Guest post by Robert Zimmerman
If anyone had any doubt that the global warming movement is undergoing a serious collapse, this so-called news article from Spiegel Online, entitled “Naked bodies and a new Messiah: Green groups are trying to sex up climate change,” probably lays that doubt to rest. Key quote:
Environmentalists and scientists are concerned about the massive drop in public interest in the topic over the last year. Now they are looking for new strategies to turn the tide. They’re searching for so-called “mind bombs” — highly emotional images that reduce a complex problem down to one core message.
Sadly, the article never asks the fundamental question: What do “mind bombs” have to do with facts, data, and proving your theories are correct in the real world?
The answer of course is obvious: Nothing.
Every tactic outlined in the article above is either a superficial public relations stunt or an effort to spin facts so emotionally that the general public will be mesmerized into doing whatever the global warming activists want.
The article’s author, Axel Bojanowski, describes in very enthusiastic terms a variety of tactics the environmental movement is considering in order to influence the public debate. These include:
- An emotional appeal, such as using dramatic pictures (a dying polar bear, a drowned city) to change minds.
- Sex.
- The search for a new Messiah to replace Al Gore.
- A new scientific language. To quote:
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also wants a more careful use of language. The international body sent scientists a code of conduct concerning their interactions with journalists. Scientists should avoid using words such as “risk” and “uncertainty” in interviews, the letter read, to prevent misunderstandings — and to keep from doing the climate protection movement any further damage.” [emphasis mine]
- And finally, a new kind of journalism, where journalists become a sort of propaganda wing of the environmental movement:
Climate activists have begun directing millions in funding into training programs for environmental journalists, with the goal of encouraging what’s known as “advocacy journalism.” This type of reporting is “pretty much dead in Europe,” says Markus Lehmkuhl, a media expert at Berlin’s Free University. British science journalist Alexander Kirby warns that journalists who remain neutral on the issue could endanger the cause of climate protection, but many of his colleagues refuse to take sides.
In the case of this particular story, Bojanowski seems particularly eager to be a propagandist. For example, I find it very revealing how he describes the horrific 10:10 environmental video, where young children were blown to bloody shreds for refusing to join an environmental campaign.
One commercial in a campaign by the British-based environmental organization 10:10 showed a teacher blowing up two students who were skeptical about cutting their carbon emissions, with fountains of blood spraying the others in the class. Other 10:10 videos have the same fate befalling recalcitrant office workers and footballers. But the campaign proved a dud — it sparked massive protests and was quickly withdrawn.
It is very clear Bojanowski never saw the 10:10 video, as everything he describes took place in one commercial, not several as he implies. To understand how badly he describes this “public service” ad, it is worth watching it again:
All in all, I’m not sure what disgusts me most: the desire of environmentalists to propagandize us, irrelevant of the facts, or the unwillingness of a professional journalist to do his job and ask some basic skeptical questions. Either way, the inability of these ideologues to deal with facts and openly debate the issues face-to-face provides us a clear signal of the coming collapse of their movement.
cross-posted at behindtheblack.com
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The interesting fact derived from that graph is.. Europe…..predominately left wing governments, predominantly European Union (Fabian) and from a UK perspective “Common Purpose”.
And in most cases they are European Union countries that have strict firearm controls. (however, the silly sods in charge, don’t realise that a lot of us have buried our survival rifles)
Wow, is this article really by Bob Dylan?
The last gasps of a cult… its embarrassing to watch.
We have a saying in the law:
If you don’t have the law, you argue the facts; if you don’t have the facts, you argue the law; if you have neither the facts nor the law, then you argue the Constitution.
As I was looking the quote up, (and I am not making this up) I saw that ALGORE has paraphrased it to:
When you have the facts on your side, argue the facts. When you have the law on your side, argue the law. When you have neither, holler.
I suspect we could now change the last line to, When you have neither and the hollering isn’t working, appeal to the emotions of the listener.
Why is ‘sex’ only second on the list?
GK Chesterton, the British writer, looked at the science/social movement of his day and deconstructed it rather wel.
We can read what he wrote today in “Eugenics and Other Evils”
http://www.amazon.com/Eugenics-Other-Evils-G-Chesterton/dp/1587420066
It is literally possible to substitute ‘AGW’ for ‘eugenics’ in nearly everyplace the word is used in the book and it will make the same points about climate science he did about the perversion of biology called ‘eugenics’.
And the movement was huge- the leading governments, intellectuals, foundations, progressive groups, etc. whose successors now support AGW supported eugnics.
Just looking at this graph from the perspective of a stock chart analyst, it is much too soon to declare this trend as ended. It looks much more like a consolidation in a strong bull market.
If that is so, expect to see the coverage reach new highs during the next hot spell, perhaps in the summer of 2013, after the next US Presidential Election, when the re elected President Obama moves to mark his place in history.
Even if the world were to warm significantly due to AGW, there would be more naked bodies, which I see as a good thing.
I can, if not excuse, at least understand the behavior of the environmentalist. They do not try to pretend that they are out to convert everyone to their mindset – they do not care if it is right or wrong – only that they believe it.
But Journalists? They cannot claim the same fanaticism. Their JOB is to report the truth – regardless of the ugliness of it. Yet they continue to shirk their job in order to promote their hobbies. That is shameful, incompetent, wreckless and irresponsible.
They should be tried for malfeasance and sentenced to civil penalties to correct their malfeasance. perhaps if fining idiots for incompetence became more wide spread – the idiots would keep their stupidity to themselves.
p.s. I do not advocate any government action against journalist as that would be just making a bad situation worse. However lawyers (especially ambulance chasers) love to sue for malpractice – perhaps it is time to apply that principal to journalists as well.
Sexing up a campaign of global warming in January in the northern hemisphere –doesn’t it give you goose bumps?
noticed that GW coverage got an up-tic because of all the snow.
Robert, you don’t say if it all all good coverage….
The scam has always been run by public relations firms like Fenton Communications. Fenton of course has strong connections with Maurice Strong. The left wing Strong is apparently in hiding because he was meant to front an inquiry over the food for arms UN scandal. To give Strong credit, he has always been an advocate of global governance and as the UN admitted before Cancun, AGW has been always about transferring wealth from richer countries. They say it is to the poorer countries but how many UN programs end up in offshore accounts?
Still, AGW has probably unintentionally advanced the consciousness of science and the understanding of climate and computer forecasting science.
Believe me, I’d like nothing better than “Warmers” to be the next butt of jokes….
But let’s be realistic. What would the chart of newspaper articles look like on the subject of “Gravity” or “Evolution” or “Atomic Energy”. When the number of newspaper articles declines it is not a sign that the subject has fallen into disrepute. It can also be not news because it is “accepted science.”
More fear and more drama backfires. The disaster is not the weather as much as the hoax.
On the good side, here’s an excellent anti-warmist satire from a lady impersonating Camilla……..
http://www.youtube.com/user/jactress#p/u/36/VY08ZZS-Tzs
She has some other parodies of Charles the Halfwit supporting rain forest preservation and so forth. All good stuff.
Seems like a pathetic version of Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash.
Why do I feel so angry when I read this kind of stuff? Doesn’t anybody else feel like getting hold of some of these trolls and lynching them? I know we have to keep to rules of engagement and decorum and all that – but sometimes the BS really gets my blood boiling – I dunno how folk can stay so cool in the face of such complete and utter crass stupidity.
The climate alarmists could use more sex by repackaging the whole CC movement under “Global Porning”
It should be noted that the EU itself is pumping millions of “research money” (money allocated under their 7th European Research Five year plan; oops, framework) into institutes founded with the express purpose of educating journalists, the public and whoever else they can find. Example for such an institute:
http://www.climate-service-center.de/
(Hamburg; Germany, founded 2009)
English version:
http://www.climate-service-center.de/index.html.en
These people don’t seem to do science but concentrate on AGW and Biodiversity scaremongering, like in this German interview with their boss (10th Dec; slightly before Cancun)
http://www.geo.de/GEO/natur/oekologie/66514.html
Very much like what H.L. Mencken described. These are pure propaganda institutions.
“They’re searching for so-called “mind bombs” — highly emotional images that reduce a complex problem down to one core message.”
That’s been their problem from the beginning. Overstating, exaggerating, embellishing, instead of sticking to the facts and truth. When their big bad wolf fairy tales didn’t come true people started to see them for what they are.
Have you ever thought about the possibility that this kind of spin, the emotional and symbolic staging of anthropogenic climatechange are only necessary because there are so many people (especially in the US) falling for the lies of climate-change deniers? With a rational discourse and full enlightenment of the public, these kind of PR-techniques would’t be required at all. The public would instead see the scientific consens and act on it.
My Mom would have said to me,”Son the crazy and stupid people in the world always show themselves for what they are. When you know who they are, avoid them at all costs.”
I don’t care if it was one commercial or several. It was so horrifying that it would be easy to mistake it for more than one commercial. I don’t want to see that horrifying commercial a second time and if I had to remember it, it would be easy to forget that all that horror was in one ad.
Finally! Talk of a ‘new messiah’ to replace an old greedy ‘gore’!
We shouldn’t be surprised that these goons pull such psycho-strings (I was even hesitant to take the ‘bait’ by checking out this article JUST by the ‘title’ of it on my email list…but, ’cause it’s Anthony…I knew it would be interesting.) The ‘goons’ are in fact, just activists, hired by more activists that are paid $$$ and ‘air time’ to spew their propaganda and THEY are manipulated by even higher-up-the-food-chains (such as the late Jacques C. , you know… I’d’ve turned OFF my folk’s T.V. set even at the tender age of 10 years old, had I known what this propagation of garbage was to produce in all of us!)
Do you guys remember……. (now I even can’t!) You know…….that Jim guy? The kid who was constantly thrown outta the old white haired guy’s boat when they cruised us up the Amazon for the first time??? Shows like that SOLD us on ‘eco-stuff’… I even did ‘Outward Bound’ and subjected myself to (radical lesbos that hated their Sex) and all that…..JUST to spend 3 days ‘alone’ on the top of a mountain on ‘Solo’…
To THINK that we are now being harangued and harassed by the prodigy of these countless ‘Jims’ is mind blowing, indeed.
I’m just glad though, that it’s now showing that it’s ‘run its course’ as we mature… BUT, JUST REMEMBER TO STAY VIGILANT, okay…? ‘Cause OUR kids are being fed this crap and watching the gross (as compared to what it USED TO BE) DISCOVERY INDOCTRINATION CHANNEL where our sons & daughters learn to be ‘master chefs’ with stuff that scurries under rocks, etc…
I think it’ll all boil down to just remembering to be NO ONES ‘useful idiot’. We
are to pause and THINK before ‘reacting’ or we become like the ‘Cravens’ of the world. (Sad to say…that potential lays within EACH OF US.)
C.L. Thorpe