His last day will be December 21st, 2009. Dot Earth can be viewed here.
I can’t say I’m surprised. About a month ago, I had an email exchange with Andy on this subject, where he shared with me that he might leave.
While I often disagree with Andy’s postings, I will say that he has been extraordinarily civil to me and also to Steve McIntyre, compared to some others in the same business of writing about climate (you know who you are). He has never not responded to an email I’ve sent him.
He’s been a worthy opponent, let’s hope that whomever replaces him (if there is a replacement, NYT is doing major staffing cutbacks and employee buyouts) has the same or higher standards of conduct.
He cites frustration with journalism and also personal fatigue after routinely working virtually 24/7 in recent years. This I can understand. Keeping WUWT running these days demands similar efforts.
Yale Climate and Media Forum has more details.
On behalf of WUWT and it’s community, please join me in wishing Mr. Revkin good health and success in his next venture. – Anthony Watts
============
Note to commenters: I’m only saying this so that none of you do.
“In a way, this is cheering news” or variants of that CRU message will not be tolerated in comments.
I would like to be as magnanimous as Herr Doktor Watts and a lot of the commenters, but I am in the business of making carbon based fuels.
Revkin has spent the last decade trying to put me (and a bunch of folks in West Virginia, for that matter) out of business because of some quasi-religious fascistic fervor about “warming” and a trumped-up connection to CO2.
“Civility” might win points for those of you with no skin in the game, but I’ve got 30 years of my life invested in oil & gas (and 22 issued US Patents); I revile Revkin and every one of his miserable ilk. May they live long enough to feel the chilly wrath of the Almighty, who doesn’t cotton to overweening Hubris.
Good riddance, Revkin. Hope you took the buyout in cash.
Revkin has a chance now to become the next Woodward & Bernstein if he chooses to try. Blowing up global warming could make him famous. Will he? I doubt it….
I wonder why these ‘news people’ are quitting?
Another voice for scientific transparency in the MSM as columnist Lysiane Gagnon of the Globe and Mail refuses to be cowed by the “consensus”.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/a-dose-of-skepticism-is-healthy/article1397938/
I wonder if there is an ‘insiders’ book in the offing. It would be very nice to know how the ‘Team’ briefed members of the media.
– Andy
Of course not, Andy, of course not.
I like to think: Revkin was actually convinced the climate was changing, and has had his eyes opened in the last 4 weeks or so. It was a slow awakening, but he may have written one or many articles recently to have all of them bounced back to his desk with instructions to revise extensively and toe the line. It was easy for him to believe that the New york Times was really more a neutral source of information when he was a true believer in the cause, but perhaps when his belief finally was shaken, and he tried to speak out they silenced him, and that veil was removed from his eyes. Perhaps he will write a book, and name some names.
On the other hand, the New york Times may have planned to can him because of the “big cut-off” threat from the Global Warming High Priests was going to shut down the Times’ connection to the scare stories it needs to sell a few more copies of it’s fish-paper wrapping. While Revkin perhaps has had an awakening, we all know there is no hope for the New York Times.
Anyways, I am glad to hear he was an honest dealer when you communicated with him.
OT: IARC-JAXA’s gone nutty, rolled back to December 10. Wonder what’s up?
OT, but then again
Climategate: The Ailing ‘Mainstream’ Media Are Committing Suicide by Ignoring The Scoop of the Century
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/geraldwarner/100019894/climategate-the-ailing-mainstream-media-are-committing-suicide-by-ignoring-the-scoop-of-the-century/
And it won’t be long before the warmists go after Susan Boyle because of the CO2 she gives off while singing 🙂
What would Phil Jones say and do in a similar situation? Anthony, you are a gentleman.
Just a side note on the article I posted;
If every news paper in America had plastered on the front of them tomorrow, “Climategate”, Every news paper would be sold out in a matter of hours, and the bonuses to the journalists would start rolling in.
Gore in retreat at Hopenhagen
“…However, the climatologist whose work Mr Gore was relying upon dropped the former Vice-President in the water with an icy blast.
“It’s unclear to me how this figure was arrived at,” Dr Maslowski said. “I would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this.”
Mr Gore’s office later admitted that the 75 per cent figure was one used by Dr Maslowksi as a “ballpark figure” several years ago in a conversation with Mr Gore…”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/copenhagen/article6956783.ece
You could sense the weariness in some of Andy’s recent reporting I think – quite Tim Russert-like:
“Person A says this …. What do readers think?”
That said, some of the topics were good and some of the discussions in readers comments were quite lively, and they were basically unfiltered for all the world to see. Andy was always polite to all participants.
Good luck to Andy in his future endeavours, and here’s hoping it’s a job that doesn’t feel like a straightjacket!
Like others have said, I would love to see Mr. Revkin make a post here. I would have never found this site if I were not interested in both sides of the issue.
I join Anthony in wishing Andy the very best. He has been put through an unconscionable wringer in meeting the expectations of his mandate. Worse, recently he was out and out threatened by a punk professor at U of Illinois, Michael Schlesinger:
“The vibe that I am getting from here, there and everywhere is that your reportage is very worrisome to most climate scientists … I sense that you are about to experience the “Big Cutoff” from those of us who believe we can no longer trust you, me included.”
It is my contention that along with data manipulators, fabricators and liars, punks like Schlesinger be made to answer for their skulduggery.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1235395/SPECIAL-INVESTIGATION-Climate-change-emails-row-deepens–Russians-admit-DID-send-them.html#ixzz0Zii7uncm
FWIW, it should be “its community,” not “it’s community” in the closing of your tribute.
REPLY: No, it’s “community”. You just didn’t get the memo. 😉 Fixed thanks -A
Yes, let’s see Andrew write up a post. Would we need to take up a collection to pay him? After all, he is an out-of-work professional
This debate would be called Dumb and Dumber, but Palin would surely win.
Palin Vs. Gore: Oceans Apart
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=515264
Don’t be a stranger Andy!
Glenn Beck Reports On COP 15
And just when you thought the EPA hadn’t run amok enough;
Democrats Seeking Federal Control of Water, Including Backyard Birdbaths
http://habledash.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=393:democrats-seeking-federal-control-of-water-including-backyard-birdbaths&catid=46:political-insight-no-bull-no-bs-not-the-mainstream-liberal-media&Itemid=61
House bill extends EPA reach into wetlands
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/15/house-bill-extends-epa-reach-into-wetlands/
AGW’s ball of wax is melting, melting.
[NYT’s] Revkin has jumped (or, was pushed; see WUWT~), and now Moore has deserted the AGW Ark of Hope**.
“*John Moore is the host of Moore in the Morning on Newstalk 1010 Toronto.”
>> The AGW rats are jumping off Mao Stlong (Canadian “Liberal leader” Bob Lae’s Uncke Mo) Strong’s/O’s Ark of Hope**.
Here’s Moore’s bitter Parthian shot as he gallumphs off into his cyberAGWsunset:
>> “And so with those words I leave the climate change cause to those who genuinely care — although I do hope that one day the deniers get the upbraiding they deserve.”
…-
“*John Moore: Why I don’t care about global warming”
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/12/14/john-moore-why-i-don-t-care-about-global-warming.aspx
**ARK OF HOPE: The Ark of the New Age Covenant
The Ark of Hope, the vessel designed to carry the Earth Charter, is as unholy … [1] Maurice Strong, a founding co-chairman of the Earth Charter Commission and …
http://www.contenderministries.org/articles/arkofhope.php
“~Andy Revkin to leave Dot Earth and NYT”
http://wattsupwiththat.com/
There is no difference between Revkin and the crook who drives the getaway car at a bank robbery. Revkin is an enabler. Did he do any investigative reporting? No.
Go read TJA (17:53:23) a few posts back for a Revkin quote illustrating how he views Steve McIntyre. McIntyre has been more patient with these scammers than any of them deserve, but Revkin gives him a backhanded dismissal. That was so polite of Revkin.
No, Revkin doesn’t deserve any praise for being an enabler of the biggerst scam of the last 200 years.
dotearth, although an alarmist blog, has been very fair in letting skeptic readers post their comments. Some comments have been highly informative and I’ve learnt a great deal.
The editors have left a lot to be desired though. Those “highlight” comments chosen by them were predominately alarmist, and most were pretty lame too.