’t the only factor. It is in fact one of many, some still unknown. Climate is not linear, it is not single sourced, and it is not fully understood. The focus on one molecule, and the overselling of that molecule’s role, combined with politicizing like the EPA is now doing, and the taking on of an authoritative tone, is reason behind the downfall of climate science in the public trust today.
For my part, I’d like to ask WUWT readers to dial back the rhetoric too. It wears me and the moderators down because we have to be on elevated alert for it now. Also, take that “dial down” policy with you when you visit other blogs. Nobody is impressed when you drop down to insults, and if you want to be taken seriously, argue with tact. Admittedly I’m not always able to do it, especially when people are pushing buttons. For those times, I apologize. But, as they say in my son’s cub scout meetings: “DO YOUR BEST!”
6. The best part about WUWT for me? I have friends all over the world now. That is humbling.
7. Want to help WUWT reach 100 million? Easy to do; go forth and multiply. Keep those tips and notes coming in, post links to WUWT on other blogs and forum discussions whenever you can, tip the blog operators there to interesting stories here, and help keep the discussion tone on an even keel; here and elsewhere. We have something special here, let’s cultivate it.
My sincere thanks to everyone that makes WUWT the most visited climate related blog in the world, and a special thanks to my wife and children, who often bear the result of frustrations I carry from the blogosphere and the loss of quality family time.
– Anthony Watts
Well done on the 50 million mark!
I only just reached 60k on my old blog, but I gave it up in favour of a more rolled-back operation precisely because of the situation you mention – it was expanding to occupy all my free time. Also, i couldn’t listen to the news without thinking “I need to blog about that”.
Good luck on getting the 1oo million mark!
I’m not sure how to say it, but I hope your family knows how appreciative we are that they are willing to share. (What the heck, even if it is unwillingly)
Congratulations!! to Anthony and all of you who contribute to this awesome resource!
No, Thank you, Anthony.
Congrats Anthony and WUWT… looking for the 100th million hits!!!
Congratulations Anthony (and your guest posters and your moderators)
Sometimes it is easy to get hot under the collar… something we are probably all
guilty of at times… (particularly when confronted by people who dont seem to be really aware of what the science is actually saying, (and conversely of course, what it is NOT saying).
Best wishes for the continued dominance of the site.
Thank you, all. This past spring was when I noticed that more and more people were linking to your site in order to justify a skeptical position. And then later this summer, I would read something here and then would hear it making national news (they rarely gave you credit) but it did educate the public. Bless you. You are all the unwilling Patrick Henry’s of our time.
Good work, Mr. Watts, thank you.
Take care about your health and safety.
Tilting at windmills is not without dangers.
Congratulations and well deserved.
Congrats Anthony, guest posters and mods… you guys keep a great blog going here… and that certainly is no easy task !
I know for myself, I can stop by here 2 or 3 times a day and always find a new story or two posted up… the interest and variety keeps me regularly popping by. So in my mind, it makes sense why some other blogs don’t get the steady flow of readers like WUWT… If a blog isn’t kept fresh and new at least every day, it dies out, and the visitors fade away.
Unfortunately with heavy traffic flowing in, the trolls will also gravitate towards it more as well. It’s a natural evolution in the blogosphere and Anthony is correct when he says it’s up to us regulars to control our own responses in order to somewhat control the fly-by shootings.
Give attention to bad behaviour, and it will grow.
Don’t feed the trolls, as they say.
right on anthony and mods
keep up the great work
you guys got me back in december or so and all your hard work keeps me coming back
and sharing what i find with all sorts of folks all over the world!
Congratulations Anthony, and take heart that 50 million hits mean that the values you infuse in the blog (perhaps even as much as it’s devotion to scientific rigour and informativeness) command a respect unmatched in the climate blogosphere.
A breadth of vision and a reasonableness of approach which is rarely found in the polarized world of online climate debate. Thanks Anthony for all you’ve done. If there is anything more we can do to help you find more time to spend with your family, just let us know.
I want to thank you and your team for all your effort here at WUWT to enlighten many of us who really are interested in the science of these climate issues. For me, WUWT and scienceofdoom have done an excellent job of discussing these issues so that I can begin to see a path through to the light. Where it has lead me is to a scientific understanding that even though CO2 is clearly a significant greenhouse gas, H2O (the gas) is probably in the end the one that mostly controls our climate (as well as H2O in its other forms). Thank goodness we live on a water planet. This is not really a belief but a scientific conclusion. As I gain more insight into this conclusion and as time goes on and reality proves or disproves this conclusion, I look forward to finding out new and interesting ideas and seeing how the data plays out here on WUWT. Thanks again.
Wow! That was really fast. Doesn’t that first million seem like yesterday?
Congrats to all!
First time poster – long time lurker.
Congratulations on the 50 million mark, and thanks so much for this blog. I check in here several times a day and always look forward to reading the interesting articles and equally interesting comments. You’ve done an absolutely fantastic job Anthony, open a nice bottle of wine and let it all sink in .
David
Must not post. Must NOT post. Must just allow the people who are in the know, decide. Gads, this is hard. But the level of the opposition is not lost on me.
Congrats and all- I’ll be on my best behavior.
Congratulations. By the way, does anyone know whatever happened to Joel Shore?
Anthony – you have pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps, even though you had no boots.
I appreciate every minute you have put into this venture.
Anthony
You come across as a truly genuine person and this is reflected in WUWT – so congratulations to you and your team of writers and moderators who work so tirelessly.
Apart from all that, the job you are doing to shine a bright light on this whole issue has to be done. I doubt if anyone could do it better.
Go Anthony
cheers
Doug
100 million mark is not far, I think within 2 years. Yes Anthony, you got friends from all around the world, including us here in Manila, Philippines.
No rhetoric – just the comment that your heartfelt summary of the latest status of WUWT and its contribution to the debate has brought a tear to my eye (really!) and taken me straight to the Donate button for the first time for me on the Web. Heck, its only $20 but I hope many more will be prepared to put their money to work for the sake of common sense. FTR, I am a scientist (chemistry) working for a University & have no ties to Big Oil or any NGO.
Congratulations and thanks to everyone for all the hard work
We must never question the experts.
Rudyard Kipling’s poem If seems appropriate:
http://www.everypoet.com/archive/poetry/Rudyard_Kipling/kipling_if.htm
On reading this I thought it seemed only yesterday that you hit 10 million. In fact that was March of last year. Using my magnificent arithmetical skills, I reckon that’s 30 million hits in the last 16 months.
It proves nothing about the science but it does prove that polite intelligent debate will always find an audience.
Perhaps it also shows (but not proves) something else – the more “ordinary” people are told to make sacrifices by those with more money than they could ever expect to have, the more they ask “why should I?” and then seek to find an answer to that question.
This site discusses many topics in terms “ordinary” people can understand. It also contains many articles that are highly technical. That’s where the comments come in. Individuals isolate particular aspects of the article and explain or analyse them in plain language.
It’s an excellent facility and I am sure it will be only the blink of an eye before you hit 50 million. Good work Mr Watts, more power to your elbow.
Oh, good grief, I got my 40s and 50s wrong and turned 60 into 50. Still, I hope you know what I really meant.
Well done!
Two things are striking about WUWT.
A wonderful sense of humour and generosity from our kind host and moderators.
Second, I know I might be surprised by what I read here. In fact, as a skeptic, I am often challenged by the science which is presented without snark. Like Steve McIntyre, you want to look for the facts of the matter.
That’s refreshing and important.
Congratulations !!!!!
Anthony et al, congratulations. A cool 50 million here must mean that somewhere else it’s getting warmer (and I think it’s under a lot of collars).
¡Felicidades a Anthony Watts y su equipo de colaboradores por haber logrado la marca de 50 millones de visitantes en WUWT! ¡Les deseo los mayores éxitos en su empresa!
Well… I thought Spanish is “stronger” for expressing my feeling; anyway, the phrases in English go something like this:
Congratulations to Anthony Watts and his team of collaborators for obtaining the mark of 50 million visitors on WUWT! I wish you all the best success in your endeavors!
Did I write it well? 🙂
I don’t know if I qualify as “separate hits” or not, but I check WUWT several times per day (I’m retired). I just enjoy the heck out of it!
Not looking for an answer — just wanted to congratulate you on a job well-done!
Earned by merit, fair and square.
Congrats.
I remember those quiet, peaceful days at WUWT, when the number of comments on some posts could be counted on the fingers of one hand. And when monthly hits were measured in the tens, then hundreds of thousands. It was quite an event when WUWT first hit a million hits in a single month.
Now look at what’s been sown, all because of science addressed to the layman, a measure of decorum and civility, and intelligent posts that stimulate the reader’s mind, many times resulting in comments numbering at the 100 to 200 range with some even blowing into the 400 to 500 range.
I agree with the point you make in para 5 above,
Real climate science is highly complex and it is the height of hubris to pretend mankind is close to getting a handle on understanding its workings, despite Al Gore’s contention of the science being settled. And with all the sound and fury of “tipping points”, there will probably be some event or series of events that no one’s watching or expecting that, instead of overheating the earth, will see glaciers once again on another southward march. Climate is nothing if not full of surprises.
Congratulations are in order to Anthony, the mods, and guest contributors for the excellent product that has been created.
To be honest Anthony I just don’t know how you do it. I used to produce a website with about 4 or five new pages a month. That used to take all my spare time – although research for articles took far longer than the writing.
I totally agree with your comments regarding those with contrary views. The biggest single weakness of the climategate “scientists” is that they actively sought to silence contrary views, because it is only by open, honest, scientific scrutiny of all the facts and all the interpretations of the data that we will come to the best analysis of the climate.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
I shall be forever grateful that there is a cool, clear voice calling for the facts, and that when the whole charade is exposed for what it is, I hope a grateful world will accord you the wealth and recognition you so richly deserve.
Thank you, Anthony.
Can I just add my own plea for some of us, however passionate we may be, to “dial back the rhetoric”?
The ‘warmists’ will never be able to curb their rhetoric, stemming as it does from blind rage and hatred of what humanity has achieved, and their own insignificance in the face of those achievements.
It is tempting (and natural) to want to answer abuse with abuse, but we should resist that temptation, not least because it is clear how damaging to the warmist cause their frequent public outbursts of shrill rage are.
[REPLY – Now, now . . . Take a deep breath. Count ten. Sometimes dialing back on the rhetoric can take a little practice. #B^1 ~ Evan]
A great result. I have frequently linked WUWT on my blog.
I find a lot that is understandable and well explained here I tend to take things at face value, but have always had a problem with the CO2 causes all put out by the UN etc. You and your team do a great and hard job please keep at it. Also please have a break now and then with your family and friends to recharge for the fight to come.
Yours James Bull
Al Gore did the world a great service by inventing the Internet. We no longer have to take the word of the clueless, and can actually look at the data for ourselves.
Unfortunately much of the data has already been corrupted before it is published, but even so it still makes clear the wild exaggerations of the “experts.”
Congratulations! Thanks for your heroic efforts. You have the coolest blog around.
Congratulations Anthony!
It is indeed a great pleasure to read a hotly, but [usually] politely contested give and take on one scientific point of view or another even though I may or may not understand the finer points.
I try to visit your blog every day and it is easy to forget how much we owe you for your perseverance and tenacity in trying to maintain civility in your daily presentations – this goes for your moderators too.
So I am happy to say “Thank you!” and please keep it up as long as it doesn’t harm you or your family.
Came across WUWT having first seen doubt expressed about AGW through Climate Audit back in 2008 (seems like a long time ago now!). CA is great, and Steve M’s data analysis really clinched it for me, but there is truly nothing like WUWT for a daily hit of rational thought in a sea of insanity. In log terms, only another 6 dB to go to the 100 million mark – you’ll get there! Congratulations and thanks, Anthony!
Congatulations Anthony.
Perhaps we could use the hit point stats as a sort of an opinion poll. It may send a message to the right people. I mean if as our government (Aussie) would have us believe that the majority of citizens think GW and CO2 is a major problem that must be fixed at all costs, then that sentiment should be reflected in the various “blog hits” on both sides of the fence.
Congratulations. Well deserved…
Congratulations ! I really enjoy reading your blog and am looking forward to your next posts. Thank you and thanks to the moderators too.
http://www.accuweather.com/video/207417676001/was-june-2010-really-the-hottest.asp?channel=earth
WUWT mentioned everywhere.
Congratulations and thank you to Anthony and the hard working moderators. I am happy to have followed WUWT and CA for several years and watched history in the making. The rise of WUWT has shown the power of new media and demonstrated that the lame stream media are no longer the gate keepers of opinion. In a few years time media students will be writing essays about what happened at WUWT and how it changed the world.
Great work, Anthony and the WUWT Team – take the rest of the day off!
True sceptic’s wish – to live long enough to find out who had the correct hypothesis about GW/AGW/CAGW.
I suspect this is the most popular science website of all because it is open, honest, accepts genuine criticism, points out area of doubt & uncertainty, etc. You know, like err, scientists should do. Congratulatons to Mr Watts, & the dedicated team of moderators & contributors.
Oh, BTW, apparently the planet is not as doomed as readfily as first thought. According to a news article on BBC’s Radio 2 08:00hrs news this morning, two colonies of tiny shrimp have been discovered by err………scientists, living off the coast of Scotland (the shrimp not the scientists). This species dates back to around,………..wait for it……….it’s coming……….200million years. Must be a mistake as we all know that man has exterminated ancient life. Reminds of a similar item of news many years ago when a fish species was caught off the west African coast that was thought to have disappeared some 100million years ago, & there it was alive & flapping -well probably not for long. They keep popping up here & there don’t they? Just like those undiscovered new species of something or other that keep getting “discovered”. Why does nobody ask the obvious question, why was it not extint or why are we discovering new species when the planet is clearly under such threat from destruction from wcked humans. Could it be that the vast majority are making mountains out of mole hills?
I don’t often use the ‘A” word, Anthony, being a sceptic and everything, but you are AWESOME. Thanks for all you do.
Well done to Anthony and all the WUWT contributors. You’ve been my first read each for the past few years. Long may you flourish.
Congrats but I am still disheartened at the state of play in politics and the media. The censorship and bad science reporting is worse than anyone could believe from so called enlightened society.
Passion about the subject, a sense of fairness, honest examination of the issues, an interesting variety of posts and a subtle sense of humour. I raise a toast to WUWT. Cheers !
Well done, Anthony. My day is not complete without having a read of WUWT!
Sun: Still quiet, over two months since a cycle 24 spot seen
Posted on June 28, 2008 by Anthony Watts
was the headline that drew me in.
The place is inspirational.
By this time, everyone in Congress must know your name.
Thanks for all your hardwork – both to you and your team – you are helping make it possible to perhaps stop some of these mad policies that want to take us back to the stone age.
A few more sites you might like to link to:
www. weatheraction.com – the site of Piers Corbyn, who makes medium-range weather forecasts for extreme weather with significant success in the 2 weeks to 6 months plus range. His methods utilise solar and lunar influences as well as the earth’s magnetic flux. Like most of his ilk, he has strong opinions he is not afraid to air.
http://www.slf.ch – this is the official research centre in Switzerland for snow slides and carries a wealth of interesting data in winter about snow depths, ‘Lawinengefahr’ and other things of interest to mountaineers, skiers etc. Its diagrams will tell you quickly whether there is a notable winter in train, be that huge early snow, lack of snow, warmth etc etc.
http://www.worldclimatereport.com – another climate change site with healthily skeptical articles.
http://www.predictweather.com – the site of a New Zealand enthusiast who bases forecasts on lunar cycles. I’m not sure that I agree with all that he says, but he has tapped into Maori knowledge of weather to formulate his methods. I suspect like most things that this is a part of the whole and reliance solely on it may lead to less success than integrating it into a more multiparameter system. But for those open to reading something new, the book written on the subject is fun.
I’m neither a contributor, employee or customer of any of them. But I read their stuff and track their successes/misfires on a regular basis.
If you get to 100 million+, you’ll be getting Wall Street bankers trying to take you to Nasdaq. Assuming Mr Murdoch doesn’t buy you out first!!
BTW, that was from Katie Fehlinger’s channel at AccuWeather referencing WUWT.
She seems to have some good topics too, where have I been. Great to find some weather persons, Joe and Katie, without their heads stuck in the
cloudsco2. (Of course, you too Anthony. Happy 50th m.)http://www.accuweather.com/video.asp?channel=earth
We are all in debt to you (and the moderators) for this beacon of hope and sanity in what at times seems a very dark and crazy world.
And apologies if I have once or twice allowed my frustration at the hubris and cynicism of some of the alarmist’s string pullers get the better of me. (Think:- Bob Ward).
A little question. I don’t know if it is easy or difficult to work out and is certainly not worth a lot of effort. But how many of our regular trolls (especially the ‘anonymous’ ones) have an academic or NGO or Government email address? Is the proportion notably higher or lower than “normal” (if that’s the appropriate word!?) commenters?
Just curious. Wouldn’t mean much anyway, because it is easy enough to set up an anonymous email account. But one has to wonder from some of the troll-comments whether they are just your usual wild eyed amateur bunny huggers or whether they are just trying to preserve their jobs. Indisputably, the trolls wonder something similar about us, of course, hence all the BigOil baloney.
[EDIT: Trolls typically use fake email addresses. WordPress does log their IP address as well, but we haven’t done any kind of study of them. I suggested it to Anthony once but his position is that that is not what we are about. – Mike]
Congrats on yet another significant milestone!
As always, WUWT is a incredibly valuable resource, and I send people here regularly. Many times it’s their first exposure to “skeptics”, and so far has always been positive.
Facilitating education… yer doin’ it right 🙂
Well done, Anthony! Your site is a treasure and a daily stop. Keep doing your best … it shows!
I didn’t see it here; it must be an oversight – so here it is.
Many congratulations.
From the Hockey Team and associates.
I too “appreciate” Al Gore’s efforts in “inventing” the internet and attempting to stop the warming of the planet by increasing the amount of hot air reaching it.
Seriously though, I do appreciate the great work you and your helpers do, Anthony – particularly your wife and family. Being prepared to share you with the world to this extent demonstrates a lot of stamina and great love. All the best to them and to you.
Well done friend.
Anthony, my great thanks to you for your amazing achievement and your excellent web site. I find the whole thing quite astounding, considering where we were say four years ago. My thanks also to the unsung moderators who keep everything running smoothly, dbs and charles the moderator and all the rest, great job.
All the best, keep it going,
w.
Time flies! As a near daily reader of WUWT for several years, I vaguely remember when you reached 1 million hits! It doesn’t seem so long ago….
Thank you all for producing my #1 all-time favorite blog. You guys do a fantastic job.
I’m sending a donation to help with the finances and I hope other readers will do so as well.
Katie
Good on yer mate. Congratulations and keep it up.
Fifty million up and justly deserved.
Aside from the high quality of scientific input, the best feature is this forum’s ability to keep the debate civil and to allow CC issues to be explored openly and evenly.
You have created something of value that few other Internet based groups approach in this field.
Ed
Thouroughly well deserved success Anthony.
Time for a visit to the tip jar…
Gil Scot Heron was right when he proclaimed ‘The revolution will not be televised’. It will be blogged. Thank you Anthony and the WUWT crew.
Many thanks to AW and all who have contributed, for keeping me sane in the face of the constant bombardment of AGWBS! Your work is essential, and it is appreciated.
Global warming has been an infectious disease of the western middle classes, when history looks back on this period, some names will be noted for their brave and selfless stand against a tyranny of collective madness. Thank-you Anthony.
A wonderful achievement, Anthony and the team, it is hard to think of a day without the mental stimulation of WUWT. As for the moderate tone, we have an opposition leader here in Tony Abbott who is going into an election on the 21st of August and is adopting a measured, moderate tone and the polls are starting to swing his way. So, a reasoned, moderate argument wins every time.
Let us all, like children, capture the wonder of science.
This list of appraisal could easily increase ten or hundredfold if everyone with gratitude to the blog would send a comment. I for one, who very seldom sends comments, could not resist this time. With utmost interest I visit the blog several times a day and am so satified to realise my insights in science, especially climate, are increased day by day. Thank you all.
Mr. Watts-
Thank you for providing us with this site.
You are an inspiration to me and many of my fellow students.
You are proof that the right thing to do is to do the thing right.
Thanks again.
Many many thanks for providing this “must-check-every-day” blog. Solid content, every day some new stuff, and excellent and mostly friendly comments.
It is important for us footsoldiers in the fight against Warmism to do our small bit to help spread the word – and one good way is to link to WUWT while commenting on more general sites. Once people pop over here to check this site out – they will often stay hooked by the sheer breadth and quality of WUWT content.
Congratulations, soon, when the world is cooling down there will more and more hits…
Seppie.
Anthony (and the rest of your team), although I enjoy your site (I’m especially fond of Willis Eschenbach’s back-of-the envelope calculations), I also want to thank you for bringing the truth to the “ordinary” people. I am a scientist myself and I frequently feel frustrated at how little the public knows about climate controversy, and sometimes I feel that it is my responsibility to let them know. It is a relief for me that you are taking up the burden. What you provide, and the quality of your work, is an invaluable social service.
Therefore I’d like to ask you to work less and spend more time with your family. I think that this will help you keep a clean mind and continue to be productive. You are needed too much to risk burning yourself out. Work for, say, four hours per day, and only do as much as these four hours will take you. As an old friend of mine used to say, sometimes less is more.
Well done Anthony, I’ve been here since those paint jobs on the Stevenson screens, surface stations etc. (BTW whatever was the outcome of that?)
This is an intelligent blog that never patronises or insults it’s readers, and provides readable and understandable narrative. It allows all views subject only to polite argument. That is why it is so popular, and valuable.
It can also be amusing too, reminding us occasionally of the Catlin Capers, or The Intrepid Mr Pugh, who discovered that paddling a kayak in the arctic ocean makes your bum cold. (Real empirical science that)
We owe a great debt to this blog; many thanks.
Anthony, you have changed the world.
I was going to say you are national treasure – but that would be an understatement – you are an INTERNATIONAL treasure. I reckon you deserve a Nobel prize !
Good one, Anthony. I believe the gentlemanly (old fashioned I know, but never out of style) tone of your blog makes the visits such an educational pleasure. My particular thanks to all involved.
I’ve read your blog, I’ve heard you speak and I’ve met the man. A great bloke who along with McIntyre and Nova have helped to turn the tide. Not with rhetoric but logic and data. Thanks a lot.
Now answer my question please. When can we expect the combination of an overturned PDO, the La Nina and SC24 to really put the lie about global warming caused by CO2?
REPLY: Thanks for the kind words. somewhere between 6 months and 2 years we’ll see another significant drop. La Nina already setting in. – Anthony
Many many thanks to you , your team, guest posters and particularly your family.
This is an amazing achievement and your can be justly proud.
I would implore all genuine fellow bloggers to support you with regards to content in comments. The bar needs to be raised and this is just the place to raise it.
I feel that we are slowly but surely gaining ground and part of that gain is down to the relative civility of the skeptic side of the arguament. I do not know how you will be able to maintain the current frenetic pace (it makes me tired just thinking about it). I get a great deal of pleasure from introducing WUWT to anyone who has not yet found it and feel as though i share some of the glory.
Thanks again to all the team for your heroic efforts
Thank You, Anthony, Charles , Willis, All,
if 2 days go by without my WUWT “fix” I go in ’tilt’
Not.
Congratulations Anthony,mods and all the posters who make this blog what it is.
Well done, Anthony, and to the team and writers. It is through your continued presentation of thought-provoking articles and comment that, in this part of Scotland at least, a number of formerly closed minds now realise that there is genuine debate to be had. And won.
Here’s to continued success.
I’d like to follow up on a suggestion made in a previous thread recently: establishing November 17 as WUWT’s “birthday”. Further I’d propose that the readership do exactly as was suggested for that day – hit the tip jar with a modest $10 birthday present for Anthony and WUWT. The effort Anthony makes has a cost and it shouldn’t be his burden alone to carry. Behind all these efforts, Anthony runs a small business with staff who all contribute and depend on his success both here and in their own efforts. Helping to carry the load helps us all. Anthony may not be in the pay of Big Oil, but he could be in the pay of Big Readership…:)
Maybe the mods could collude to remind people come the fall, that the venture is worthy of support.
Thanks Anthony, for an extrordinary effort.
Anthony , it is a great shame that you are not British , so cannot be awarded a Knighthood for your work , that would be ‘one in the eye’ for your detractors who would have to call you “Sir” !! By the way it was very rewarding for me to decide to put your site on the top of my favourites column , then to find the next day you are everyone elses favourite too – long may it continue and good luck for the future.
[EDIT: Americans have earned honorary knighthoods from Her Majesty. “Sir Ant’ny” sounds fitting to me – Mike]
Congratulations and a toast to Anthony and The Mods! (Doo-wop! Doo-waa!)
A big thanks to the guest posters. THANKS!
And a suggestion for civility that I’ve been trying to follow: CAGW or CACC believer is a sufficiently neutral descriptor when applicable. “Warmista” seems a tad pejorative to me. I’m an ALRW believer myself (Local, Regional at most).
Finally, AFAIC, it should be “anything goes” when Al Gore is the subject. It’s all humor and comedy at that point.
Grats on the milestone, this is the one primary site I recommend to people who I want to understand Climate Issues. Other that an argument over auditing NASA in CA, this is the only place I have ever posted on this subject, and is the only place that really feels comfortable and welcoming. Keep up the good work!
If you and your team ever develop an Award (The Wuwty?) for integrity and achievement in science make sure you give it to yourselves first. Congratulations! Fifty million times over!
Science: No-thing? 10 years of a life for no-thing? 20+ years for AGW-nothing?
“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing*.”
“Venter: At the end of the day, it is an argument over nothing. But this battle between common good and commerce — that is the kind of story that sells newspapers.”
…-
“‘We Have Learned Nothing from the Genome'”
“Science / AAAS
The world’s first bacteria with a synthetic genome was even coded with an e-mail address.”
In a SPIEGEL interview, genetic scientist Craig Venter discusses the 10 years he spent sequencing the human genome, why we have learned so little from it a decade on and the potential for mass production of artificial life forms that could be used to produce fuels and other resources.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Venter, when the elite among gene researchers undertook the decoding of the human genome, you were their greatest enemy. They called you “Frankenstein,” “blood sucker,” “Darth Venter” and even “asshole.” Why do you attract so much hostility?
Venter: Well, nobody likes to be beaten — by superior intelligence, planning and technology. That gets people upset.
SPIEGEL: Every area of science is competitive. But it doesn’t lead to that kind of hostility in all areas.
Venter: The human genome project was completely different, it was supposed to be the biggest thing in the history of biological sciences. Billions in government funding for a single project — we had never seen anything like that before in biology. And then a single person comes along and beats scientists who have been working on it for years. It is no wonder they didn’t like that.
SPIEGEL: Wasn’t it more the case that your opponents were afraid that you, as a profit-oriented entrepreneur, would make the human genome your own private property?
Venter: That is totally absurd; and you know it. Initially, Francis Collins and the other people on the Human Genome Project claimed that my methods would never work. When they started to realize that they were wrong, they began personal attacks against me and made up these things about the ownership of the genome. It was all absurd.
SPIEGEL: So it was all just propaganda?
Venter: At the end of the day, it is an argument over nothing. But this battle between common good and commerce — that is the kind of story that sells newspapers.”
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,709174,00.html
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/014530.html#comments
(*H/T Macbeth)
Congratulations Anthony from Slovenia. Your blog is one of the few I visit every day. Keep on with the excellent work and I am sure the 100 million mark is not far away!
Very well done indeed Anthony, not forgetting your team of volunteers. I visit this site every day to maintain one’s sanity in a sea of madness. I rarely post because most of what I want to say already has been. The tone of posts is in direct contrast to RC and others This, amongst other factors is the secret of your success, You allow differing views provided they are well presented (with facts) and don’t seek to insult or denigrate. People want to read both sides of an argument without resort to insults and threats. People should be more aware of “when the facts change, I change my mind”
I’m not sure Anthony Holmes above is right about a Knighthood, I’m quite sure you’d qualify for an honorary knighthood, and if I had anything to do with you’d get it too.
I want to thank Anthony for the work he’s done to promote truth, rationality and integrity in what passes for “climate science”. I also want to thank him for the ongoing education.
The civility here allows for challenges from the opposition and I must add that the civil challenges are often the very best part. I’ve learned a huge amount about things and learning curves that would otherwise be beyond my capacity and patience to truly understand and climb.
This is a good site and I as well as the world are better for it.
Cometh the time, cometh the man
Bravo Anthony! Bravo the crew! Your efforts not only make having the internet worthwhile – a visit to WUWT restores faith in human nature.
Congrats on the 50-million milestone, on the way to many more miles I am sure.
I hope that awareness of WUWT is beginning to penetrate even the thick skulls of the academic, political, and media elites, those that are so wedded to the ‘conventional wisdom’ of the day (anything but wise, of course) that any contrary facts are seen as heresy.
When those eyes are opened a crack, and WUWT begins to be a daily ‘must-read’ for them as well as us, then it will be time to crack open the champagne. We’re not there yet. Just look at the EPA.
/Mr Lynn
There once was a blogger named Tony.
Found temp records that turned out phony.
He started a call,
That got big from small,
And that is Watts up with that!
Stupendous work, Anthony and crew. Please keep it up.
Re: decorum on the blog. It seem sot me that there is a spectrum of views on climate science. I hope that spectrum continues to be relfected in the comments and that posters/commenters recognise that it’s an easy and cheap shot to adopt a polarising position at an extreme of the spectrum. This does not inform the debate but encourages a “trench warfare” mentality.
The more I learn about climate science the more I realise how little I know. None of the science is black and white and while it continues to be presented in the MSM as such the more critical I become – but I still have an opinion on the balance of probabilties that AGW is real. IMO if the AGW signal is really visible in the data sets then it seems to be largely obscured by uncertianties and natural variability and NO ONE has managed to demontrate the unobscured signal conclusively. WUWT certainly deserves its hit-count ranking for continuing to document those areas which should be ripe areas for genuine research.
Folks,
only on board for a few, short weeks, I am nonetheless proud to have become “One Of The Crowd” just in time, to see the hits reach 50 million.
Congratulations! You are doing one heck of a goog job in spreading the truth about the global climate, Mr. Watts and all the posters, volunteers and commenters supporting and accompanying you.
I am doing my best to spread the word about your blog in my home country Germany, too. (Luckily enough, a lot of Germans are fluent in English – otherwise, I had to translate everything first. PEW!)
Keep up the spirit and make the word heard: “NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH ABOUT THE GLOBAL CLIMATE!”
Good luck with the next 50 million hits!
Sincerely,
Michael Schaefer, German
One year ago, we were furnished with threats in many articles regarding the viability of our planet. Climate gate was the tipping point. We found out that we had been attacked with false claims.
Climate gate has helped this site tremendously.
This site is now leading the attack against the enemy of our freedom economy and prosperity.
Anthony is a threat to the EPA. Their days of using false climate info to tackle prosperity is coming to an end.
We will see a surge of attacks. If you don’t have truth, you can always attack the messenger.
Congratulations on the 50 million – and a huge Thank you, to you personally, Anthony, to your volunteer mods (whose remarks when snipping I love reading!), to all the guest posters – and to all who comment here (trolls excepted, natch).
WUWT has been a beacon of sanity, and for me personally it reinforces again and again the beauty of proper science.
Long may you all prosper and grow.
Thanks!
Thank you, Watts family, thank you.
Thank you, Anthony, and congrats!!!
Thank you guest posters.
Thank you moderators.
Thank you Dr. Meir, Dr. Ravetz, Dr. Curry, and all the others that ventured out of their comfort zones.
Thank you readers that respond to questions and give tips.
Yea, thanks even to Dr. Leif S.!!!
Cheers on this milestone day and best wishes for continued recognition for this wonderful service to the average citizen.
– BillN
Anthony,
I am well pleased, that when you started this blog, you probably had no idea that even a million hits was likely… or you may not have started.
To your family, your crew and yourself, muchas gracias.
Félicitations. Congratulations.
Re #5, “dial back the rhetoric” — that’s good advice. I find that I sometimes let my Irish genes get the better of me, and I react before counting to 10 first.
Congratulations Anthony and the fantastic team that do a great job!
You’ll have no problem reaching the next milestone as their are a great deal of mistakes in science that have to be weeded out before actual understanding and the true knowledge is achieved. There have been too many mistakes made that kept expanding over generations.
You’ve written here something brilliant which finally explains to me why a few blogs are good and compelling, while so many (even from writers I like) are just flat, dull, and generally uninteresting.
AW wrote: “For me, writing a blog is just like broadcasting; you have to do several broadcasts daily, you have to meet deadlines, and you have to offer content that people understand and appreciate.”
That’s it! Obviously you’ve known that all along, and it shows. You run this blog with your audience in mind, rather than yourself. That’s why it works so well! Well done, sir!
Your blog became a “must read” for me back in March of 2008 – that was when I noticed that you were one of the only people on the net willing to point out that the sun was doing something completely contrary to all of NASA’s predictions. Remember when 2010 was supposed to be the peak of a new solar maximum?
And your dedication to observations, not beautiful theories, is what let me know that you were one of the last true scientists in a world of wannabes. I try to help that realization spread a little bit more any time I get the chance.
Thank You for all your efforts. Thank you to the moderators and guest posters. A really great site that puts science first.
Are you going to put a link to ‘The Hockey Stick Illusion: Climategate and the corruption of science” A J Montford (aka Bishop Hill) alongside ‘Climategate: The Crutape letters…
As it documents, written BEFORE climategate, pretty much the Climate Audit story (vs RealClimate, CRU and the team) right up to the Climategate leaks.
The last chapter was added, as the leaks, pretty much confirmed everthing that had been occuring…
These 2 books complement each other well..
The Hockey Stick Illusion, is a must read, if anyone wants to understand Climate Audit, and why the iconic IPCC Hockey Stick graph, was such a propaganda tool for alarmism…
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2010/7/22/tamino-on-the-hockey-stick-illusion.html
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2010/7/26/hsi-in-quadrant-magazine.html?currentPage=2#comments
and for balance 😉 RealClimate’s thoughts – Gavin still won’t read it 😉
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2010/07/the-montford-delusion/
the book itself:
http://www.amazon.com/Hockey-Stick-Illusion-Climategate-Independent/dp/1906768358/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280494612&sr=8-1
Congrats on 50 million, and more importantly, a well run blog.
On behalf of the Peanut Gallery, thanks for allowing us regular folks to post our sometimes incorrect points and ask simple questions. Thanks to those who respond to set us straight.
Congratulations Anthony for a continuing job well done.
I was struck by Ken Stewart’s recent post here where he mentioned that the QLD Department of Education had blocked WUWT from the school computers (I did hear that right, didn’t I?). Shocking if true… when I was at school I can recall being somewhat encouraged to develop my own opinions and arrive at my own conclusions based on an exposure to and sifting through of ALL the available information. Maybe this is going out of fashion in education these days? If so, then your contributions here seem all the more worthwhile, timely, noble- and important.
Cheers,
Stu T
sensorman says:
July 30, 2010 at 12:07 am
Umm, that implies dialing up the rhetoric! 🙂 Or at least dialing up the power or gain. Yeah, that sounds better.
Congratulations Anthony
Many thanks to you, your long suffering family and to the moderators and guest authors.
I have visited many other blogs in a variety of subjects and there is no comparison to WUWT no matter what the subject. This a well mannered site with very knowledgeable comments. My only complaint is it takes so long to read all the comments and the comments are the major attraction for this wonderful blog.
Thanks again to everyone here.
Congratulations Anthony ,and thank´s for this blogg! Keep on doing it!
Many thanks for creating and maintaining WUWT to Anthony and his colleagues. This site has been a daily stop for me for a year now. Your calm, respectful presentation and the intelligence of the commenters here is an especially big draw for me. Keep presenting facts and data and the world will catch up with you!
I too want to congratulate and say: Thank you very much for this great site! A daily dosis of WUWT is good for my mental well being and just what Immanuel Kant would have ordered! The work you all (contributers, moderators, familiy behind all of them) do in keeping this site going at such pace and quality is admirable!
Agree with all of the above congratulations and wonder if your American base appreciate how much your site means to those of us in the minor countries like New Zealand and Australia with limited media diversity. It goes against the grain to call them “mainstream” given the monopoly they enjoy. A situation that is becoming “mainstream” world wide.
Congratulations Anthony.
You have become a beacon of light in a modern scientific ‘dark age’.
Me I tried bloggono blonging.
Gratz.
But Anthony some humility please, you do it because a) you love it and b) you are good at it.
Watts works, them stats don’t lie. In my professional opinion as a Pirate, this is the new media and it evolves but the truth as we can measure it not so much.
The Berlin Wall of Climate Hypocisy is collapsing. Markets are shifting. Politics is moving.
Nice Harpoon.
Congratulations, and thank you for putting in the time and effort to make WUWT one of the best blogs out there of any category.
Now as a humble suggestion as to the road ahead – how about making a video section, a WattsUpTV, where interviews and discussions could be posted? Long in-depth interviews on climate-related topics are in short supply, even on youtube. It is time consuming of course. Maybe a interview of the month feature? Just a suggestion.
Best of luck towards 100 mill.
Oh and for the record, Mr Watts
Thanks for coming to Australia and letting people see you.
Face to face and then we can do the wire.
Thank you Anthony and mods. It has been a pleasure reading and watching this blog grow.
Congrats to you and the moderators!
Thank you for all your effort, I, like many others, hit this site many times a day!
Wow, very cool. From humble beginnings Aug. 12, 2007 to today, thanks in part at least to “green man”. As “ExZonie” said, keep it up Rev. Anthony, you must be getting to them.
I have never commented before but really, really appreciate your blog, please keep it up and thanks to all involved. Melinda
Congratulations again Anthony!
But I do wish you’d find a way to be with your family more.
Congratulations Mr. Watts. Keep up the good work.
You blog policy is why I read yours (and McIntyre’s) more than many others, such as, say, Lucia’s. I try to always remember the words of the Revolutionary War patriot, John Dickenson, when thinking about posting:
and;
Congrats on the 50M, Anthony.
There is actually a fairly easy way to not have flamewars. Just don’t talk about each other. The reality is, this isn’t about us. Anyone who starts throwing “you” around has stopped talking about ideas and started engaging in cult of personality instead.
My God, Anthony, I can conceive of no reward that would be greater than the satisfaction you and your staff must receive in knowing what a great public service you are doing. I wish I could put into words how appreciative I am of your efforts to make some sense out of this new religion of AGW, and how its proponents are no better than the televangelists who routinely fleece their flocks. And I like your cool posts on other subjects that have to do with science as well!
Oh, yeah, was I the 50,000,000th visitor, and do I win a prize? Just kidding, I love this site, and congratulations of your success.
Traffic this month has been on the increase.
I’m wondering if it’s partly because of the heat in the New York area. It could be people are coming here to see what the real story is about the heat because their instincts are telling them the exaggerations coming the media about global warming aren’t ringing true.
WUWT the most visited climate related blog in the world
Probably because people, in general don’t believe in global warming. Otherwise RC and CP would be getting more traffic. People are smarter than they are given credit for.
Congratulations to Anthony, the moderators and all the contributors.
Well deserved, by honesty, hard work and style.
When I see Romm above (…Crap) or read others saying like the “un-science blog WUWT” … it is such a primitive level, desperate behaviour and then the figures speak for themselves. Incredible how such a site contributes to change the world for good. Sounds pathetic but it is true.
Will be happy to establish a kind of an annual subscription fee for excellent education and entertainment.
Btw. have read last night that even fishes are shrinking to half their size, by …. (guess) Climate Change. Other creatures to follow … well, not me.
congratulations!!!
Antnee has done it.
Extra, read all about it.
News and views to use.
=============
Anthony…I’ll keep this short. Ready: Al Gore’s credibility. Now, THAT is short! Anyway, this site is absolutely fantastic. I hate to tell you this but i alone account for 40,000 of the hits!
Betty Ford nurse notes: “…patient states he’s got WUWT!” Best regards….
As always, I congratulate and commend you and the mods for the opportunity to utilize my free- speech rights. I wish you all the rewards that come with honesty, civility and good humor. Having said that, I think that those who oppose need to thank you for being able to express their views here, as we cannot express our views at the alarmist sites. None have done this. Very weak. I am looking at you Joel Shore, RR Kampen, Scott Mandia, Phil., and all the other alarmist who post here and are to blind to the censorship of the warmist camp. Conspicuous in their absence from this thread.
Congratulations Anthony!! I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been following your blog. But it has been one of my number one resources for researching the climate for the novel I’m intending to write.
I have to say one thing for you to think about: The beast has been wounded, but he’s rising up with his minions. So please keep up with the good fight Anthony, because you are promoting the truth.
I don’t think that I can come up with new or better way of saying thank you to you and the mods and the guest posters and the commenters than has already been said above.
I try to visit this site daily and sometimes several times a day and I can say that I am never disappointed with the posted stories presented in a way that are accessible to everyone and with the discussions following.
Congratulations.
Heh, three whole comments on Antnee’s first post. Here’s to Juanita Sumner and ‘Gee Whiz’.
================
Well done and my thanks to you and your team of helpers, Anthony. You should be given the Nobel Prize for Blogging! Aye, Bob Mount.
Congratulation and a very sincere thank you, Anthony.
I think this is about the best moderated site I visit. They all have trolls. One site I visit frequently is essentially un-moderated and the comments frequently descend into vulgar literary fist fights. Another popular site I visit is hyper-moderated to the point that, even if you strictly adhere to their rules, your comments may never be posted or edited down to being almost meaningless. A couple years ago this particular site had a severe troll infestation. Now, in my opinion, their weakness is censorship.
You have a nice balance here and a devoted legion of intelligent readers. I never miss a day without reading WUWT.
Thank-you for this blog-I visit every day.I learn from the adult commentary; from people who know more than me.
Watts up with crap-wow, that is so witty.
Congratulations and thanks for all the work you do Anthony!!!
~~~~
The Alarmists/Warmists are getting worried, apparently they have used this data in computer models, and extrapolating it further, your site should be into the trillions of hits in the not too distant future, causing millions of CPU’s to overheat adding to AGW.
Congratulations. Someday when Al Gore is forgotten WUWT will still be going.
Anthony, moderators, and guest posters: thank you for your time.
Congratulations on this brilliant and prodigious Watts’ Effect!
Now according to his name’s sake, Watts: results should far exceed expectations, as is always the case where electrical energy is present.
And at 50 million hits, this can safely be said to be so.
Therefore I propose a test may be made. The founder of WUWT may take a long vacation with his better half, the lovely Mrs. Watts, and his son. A continuing Watts Effect should allow for greater and greater blogging work to be done with less and less effort and waste (meaning at least, it won’t fall apart for a little while (-: .
Best of all, a fully rested Watts should give even more unexpected high energy results, and maintain an exponential increase of important, exciting, and improved new neuronal connections all around the world, also an electrical Watts effect, according to my observations.
This is exactly what I’m waiting for with crossed fingers. It would take the wind out of their sails for many years. Then Anthony can take a long, well deserved holiday.
By the way I account for 10 million of your hits. :o)
H.R. says:
July 30, 2010 at 4:27 am
Finally, AFAIC, it should be “anything goes” when Al Gore is the subject. It’s all humor and comedy at that point.
When discussing scientific topics, I too believe in civility, which doesn’t preclude humor. The problem is one man’s humor is another man’s insult. I firmly believe WUWT contains close to a perfect amount of humor. In the past, when commenting on scientific GW issues I’ve tried (but sometimes failed) to maintain a civil tone. For this I apologize and will try to improve. However, when discussing the politics of GW, I have made no attempt to be civil. Like H.R. for this I do not apologize.
Like all the others before me, I too want to thank Anthony, his family, guest posters, and moderators for this wonderful blog. Anthony, we want you around for a long time–so don’t overdo. Spend time with your family, relax, take a vacation–heck, take many vacations. All the best.
Reed Coray
Thank you Anthony; “may his tribe increase”. We are all indebted to you and yours for the enlightenment.
Keeps getting better and better. Congratulations to you and your team including the guests. So much talent and knowledge makes me feel very humble.
A week on holiday in Spain recently left me in a very shaky state. No internet connection! It took 12 hours to catch up including links.
I hate this blog. I used to have a life, but now I need to come here for at least a couple of hours a day and mainline on the voodoo that you do so well.
You found my weakness and exploited it ruthlessly. You’re a bad, bad man.
Can I add my congratulations from the UK whilst I still can as our last government, with the support of the new clowns, passed a law requiring the nation to cut its carbon emissions by 80% before 2050!! Apart from not realising that it is not achievable without returning to the Stone Age our new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the multimillionaire Chris Huhne (rhymes with..) now thinks it can be done with windpower plus no new coal fired power stations without CCS even though that is quite unproven.
Whilst we still have electricity I shall continue to visit WUWT daily.
Michael Larkin says:
July 30, 2010 at 12:16 pm (Edit)
“I hate this blog. I used to have a life, but now I need to come here for at least a couple of hours a day and mainline on the voodoo that you do so well.
You found my weakness and exploited it ruthlessly. You’re a bad, bad man.”
The first one is always free. I think there are enough doctors who frequent here who are willing to write you a prescription that legitimizes your habit…
Anthony,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to help moderate, contribute the occasional article, and be a member of this fantastic team.
Sorry, second comment.
Contentment on a rainy Friday night is a glass or two of red wine,listening to a young Welsh choir on TV and reading WUWT. Yes, I know, I’m very old.
It would be interesting to know the nationalities of your commentators, if that is possible. Maybe a national flag by each comment.
Wales has a very nice red dragon on our flag.
Congratulations unwaith eto (once again).
Jefferson and many other famous Americans had Welsh lineage.
Congratulations Anthony,
My own Libertarian WordPress blog took the AGW strain from the UK Telegraph’s James Delingpole blog in June, in the wake of problems with their new Disqus blogging software. With only a tiny fraction of your hit count, I can certainly relate to the difficulties you’ve described in maintaining a blog like this, particularly in regards to time spent away from my own young family. It’s such an important issue at stake, however, that there can be no doubt the effort is a worthwhile one.
Yours is a fantastic blog and I regularly visit for new ideas. Keep up the good work!
Best regards,
Ozboy
http://libertygibbert.wordpress.com
To Anthony and all others creating and aiding with this blog: Thanks from Alberta, Canada. A friend wrote WUWT on a napkin almost 2 years ago. Have been coming back here ever since. Turned out he was a friend. To build a business for 36 years and then to ease away from it is very hard. By all means, take that holiday, Anthony.
All the best.
Anthony, Guest Posters, Moderators, and all the commentators; thank you, thank you, thank you.
This blog is a lot of fun and I am on it way too much every day. I think a case could be made that media history is in the making here. Keep up all the good work! Congratulations on 50 million!
Well done Anthony !!!
I believe you are helping save the planet by focussing public attention away from the utter nonsense of AGW and hopefully back to real environmental issues, such as species loss.
Another long-time lurker – first time poster from Australia that would like to echo the sentiments of others.
A huge thank you Anthony for a wonderful blog. My husband and I visit several times a day. The articles are always intelligent and informative.
An amazing job Mr Watts and team. Well done and all the best.
Thanks Anthony & team for this marvelous platform. I think one of the best things anyone can do is “make a difference”. You have certainly done that.
This website has provided a wealth of information along with loads of motivation and ideas to further my own studies.
Congratulations Anthony. You deserve an Award:
[Based on the Nobel Prize, but more worthwhile now]: click
[Image stolen from this site.]
WattsUpWithCrap? Well, I know “crap” is what makes my garden grow, and so unknowingly, Romm’s jealously has hit upon your success–you’re willing to endure the give and take that cultivates a superior blog while Romm remains a political tool fighting against enlightenment. It is his loss and your gain, Anthony. *chuckle* Congratulations!
Anthony: I offer my congratulations to you and the WUWT staff upon reaching the 50 M hits mark and offer my heartfelt thanks for providing a balanced forum on the global climate issues. WUWT has evolved and is evolving to provide more and more interesting and broadening commentary on the science and politics of climate. You have brought the issue of the reliability of temperature measurements used by both sides of the climate debate. Perhaps the years of reporting the temperature on the TV weather news in Chico made you sensitive to the reliability temperature readings. Finally, the issues presented on WUWT are broadening and very interesting but never boring or inane. Maybe this is your formula for success.
Does this site maintain a running count on the total number of posts? That would be another interesting statistic to follow.
[399,791. ~dbs, mod.]
REPLY: That’s comments above, we have 3293 stories. – Anthony
Dear Antony
Your website is a reproach to all those believers who have forgotten that real science requires an open mind, rigour, debate and numeracy. Thank you.
Anthony, I want to add my small voice to the chorus of congratulations! I am honored that you included a couple of my entries here as a guest post. What a thrill!
I wish I had the time to read each post and comment on WUWT, but that is simply impossible for me these days.
All the best,
Roger Sowell
PJB (Jul 30 5:02 am) started ok, but screwed his last line by not rhyming. Not a limerick – but these are:
WattsUpWithThat started small.
To think of it, so did we all!
But then it grew bigger,
And if you go figure –
It’ll soon be the biggest of all!
and
“WattsUpWithCrap”‘s the conclusion
Of those whose confusion
Due to heads up the bums
Of their RealClimate chums
Full of BS, scatovisual illusion.
Thanks for everything Anthony and team.
I don’t think people like Joe Romm realize how much credibility is starting to matter. More and more people are waking up to the elitist media and academic oligarchies and questioning their claims. In the end, the general public will believe down-to-earth real people like those we find here at WUWT because of credibility and trust. Both of which are very hard to earn.
Congatulations Anthony and the Others who made this all possible !
In celebration of your achievement a new Video Wall Website has
been created at http://fraudulentclimate.atspace.com/ where a
user can view some popular videos about the climate & frauds,
from various different sources, all on one page.
Again Congratulations to the WUWT Team !!!
Congrats! 50 million wow!
I always enjoy reading this site because it seems to have some balance in it. I must confess I dont fully understand the science, but neither do our leaders or probably many members of the Green Enviro organisations that swamp us with doom predictions. I like to consider things from another viewpoint before making up my mind. I’m just a “Joe Public” and not paid by the oil companies– but if Exxon, Mobil, BP are reading a few dollars this way would be most welcome— I could even afford then maybe to buy a Toyota Pirius
Nice to see that hard work and integrity, are still rewarded.
Thanks, to all, that have created this treasure.
IMHO, it is just getting started.
BTW, I finally “flung funds”.
Keep up the good work.
WUWT WOW!
I paid particular attention to this point of Anthony: “…post links to WUWT on other blogs and forum discussions whenever you can, tip the blog operators there to interesting stories here, and help keep the discussion tone on an even keel; here and elsewhere. We have something special here, let’s cultivate it.”
Whenever we see something here that the news media should be covering, send a note and link to the PBS ombudsman and the NewsHour. There are enough people here to turn our tax funded/donations funded PBS around. Up to this point, they have been a major part of the one-sided propaganda machine.
http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/feedback.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/letters.html
May I add my congratulations on the landmark 50 million! I remember at the height of the Climategate furore last winter we watched the count climb inexorably and pass 40 million – and I wondered whether when that news storm died down if numbers would drop off, but no: the site continues to draw in the open-minded in ever greater numbers
I don’t come on as often as I did since reading WUWT was taking over my life and I was getting nothing else done. So my sympathies with, and thanks to Anthony and his helpers for the valuable job they do at such personal cost
Just started visiting WUWT. Can’t stop reading the threads, and I’m falling behind. I ask everyone to consider this: “Nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come!” (I wish I could give the attribution, but I’m a drunken half-wit).
This is what is happening with this blog. Anthony had the idea. The tool/medium (internet) was available. Support followed. And it continues to grow. Anthony is an innovator, and other innovators (mods, guest posts, and hopefully family) have recognized this and we are witnessing/participating in a revival of the application of the scientific method. And it will apply to more than just climate but to all science! And, if we are lucky, to a reclaiming of our unalienable rights.
That is how big this could be. The Big Kahuna: Liberty and Justice for All! “FREEDOM!” a la William Wallace!
So, more than mere congratulations are in order. I believe the saying is: “We owe you a debt of gratitude Mr. Watts.” It’s also called giving credit where credit is due. If you support this effort. If your words are not hollow shells, and you have truly come to embrace the ‘bent in this blog’ so to speak. It’s time to put your money where your mouth is and ante up!
And for those who may be wondering, I don’t know Mr. Watts from a pile of coal; but he’s earned my complete support until I exhale my last CO2.
Again, good on ‘ya Anthony!
h/t Andrew Galambos
P.S. Juan El Afaguy says:
July 31, 2010 at 12:20 am
The limericks are fabulous. The first one’s perfect.
Would you consider adding, in the second line, an “utter” between “whose” and “confusion” to perfect the second one.
True. But I have to add that it also has attracted more than a few credibly rational people.
I certainly don’t think that educational credentials are a sine qua non of rationality — in fact, as a holder of a PhD (Mathematics) myself I am keenly aware of how little such qualifications mean in general terms of rational thought. I have a great respect for amateurs and those lifelong learners who far outpace beanheads who coast through life on the coats of a few year’s school larnin’ but haven’t a curious neuron in their heads. A few such highly respectable amateurs post or comment her regularly, and I watch for them.
That said, I have noted over the last couple of years a large number of individuals who frequent the comment pages and whose academic qualifications include a PhD. Probably only a few who would claim to be “climate scientists”, but I would wager that most, like me, come for an article and stay for the high level of discourse. What I get in these pages is considerably better fare than in the faculty lounge, particularly on the subject of climate change!
I sincerely hope my occasional comments add rather than detract. It is a lofty goal: contributors and commenters here, by and large (with a few awful exceptions) set a high bar.