This is really something. The job opening listed below advertises for an NSF funded program at George Mason University for education of TV weathercasters on how “unusual weather events” are connected to “climate change”. Apparently the “weather is not climate” maxim has been thrown out the window in a desperate attempt to salvage sinking public opinion on the issue.
“This project will focus on establishing a national network of on-air broadcast meteorologists, climate scientists, university research programs, and key climate and weather science organizations, to engage, train, and empower local broadcast meteorologists to educate and inform the American public about climate.”
I suppose this relates to Dr. Kevin Trenberth’s statement about TV weathercasters in his recent speech preprint to be delivered at the upcoming AMS convention in Seattle.
Nevertheless, the natural variability provides valuable opportunities for ongoing “news” and education, as teachable moments, but many scientists have not been helpful, and many TV weathercasters are poorly informed and sometimes downright hostile (Wilson 2009).
From personal experience, I imagine they’ll be more even more hostile when their TV news director gets a call from the climate re-educators asking why they didn’t link the hailstorm yesterday to global warming.
Get a load of this statement:
It will also adapt and test conflict resolution theory and practice to engage meteorologists who reject the scientific consensus and climate scientists in constructive dialogue.
Here is the PDF hosted at NCAR/UCAR, and here is that PDF put to plain text below.
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George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication Postdoctoral Research Fellow
The George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication invites applications for a full-time Postdoctoral Research Fellow to support an NSF-funded planning grant titled Making the Global Local: Unusual Weather Events as Climate Change Education Opportunities. The goal of this project is to establish a national network of climate and weather science organizations, and university research and teaching programs, to engage, train, and empower local broadcast meteorologists to educate and inform the American public about climate change. The project will integrate informal learning, mass communication, and experiential learning theories to develop and test new pedagogical approaches to informal science education through frequent mass media exposure, linked to realworld experience (i.e., the local weather). It will also adapt and test conflict resolution theory and practice to engage meteorologists who reject the scientific consensus and climate scientists in constructive dialogue. Collaborating institutions include National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, American Meteorological Society, National Weather Association, American Association of State Climatologists, American Geophysical Union, Climate Central, National Environmental Education Foundation, and Yale and Cornell universities.
Candidates must have a PhD in a relevant social or learning science discipline, and a track record of published journal articles and/or conference papers on relevant topics of inquiry including climate change communication, science communication and/or formal or informal science education. Experience in survey research, qualitative data collection, strategic (program) planning, professional development, and climate science is preferred. Additional skills required include competence in planning and multitasking, attention to detail, excellent organizational skills, ability to communicate verbally and in writing, and the ability to adapt to the changing demands of a dynamic research environment.
For full consideration, interested and qualified applicants must submit the online faculty application for position #F9401z. Applications should include (a) cover letter including a statement of research interests and career goals, and names and contact information of two professional references, and (b) a vita.
h/t to Samuel Patterson at www.climatequotes.com
Or toe the line, either. 😀
Dare one hope that this evokes a full-bore push-back complete with flamethrowers from the Meteorologists of the world? It would be a very educational battle!
I suppose the conclusion of The Man-Made Global Warming Conspiracy.! essay is; The climate changing is not your fault.
davidc says:
January 15, 2011 at 5:44 pm
“So a PhD in science would not be qualified. A person with conference papers (so at least two; say, one at Copenhagen, one at Cancun) on informal science education would be qualified as long as they have a non-science PhD.”
Chances are the hire was made before the ad was written. The ad is just cya.
^Bernd
This is how a psychiatrist has put it:
I suppose the conclusion of The Man-Made Global Warming ??????????.! essay is; The climate changing is not your fault.
Around the time this was happening: http://www.thorntonweather.com/blog/climate-change/climate-scientist-knockdown-william-gray-versus-james-hansen/ , the AMS had a page in its education section which debunked CO2 being responsible for global warming – it quickly disappeared.
Re-education is already in place because as every dictator knows, the educated are the first threat to any dictator’s survival. Destroying the credibility of the educated is resorted to here because impossible to organise enough firing squads, yet, together with introduction of AGW dogma into school curriculums to create an ignorant generation is par for this course. Well tried and tested methods.
On this page are links to various articles: http://z4.invisionfree.com/Popular_Technology/index.php?showtopic=2050.
Under “Scientist Polls/Surveys:” it has one survey saying, “85% of AMS Certified Weathercasters do not agree that most of the warming since 1959 is very likely human-induced”.
The link takes this to an AMS page which can no longer be found by AMS: http://journals.ametsoc.org/archive/1520-0477/90/10/pdf/i1520-0477-90-10-1457.pdf
So I don’t know which year this was done. In 2010 the picture had changed somewhat: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/03/29/ams-sponsored-survey-of-tv-weathercasters-63-of-tv-weathercasters-believe-global-warming-is-mostly-natural/
An effort was made to specifically attack the weathermen in the US in 2007 by a “Weather Channel Climate Expert Calls for Decertifying Global Warming Skeptics” on the http://epw.senate.gov/public/ Put Decertification into search and its the last three listed about this story.
Re-education might take longer, but if they have the clout, and clearly they do, it’s a lot easier than a show down with those who still know the science. Those who continue objecting will probably be marginalised or quietly replaced. With MSM in their MSControl, we’ll probably only get to hear snippets.
“will also adapt and test conflict resolution theory and practice to engage meteorologists who reject the scientific consensus and climate scientists in constructive dialogue. ”
Wasn’t it Stalin who would encourage his advisors, ministers, and generals to have individual audiences with him to confide their concerns, opinions, and suggestions, so together they could improve the condition of the workers and the motherland.
Stalin would nod approval and acceptance of what they confided.
As the advisor left, Stalin would nod again to another “advisor”, who would quietly treat those visitors perceived as threats to a muffled gunshots to the temple.
Of course, I don’t expect them to execute those who disagree with them (if their aim is as good as their models, there’s nothing to worry about), but they’re already composing a blacklist (see http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/06/22/a-new-blacklist/ )
I don’t trust these people.
Weather is not Climate,
Never forget.
Unless it is, then change your bet.
Weather kills but climate enriches,
We pay your bills so mind your pitches.
You’ll get it wrong, from time to time,
but never mind,
You’ll never have to defend a crime!
We’ll make sure you’ll never lose
‘cos if you do our goose is cooked!
And that will never happen. Ever!
Good grief a center for climate change communication. So now the problem isn’t the science, its the communication. Sorry if the message is a lie it doesn’t matter how you package that lie, people will still know it is a lie.
Wow, so now that want to churn out others to preach their propaganda. This is becoming less and less about science and more and more about mind control.
“The project will integrate informal learning, mass communication, and experiential learning theories to develop and test new pedagogical approaches to informal science education through frequent mass media exposure, linked to realworld experience (i.e., the local weather).” PEDAGOGICAL? Babble on. Love the realworld weather reference. In previous years we have been lectured that weather is not climate and snow is a thing of the past, and this winter every event of weather is proof of AGW.
Just follow the Chicago Way, vote early and often.
Notice that they’re not asking for a candidate with a PhD in a relevant SCIENCE field, but in a “social science” field , the bastion of leftist propaganda.
“Candidates must have a PhD in a relevant social or learning science discipline”
Here’s a link to their site: As I said, this can be written off as leftist propaganda.
http://www.climatechangecommunication.org/team.cfm
“The goal of this project is to establish a national network of climate and weather science organizations, and university research and teaching programs, to engage, train, and empower local broadcast meteorologists to educate and inform the American public about climate change.”
Sorry. You’re a day late and a dollar short. The American public takes its information directly from the weather itself, so unless you can control the weather outside of a computer model, you can’t fool the American public.
“If ignorance is bliss, then wipe the smile from my face”- RATM . I’m all for a world government, I just do not believe we, as a species, are ready. We have much poop to put in a group.
I am pretty certain that my favorite local weather guy David Spense is a skeptic, but he has a family and the network that he works for is firmly about the warming. I still like his manner though, and he seems like a nice fellow. He might be able to side-step the re-Neducation. One of us, one of us, …….
From the Cliff Mass Weather Blog, a professor at Univ of Washington in Seattle.
“Virtually all of these atmospheric rivers are connected with the jet stream (as shown above). Nearly all climate models indicate the jet stream will move north due to man-caused global warming. Does that mean the we will get less atmospheric rivers and LESS extreme precipitation as the jet moves north? That should be true for someone along the coast. This is why the simple arguments often provided by the media (global warming means more extreme precipitation and floods!!) may not be quite true for everyone. And here is an interesting tidbit…the number of extreme flooding events have DECLINED in northern CA and southern Oregon during the past fifty years. Is it already happening? Are we next for a dry out? My profession really has to get a better understanding of all this. ”
Interesting comment.
Terry
Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall” comes to mind.
The AGW promotion industry is, thanks to modern tech rapidly becoming more pernicious than eugenics in its day.
A Climate Change Communication Program?
Yup, CCCP seems appropriate…
In Climate Science, the carbon dioxide drives the temperature!
“The goal of this project is to establish a national network of climate and weather science organizations, and university research and teaching programs, to engage, train, and empower local broadcast meteorologists to educate and inform the American public about climate change.”
A few problems already:
1. Local broadcast meteorologists work for organizations, that above all else, make money. Hope they can talk their LOCAL advertisers into putting money into a AGW biased production.
2. Local forecasts mention LOCAL conditions and forecasts. If there were floods in Tasmania, and they try to tie that to AGW, viewers might just find another station.
3. Most local broadcasts have very little time to get into anything more than local conditions, and maybe the 5 day forecast. The directors are going to find it hard to free up more time to allow the AGW talks.
The market is going to have the final say as to whether or not the forecasters get on board. When the advertisers and viewers state their displeasure, the directors will change it.
BTW, the best broadcast forecasting I’ve ever seen was on a network called the RAT (Rural Alaskan Television), now renamed the ARCS (Alaska Rural Communication Service: a system of satellite fed low power television transmitters providing free over the air service to 235 communities spread through all regions of the State of Alaska).
This system is owned and funded by the State.
What made their weather forecast so great was the fact that this one hour forecast doubled as a full flight (aviation) weather forecast. Trying to tie in a global warming aspect to those should go over real well…
Well spotted, Anthony. Ugly doublespeak. They must be de-funded!
The Rise of the thought police, how predictable, how terrible too.
in australia the forcasters could not tell you what yesterdays weather was shame shame shame thay will start the forcast with a right hand salute
Pheww! Some days it just doesn’t pay to keep up with the news.
So yet another institution named after a great person turns around and sullies their namesake’s reputation. Washington, Madison, Jefferson, Franklin. Mason. Nothing is sacred. (Sigh).
Things like this make me wonder if was born into The Matrix or Carpenter’s They Live. Some days I feel like I was just released from cryo-prison in Demolition Man or just awoken into an Idiocracy. And as others mentioned above, this could almost be a ST:TNG Borg episode. Elements from each seem to apply in every direction! And there are probably a few I missed.
Anyway, the totalitarians have not surrendered yet, we have more work to do. So let’s continue passing out red pills and sunglasses. Be well. Resistance is NOT futile.
‘to develop and test new pedagogical approaches to informal science education’
I do wish they’d use more precise language because using terms like pedagogical sounds like they are teaching children, I think they really meant andragogical approaches. But then, maybe they are that condescending!
Frank K, loved your spoof! Just a respectful suggestion though, you seem to have overlooked the importance of mime and interpretative dance in the communication strategies.
I do wonder how graduates of this course will fare in the marketplace. Will an audience (and its sponsors) in the so called flyover States welcome this approach? I suspect not. Hence, Frank’s suggestion of incorporating event management, and mine of mime and interpretative dance, should be considered as constructive in terms of enhancing the employability of these graduates.