From cartoonist Marc Roberts, via Andy Revkin:
We await Josh.
A new apology today from 10:10’s director, to replace the half-witted first one. [Game show buzzer sounds] too little, too late.
Statement by Eugenie Harvey, Director of 10:10 UK
Last week, 10:10 made available a short film. Following the initial reaction to the film we removed it from our website and issued an apology on Friday 2 October.
Subsequently there has been negative comment about the film, particularly on blogs, and concern from others working hard to build support for action on climate change. We are very sorry if this has distracted from their efforts.
We are also sorry to our corporate sponsors, delivery partners and board members, who have been implicated in this situation despite having no involvement in the film’s production or release.
We will learn from this mistake. Today I have written to supporters and stakeholders explaining that we will review processes and procedures to make sure it cannot happen again. Responsibility for this process is being taken by the 10:10 board.
The media coverage of the film was not the kind of publicity we wanted for 10:10, nor for the wider movement to reduce carbon emissions.
If people have been in touch with us personally about the film, we will be replying to individual emails over the next few days. Meanwhile our thanks go out to all those who support 10:10 and who work to combat the threat of climate change.
Eugenie Harvey
Director, 10:10 UK
hello@1010uk.org
NYT’s Andrew Revkin says:
If the goal had been to convince people that environmental campaigners have lost their minds and to provide red meat (literally) to shock radio hosts and pundits fighting curbs on greenhouse gases, it worked like a charm. Of course the goal might have been buzz more than efficacy. Too often these days, that’s the online norm. They succeeded on that front. I, among many others, am forced to write about it. Congratulations.
…
I’d like to see the group’s sponsors, including Sony, figure out an upside to this effort. They should either state why they continue to provide support or pull out.
Ask and ye shall receive, WUWT commenter Katabasis notes:
Official response from Sony:
“Thank you for your email concerning the video released by the 10:10 climate change campaign group. Sony has supported the 10:10 climate change campaign because we share its objective to reduce carbon emissions. However, we strongly condemn the “No Pressure” video which was conceived, produced and released by 10:10 entirely without the knowledge or involvement of Sony. The company considers the video to be ill-conceived and in extremely bad taste. We also believe the video risks undermining the work of the many thousands of members of the public, schools and universities, local authorities and many businesses, of which Sony is one, who support the long-term aims of the 10:10 movement and who are actively working towards the reduction of carbon emissions.
As a result we have taken the decision to disassociate ourselves from 10:10 at this time.
In our press statement we will be posting tomorrow morning we reaffirm our ongoing commitment to the reduction of global carbon emissions as part of our ‘Road to Zero’ environmental plan.”
First seen here:
http://ktwop.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/sony-disassociate-themselves-from-1010/
Paul Chesser at the American Spectator writes:
It looks like Sony and Kyocera Mita have demanded their removal from all associations with the extremist climate group 10:10.org, which produced that exploding schoolchildren video last week. The corporations’ names have been removed from the list of partners, and a lengthy post by Sony’s point-person on climate change, Naomi Climer, has been deleted from the 10:10 site.
Not only that, but a huge U.S. environmentalist promoter and partner, 350.org (headed by Bill McKibben), is no longer listed as an organizational partner. Both 10:10 and 350 have been heavily promoting an October 10 (10/10/10) “global workday” to supposedly bring fresh attention to the global warming threat. The message from 350.org’s press shop:
We respect 10:10’s previous work to encourage companies, schools, and churches to voluntarily cut their carbon emissions 10%. Upon seeing the video, however, we have informed 10:10 that we can no longer remain partners on 10/10/10 or any other initiative. 350.org maintains an absolute commitment to nonviolence in word and deed.
Ow, that’s gotta hurt.
More from NYT:
This from the article suggests that the 10:10 blunder has sucked all the online oxygen out of the environmental movement:
A YouTube repost (of the 10:10 video) by a third party Thursday got more than 149,000 views over the weekend and elicited more than 2,300 comments. Several other versions have topped 100,000 views, as well.
A Sierra Club video featuring a National Football League player warning that coal ash is a health threat to children got 95 YouTube views during the same interval.
And speaking of oxygen, the list of sponsors dwindles, and then there was one:
O2 is the only sponsor holdout thus far, we’ll see how long that lasts.
Post your updates and latest tips below, and I’ll include important ones here in the body of the post.
====================================================
1. Oh, and I should add this for Mr. Gareth Renowden, of “Hot Topic” New Zealand, the purported leading global warming website of New Zealand
Well Gareth, looks like your wrongheaded opinion of “sense of humour failure” has been falsified. Time to come clean and admit you’ve boobed.
Latimer Adler@2.07
BRILLIANT
Hahaha.
Its worse than they thought.
@golf charley
On reflection, I found it Hitlarious.
(Sorry NA guys – too much Goons, ISIRTA and Monty Python in my depraved British upbringing…..)
“Staff are even joining a two-hour bike trip round Paris to promote 10:10 and our commitment to reducing Sony’s emissions.”
This is too funny… Me too! I’ll come! Send me a ticket – I’ll even buy a bicycle when I get there and donate it to some less fortunate Parisiennewho can only bicycle around Paris every day! We will spare no expense getting to Paris to show our commitment!
You have to watch this one.
Warning extremely graphic.
http://t.co/PmvhOcv
Eugenic Harvest, Frani Riefenstahl and Dick.
How inappropriate!
Btw noticed this sponsor?
“Olswang LLP – Keeping us out of jail, free” 🙂
W/ italics mine:
“Olswang is a leading business law firm with a distinctive approach. Our pioneering and problem-solving ethos has established a commanding reputation in the technology, media and real estate sectors, as well as a wide range of other industries.”
Finally there’s the humour and the irony we’ve been missing. Lots of.
It would be nice to think that the hitherto financial backers of 10/10 including Sony, Kyocera, O2 and the UK Government might use this fiasco with which they are associated to open their minds to the whole AGW debate, and not base their conclusions and corporate decisions on the corrupted science that has been so heavily promoted on the back of huge financial donations of the kind made by these organisations. The 10/10 video fiasco seems to have provided the opportunity for these organisations (at least some) to withdraw their support for what is increasingly seen as a flawed message being put out by the AGW fanatics against an increasingly sceptical public, a public who cannot understand why the warmists will not enter into an open scientific debate against respected scientists who are capable of putting forward lucid and logical arguments against the discredited, but heavily promoted, AGW science.
Come on Sony et al why don’t you finance and organise an open scientific debate on AGW in the UK or the US without taking a pre-conceived position on the subject. I believe such a debate would bring infinitely more goodwill to the organising company, providing of course that the sceptic side was allowed to choose their own speakers.
This despicable ad was aired by Glenn Beck last night, and so a huge segment of the population has seen it that otherwise wouldn’t have seen it. Glenn’s commentary was spot on, too–lambasting the very idea of such a horrible piece. I’m sure those responsible for this ad wish they had never even thought up the idea; it will probably be held forever more as the iconic example of idiocy and perversion.
(I’m worried about the psychological health of the children that took part in the production of this gorry mess–how many nightmares will they have?)
10:10 (i.e. SpannerFilms) are now trying to get YouTube to remove the parodies, using copyright…. this was the Muslim one:
http://www.youtube.com/?v=5IrtItfWn1E
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Spanner Films Ltd.
video which was conceived, produced and released by 10:10 entirely without the knowledge or involvement of Sony.
No chums you don’t get away with that. Your involvement is absolute because you give them money, yes Mun Knee, dough, dosh. If you give funds to idiots, expect to see idiocy, so I have a message for those nice folks at Sony trying to distance themselves from this. Sorry no pressure. I have many Sony items in my home – there will be no more. Neither will I do business with O2. Others might care to join me, so that a strong message is sent to corporations, to beware of those you befriend.
[ Fixed tags. end with “/letter” not the “letter /” you had. -mmod]
Steve at 4:52
Where are Spanner Films getting the legal funding from to do this? It wouldn’t be more UK taxpayers money?
UK gov’t & funding the NP video?
There is something rotten in the state of
DenmarkUK.John
BLACK CARBON vindicates! 😉
see LuMo’s:
http://motls.blogspot.com/2010/10/physics-nobel-prize-geim-novoselov.html#more
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqTd0g48ZY4&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3]
Josh has a new cartoon up on this.
http://cartoonsbyjosh.com/Gore_extra.jpg
The relationship between big corporations and the global warming crusade provide powerful tests of explanations of how capitalism works. People on the left tend to assume that oil companies, for example, would fund skeptics – they don’t think of testing their theory by looking at evidence that BP gave millions to research global warming (it’s in the UEA emails) or that leading skeptic Steve McIntyre depended on his readers for donations in order to attend a debate in London this summer.
Companies usually behave neither like the heroic capitalists of Ayn Rand’s fiction, nor the evil ones of Karl Marx’s. They are highly sensitive to public perception, and as a result, surprisingly liberal. As a result, many of them have scrambled to board the Titanic of climate change science, believing that the icebergs have all melted. As the tide of faith ebbs, they are jumping ship.
I just dropped an email to the O2 press office asking for their position on the video; their response:
“Thank you for your email to the O2 press office.
Along with 100,000 members of the public, leading businesses, schools and universities, local authorities and NHS Trusts, O2 supports the aims of the 10:10 campaign. We acknowledge our responsibility to the environment and are committed to reducing our carbon emissions both as an organisation and in society as a whole. 10:10 is an independent organisation and we don’t ask for editorial control over the content of its campaigns.”
Fair enough, but not having editorial control or awareness at least does not preclude the effects of negative PR from this. Or rather how did they allow themselves to put in such a position in the first place? For most big businesses protecting their investment in their brand and market position is of utmost importance (anybody remember Gerard Ratner and the quote that their earrings were “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long”, that business went under quicker than the Titanic).
Seems rather odd for such a large business to take such a “Laissez-faire” approach to who they associate their brand with.
AdderW says on October 5, 2010 at 2:01 am in response to someone else:
Email Sony and let them know that we remember their involvement with that disgusting 10:10 organization … and that we can vote with our money.
I am doing so.
Follow this link and let them know that their brand has now become entwined with the disgusting 10:10 organization!
http://news.sel.sony.com/en/corporate_information/emailcontact.php?extname=John_Dolak
Reached from here: http://news.sel.sony.com/en/corporate_information/contact_us
Keith Oct 5 8:15 am:
Hallo, Keith. I got the exact same reply from O2 as you did. I wonder how many they had to send? I wonder if they’re still feeling as defiant now they’re on their own?
Hi DaveF.
I told them they were on their own and provided links as proof – seems a stock answer to give them some wiggle room either way until they make a decision.
BTW the youtube views are up beyond 450,000 now on the main copy…
Keith
Let Sony and Kyocera off the hook. They reacted quickly and will be careful to avoid another fiasco like this.
Far more important is the government sponsorship of 10:10. Might be a remnant of Nu Labor, but IMHO the Brits have a word to say to their new government. Didn’t they want to cut expenses anyway? Good opportunity.
Serves Sony right for their sell-out to the greenies. This alerts us all that some greenies are sick, twisted, evil people.
RockyRoad says:
October 5, 2010 at 4:44 am
“(I’m worried about the psychological health of the children that took part in the production of this gorry mess–how many nightmares will they have?)”
======
And speaking of the kids … consider the words of the child-actor, Jamie Glover, who (according to the Guardian) is reported to have said:
I shudder to think how many potential eco-jihadists he might be “inspiring”. What’s Gaia promising them … 72 trees on the other side?