It seems the alarming story of “Ocean extinction has started in our time” making the rounds of the alarmist blogs and gullible media is nothing more than an unpublished, unchecked opinion, and some pal review amongst activists at a three day conference.
Barry Woods writes:
Oh for goodness sake (parallels to IPCC 80% greenpeace renewables story)
The International Panel on the State of the Ocean !!! IPSO – modest bunch – see mission statement (front page website)
http://www.stateoftheocean.org/
The International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) was established by scientists with the aim of saving the Earth and all life on it.
Another Press release – Gets a shocking headline – the wait for the report (so that it can be checked) so that it is forgotten about and at the end – it is too early to say, but the trends are, etc,etc,etc
Maybe the Oceans are in a shocking state, I’m just getting too cynical to care…
BBC: World’s oceans in ‘shocking’ decline – Richard Black – 20th June 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13796479
“The oceans are in a worse state than previously suspected, according to an expert panel of scientists.”
“In a new report, they warn that ocean life is “at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history”.
The International Panel on the State of the Ocean !!! IPSO
This is getting beyond satire ‘panel for the State of the ocean’ but no doubt lots more UN jobs and research required, plus urgent action and control of the oceans.
“The findings are shocking,” said Alex Rogers, IPSO’s scientific director and professor of conservation biology at Oxford University.
“Its report will be formally released later this week.”
Its worse than we thought (they considered)
”…As we considered the cumulative effect of what humankind does to the oceans, the implications became far worse than we had individually realised.”
“We’ve sat in one forum and spoken to each other about what we’re seeing, and we’ve ended up with a picture showing that almost right across the board we’re seeing changes that are happening faster than we’d thought, or in ways that we didn’t expect to see for hundreds of years.”
” These “accelerated” changes include melting of Arctic sea ice and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, sea level rise, and release of methane trapped in the sea bed.”
BUT at the end. – It is too early to say !!!!
“The IPSO report concludes that it is too early to say definitively.”
But the trends are such that it is likely to happen, they say – and far faster than any of the previous five extinctions.
I’m sorry but I have utter contempt for this sort of pseudo-science by press release…
I wonder what the report really says, and how well it holds up to the headline, I wonder if anyone will bother to check…
Seriously though: The International Panel of the State of the Ocean (IPSO)
With a name like that and their mission statement, – “with the aim of saving all life on the planet!” – they are hardly ever going to come to the conclusion, that it might be doing ‘just fine’,
Diagnosing the state of the Ocean’s health
IPSO is currently compiling the Global State of the Ocean Report, which will collate world-wide marine science to give a comprehensive overview of the health of the Ocean. The Report is due to be published in 2012 but we already know that the Ocean’s health is in a critical state.
=================================================================
Thanks Barry, but wait there’s more. Ben Pile, of the website “Climate Resistance” writes:
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…
World’s oceans in ‘shocking’ decline
Warns Richard Black at the BBC.
The oceans are in a worse state than previously suspected, according to an expert panel of scientists.
In a new report, they warn that ocean life is “at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history”.
They conclude that issues such as over-fishing, pollution and climate change are acting together in ways that have not previously been recognised.
The impacts, they say, are already affecting humanity.
The panel was convened by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), and brought together experts from different disciplines, including coral reef ecologists, toxicologists, and fisheries scientists.
Call me a cynic, but I no longer take claims about ‘expert panel of scientists’ at face value. Sadly, Richard Black of the BBC does.
…
Ok. So who the hell are the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition?
A coordination team works together with a Steering Group that currently consists of the Ecology Action Centre, Greenpeace International, Marine Conservation Biology Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pew Environment Group and Seas at Risk. The DSCC has developed a formidable international team of scientists, policy and communication experts, lawyers and political activists who on behalf of the deep sea have established a strong reputation and profile on the issue at the UN and in other fora.
The ‘panel of experts’ — IPSO — may well be expert. But, look, again, we see Greenpeace’s name up there, steering the research — in its own words — alongside the Pew group, and Friends of the Earth.
I don’t believe a word of it. This is not scientific research, it’s ‘grey literature’, put out by yet another grey institution, the true nature of which is concealed from first appearances. Not far behind, the agenda is revealed.
[Anthony: Ben Pile also located a helpful video:]
From the video description on YouTube:
Dr. Alex Rogers, Scientific Director of IPSO and Professor of Conservation Biology at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, gives the overview of the main problems affecting the ocean – and some suggested solutions.
Pile continues:
So, yeah, another NGO lobbying outfit, in cahoots with government and businesses, blurring the lines between activism, scientific research, and so on.
Back to IPSO. Here’s the web-page that relates to the new report. It describes the background to the report:
The 3 day workshop, co-sponsored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), looked at the latest science across different disciplines.
The 27 participants from 18 organisations in 6 countries produced a grave assessment of current threats — and a stark conclusion about future risks to marine and human life if the current trajectory of damage continues: that the world’s ocean is at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.
So it turns out that this report took the scientists just three days of chin-wagging. Says the report:
The workshop provided a rare opportunity to interact with other disciplines to determine the net effect of what is already happening to the ocean and is projected to do so in the future. Over the three days 27 participants from 18 organisations in 6 countries (Annex 1) assessed the latest information on impacts and stresses, and the synergistic effects these are having on the global ocean.
Through presentations, discussions and recommendations the workshop documented and described the cumulative effects of such impacts, how these commonly act in a negatively synergistic way, and why therefore concerted action is now needed to address the consequences set out in this report.
==============================================================
Here’s the team from the IPSO website:
A high-level international workshop convened by IPSO met at the University of Oxford earlier this year. It was the first inter-disciplinary international meeting of marine scientists of its kind and was designed to consider the cumulative impact of multiple stressors on the ocean, including warming, acidification, and overfishing.
The 3 day workshop, co-sponsored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), looked at the latest science across different disciplines.
The 27 participants from 18 organisations in 6 countries produced a grave assessment of current threats — and a stark conclusion about future risks to marine and human life if the current trajectory of damage continues: that the world’s ocean is at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.
Delegates called for urgent and unequivocal action to halt further declines in ocean health. (click for press release)
…
(They seem really upset about this photo, this fish seems happy with his new home though, and anyone who knows anything about aluminum in the ocean will tell you the fish will probably outlive the can – A)
So, the BBC story “World’s oceans in ‘shocking’ decline” seems to be based on nothing more than some joint opinion at a conference with Greenpeace activists, a regurgitated press release, and no peer reviewed publication yet.
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You just KNOW the first sentence is “worse than we thought.”
How many times do they have to say that? Who are they trying to convince? Us or them?
But biodiversity seems to be flourishing despite the predictions…
http://adventuresintimetravel.com/2011/06/21/its-worse-than-we-thought-again/
And the Walls of JerIPCCo come a tumballin’ down.
===================
I would like Australian readers (at least) of this blog to know that there is a poll running on the ABC;
http://www.abc.net.au/polls/thedrum/vote/total.htm
I’m curious to see how the numbers might change after it is publicised here :-).
“If a plebiscite was held on the issue of a carbon tax would you be:”
In favor of a carbon tax 59%
Opposed to a carbon tax 37%
Undecided 4%
6040 votes counted
It’s worse than we thought!!!
I say stick to over-fishing and pollution issues and leave the co2 bull at home.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/oceans-on-brink-of-catastrophe-2300272.html
and the Independent in the UK led with it splashed all over it’s front page.
the web version is getting many interesting comments though. Sublime to the ridiculous. Go there and bring some sense to the world (and Independent readers – good luck with the last one)
For me “unprecedented in human history” is not automatically “unprecedented in history” in my book.
Australian Carbon Tax poll.
Vote here
James Reid says 04:11 (GMT)
James, your link doesn’t allow you to vote, just gives the results:
go here and make your esteemed vote count:
http://www.abc.net.au/thedrum/
That is how its works , you get your friends in the media to run with scare story and you give it scientific bent even if its not research. Of course once the facts become know and the scare factor drops through the floor , you known the stories moved on and that the all so important ‘details ‘ will never see the light of day . Certainly Mr Black will not be revisiting this claim once the report is actual available, has his work will be done .
Its a dam effective way of working , but its got little to do with science in reality .
Presented as responsible and reasoned , this is more fraudulent, misleading, strident and alarmist than ever, there’s no doubt that there are some problems, Greenpeace et al are notable in their avoidance of the worst ones for fear of being tarred as racist or tackling folk who play hardball.
It’s all about keeping the funding pot bubbling – out of the pockets of taxpayers and guilt ridden urban types.
The conceit and arrogance in the press release is nauseating –
“The!combination!of!stressors!on!the!ocean!is!creating!the!conditions!
associated!with!every!previous!major extinction!of!species!in!Earth’s!history”
‘damn the copy n paste!
Crikey – sorted a few mysteries in a single sentence – wow, impressive.
“The!speed!and!rate!of!degeneration!in!the!ocean!is!far!faster!than!anyone!has!
predicted”
Except Greenpeace et al methinks – we’re doomed
“Many!of!the!negative!impacts!previously!identified!are!greater!than!the!worst!
predictions”
Doomed I tell ye, dooooomed
This is really woeful stuff – which the likes of Richard Black at the BBC parrot and squawk doom with their bells and sandwich boards across the public media space without sensible challenge.
Why is it that they can’t construct a coherent and referenced space where this can be properly examined ? – oh yeah, that’s it – the squeaking wheel gets the grease and the louder and more often it squeaks the more likely it’ll be lubricated.
Apparently, all you need to be an “expert” scientist, (according to the BBC and other believers), is the ability to spread massive amounts of alarm based on nothing more than hearsay and personal belief.
Funny how the BBC refuse to place the word “expert” in front of other eminent and equally qualified scientists when they do not spread alarm and gloom. They label them sceptical scientists or maverick scientists.
If Richard Black considers any scientist an Expert, then they are generally merely “repeaters” and “advocates” not scientists. When one is labelled an “expert purely based on point of view, rather than quality of research, then the word “expert” becomes meaningless.
The really sad and frustrating part in that is the fact that real environmental harm is overlooked because of the “boy that cried wolf” effect. There are real problems in some oceans with over-fishing of some species. Other species are increasing and throwing “balance” of species out of kilter.
However tying all this up with the false fear of ocean acidification and sea-level rise, makes the real problems fade as the whole bunch of false fears are rejected by a sceptical public.
The oceans are not becoming acidic. They are becoming slightly less alkaline. There is a whole world of difference between the two and the rate of sea level rise is not accelerating, but is declining.
How many times the size of Manhattan is this disaster?
Jimbo: I say stick to over-fishing and pollution issues and leave the co2 bull at home.
Couldn’t agree more. I already saw this story on BBC and my immediate thought was that “if they had just dropped the CO2 part and toned down the doomsday angle to it…”. But what do you expect when Greenpeace activist Hoegh-Guldberg is involved?
About the NGO involvement: I didn’t manage to find out myself who actually funds IPSO, and this article makes a strange jump from IPSO to “Deep Sea Conservation Coalition” – what’s the connection?
A nice gang of white, balding, overweight, privileged experts. Instead of wearing myself at university studying math and computer science, I should have become a “communication expert” – I would have fin in nicely!
[end of sarc]
…“with the aim of saving all life on the planet!”…
Is Bruce Willis joining?
@Fred Fred
@roger Carr
Thanks for fixing the link!
IPSO seems to have left out the FACTO.
Forget the ‘gray’ literature, I think it needs to be called ‘brown’ literature. You can guess why.
Kim, very nice play on words!
The BBC are flagrantly breaching their own charter! There are none so corrupt as the the righteous – those like the BBC who will not examine their own corrupt practices of pushing a particular point of view because it just happens to fit with their image of being a “nice” organisation.
Well it isn’t a “nice” organisation. It is a corrupt organisation that has been pushing a particular political dogma which is anti-industry anti-engineering, anti-impartiality, anti-truth, in short: anti-British. Whilst I couldn’t prove a relationship, it is noteworthy that the period of economic decay of the UK seems to exactly match the period of time when the BBC has existed. Coincidence or correlation?
And, at the same time, Rahmstorf and colleagues are telling us that the sealevel is rising as fast as never before. OMG
Espen: the connections is they all have their trotters in the trough.
Here’s some more background of the delegates and organisations
Whos who of activists
More BBC/Common Purpose hysteria.
Sad thing is most people are so stupid that they fall for this bilge.
Make no mistake. Richard Black is the shoddiest journalist working in the BBC today in the UK by far – and that’s against some pretty stiff competition.
Laughably there have been over 240 comments on the article – when I went there a while ago it shows only 3 comments described as “Editor’s Picks” – the usual fawning nonsense.
Black could get a press release from any warmist anytime about anything and he would just regurgitate it without a thought. The man is a joke as a journalist. Environmental correspondent, my arse. He is nothing more than a loud hailer stuck to the gob af any climate change NGO or activist “scientist” that wants it.