This email in December 2003 shows what appears to be the genesis of the idea of setting up the RealClimate.org website.
There a BBC (impartiality – ho ho) connection. Roger Harrabin at this meeting at Tyndall (why was he there in the first place?) of the BBC apparently “…wanted something more pro-active.” according to the email.
#2974 is an email from Prof John Shepherd, a Tyndall advisory board member, to RealClimate’s Stefan Rahmstorf. Dated December 2003, it is a response to an email in which Rahmstorf has suggested setting up a website to counter sceptic arguments (perhaps the germ of the idea for RealClimate itself?). That’s not the point though. The point will be clear when you read Shepherd’s report of a meeting of Tyndall’s advisory board.
Many thanks for your very helpful comments. Essentially I agree on all counts, and indeed the “sceptics ask, scientists answer” web-page that you have set up is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind as a possible minimal response that we (Tyndall et al, and even maybe the Royal Society if it wants to get involved) might undrertake. Wherever possible this could/should refer to other reputable sites (incl IPCC, Hadley Centre, the ones you mention, etc etc) rather than duplicating the material. I would envisage that such a site could be maintained by a consortium of the willing, in this case involving (say) Tyndall, Hadley & PIK. We could then asked the RS (et al) to mention it and link to it on some sort of “sound science” page on their own web-site(s) (Rachel, do you think that this might fly ?).
We had an interesting debate on this at the Tyndall Advisory Board last week, and the consensus was very much in line with your views, except for the journalist present (Roger Horobin), who wanted something more pro-active. I am more sympathetic to his view than most of you, I think, but the question is what more would be useful, effective, and not too burdensome ? So far I don’t think I have identified anything, but I do think that the sort of web-page mentioned above would be a start, and so I am copying this to Asher Minns, for him to consider and discuss with John & Mike at Tyndall Central.
The date of this email is Wed, 03 Dec 2003
Academia moves slowly in most things. They had to build consensus and then search for money to do it, perhaps money that couldn’t be from NASA or other publicly funded research due to the conflicts of interest that would have created with such an outreach. They found money in the form of Fenton Communications, now Environmental Media Services.
According to whois RealClimate.org was registered as a domain almost a year later 19-Nov-2004 16:39:03 UTC
Domain ID:D105219760-LROR Domain Name:REALCLIMATE.ORG Created On:19-Nov-2004 16:39:03 UTC Last Updated On:13-Jan-2011 00:25:24 UTC Expiration Date:19-Nov-2015 16:39:03 UTC Sponsoring Registrar:Active Registrar, Inc. (R1709-LROR) Status:OK Registrant ID:ACTR1011142017 Registrant Name:Betsy Ensley Registrant Organization:Environmental Media Services Registrant Street1:1320 18th St, NW Registrant Street2:5th Floor Registrant Street3: Registrant City:Washington Registrant State/Province:DC Registrant Postal Code:20036 Registrant Country:US Registrant Phone:+1.2024636670 Registrant Phone Ext.: Registrant FAX: Registrant FAX Ext.: Registrant Email:betsy@ems.org Admin ID:ACTR1011149427 Admin Name:Betsy Ensley Admin Organization:Environmental Media Services Admin Street1:1320 18th St, NW Admin Street2:5th Floor Admin Street3: Admin City:Washington Admin State/Province:DC Admin Postal Code:20036 Admin Country:US Admin Phone:+1.2024636670 Admin Phone Ext.: Admin FAX: Admin FAX Ext.: Admin Email:betsy@ems.org Tech ID:ACTR1011143071 Tech Name:Betsy Ensley Tech Organization:Environmental Media Services Tech Street1:1320 18th St, NW Tech Street2:5th Floor Tech Street3: Tech City:Washington Tech State/Province:DC Tech Postal Code:20036 Tech Country:US Tech Phone:+1.2024636670 Tech Phone Ext.: Tech FAX: Tech FAX Ext.: Tech Email:betsy@ems.org Name Server:NS1.WEBFACTION.COM Name Server:NS2.WEBFACTION.COM Name Server:NS3.WEBFACTION.COM Name Server:NS4.WEBFACTION.COM
“Is Fenton Communications named after an out-of-control dog?”
Is Tyndall Centre really named after an out of control rugby player who plays the position of “outside centre”?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/8923674/Mike-Tindall-hits-out-at-RFU-for-making-him-a-scapegoat-over-handling-of-World-Cup-PR-disaster.html
Recall in Climategate 1.0, the obsequious e-mails from Seth Borenstein to the team? “Science” journalists in the bag, being fed stories from their masters?
And in the UK we have Futerra who produced the infamous <a href="http://www.futerra.co.uk/downloads/RulesOfTheGame.pdf"'rules of the game'. Or was Futerra created for the purpose and by whom?
Here’s its masterclass in snake oil peddling from shortly after ClimateGate-I broke.
crosspatch says:
November 30, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Jig’s up on this, I’m afraid. They have all been outed as left wing political shills.
But, but, but, but they care so deeply! Oh, the HUMANITY!!
/sarc.
I like the term coined some time above by interstella bill..
`CLIMATE REALIST` it has a solid consumer type feel to it.
its merchandizeable..
The British answer to Fenton Communications would be a group called Futerra, by the way. Six emails appear to reference Futerra in one way or another.
Also interesting is an email from EMS.org to Mike Hulme. It is interesting because it is a forwarded email from the WWF but the email is forwarded including full headers. Apparently the email went through Fenton Communications’ mail servers: 3384.txt
Might also want to give this a read. It isn’t about AGW, it is about the strategies used by Fenton Communications to create fear about things and then profit from them.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/54170138/4/Fenton-Communications
THE FEAR PROFITEERS:
Do ‘Socially Responsible’Businesses Sow Health Scares to Reap Monetary Rewards?
Edited by
Bonner Cohen,Ph.D.
John Carlisle
Michael Fumento
Michael Gough,Ph.D.
Henry Miller, M.D.
Steven Milloy
Kenneth Smith
Elizabeth Whelan,Sc.D., M.P.H.
Sound familiar?
From the link referenced in my previous comment. This is exactly how these people work and this is exactly what AGW is. This is the absolutely the MOST PROFITABLE scare that these people have manged to come up with to date.
crosspatch – In early 2005 there were questions re: RealClimate funding. FC/EMS came to light quickly – and both of those were, at the time, Soros creatures and probably still are. RC, of course, denied the connection, but as shown above, sweet Betsy (and her history) provided the final connection. I didn’t keep those emails (and other documents) – meybe I should have. And, unfortunately, I no longer have the access to reconstruct the chain.
Same Fenton Communications that introduced Ross Gelbspan http://web.archive.org/web/19970528143546/http://www.fenton.com/archive/ma_970520.html and his then-new 1997 anti-skeptic book, by saying the guy was a “Pulitzer” winner – something he is not.
Gelbspan comes up at least three times in this new batch of ClimateGate emails. For those who aren’t aware of Gelbspan’s overall role in the smear of skeptic scientists, click on my name above.
I’m scratching my head over the May 20, 2003 ClimateGate email #0277 http://www.ecowho.com/foia.php?file=0277.txt , where a bit past halfway down its page we see Hans Verolme note how “Jeff Nesmith of the Cox Newspapers group is working on a piece exposing the sceptics.” – meaning Soon & Baliunas.
Gelbspan reproduces the whole June 2, 2003 Nesmith piece at his website, “Industry Promotes Skeptical View Of Global Warming”: http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=4309&method=full . The Nesmith piece also goes after the Idsos, and conveniently refers to Gelbspan’s ’97 book.
Some more dots:
Google “Fenton Communications” and “Van Jones”. They are tight.
Van Jones was Obama’s “green jobs” czar who was responsible for doling out 60 Billion dollars of “green” stimulus money. He brags about it here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/van-jones/the-stimulus-a-down-payme_b_167681.html
Michael Mann received over 2 million dollars of that stimulus money.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704541004575010931344004278.html
Look, anytime you see the NRDC involved in ANYTHING, Fenton is behind it. Fenton is their PR agency. All of their press releases, press conference, appearances on the media, etc. are the work of Fenton. Same with WWF (Word Wildlife Foundation). Their PR is handled by Fenton Communications. Fenton *is* the public face of AGW. That “Real” Climate is a Fenton front should be no surprise. That anyone believed they were actually about science should be.
The entire game is about scaring people to the extent that they will allow billions of their tax money to be diverted to the “right” people.
Er. World Wildlife Fund
Skiphil says:
November 30, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Fenton Communications?
###
When I read that, I almost hurled 🙁
Steven Rosenberg:
Disastroturf?
And here I thought a “free press” meant freedom to report the facts.
Turns out, a “free press” means the freedom to make up the facts.
Ah well, it is, nonetheless “free”. You get what you pay for….
Oh wait… Harrabin is with the BBC?
OK, now I am confused. I can’t say you get what you pay for because you poor b***ards in the UK have to pay for the BBC through your taxes. Them, I learned in another thread, that you have to pay a license fee in order to WATCH the BBC programs you ALREADY PAID FOR.
Suddenly that British skit with the guy who pays to have an argument with someone makes SO much more sense….
crosspatch has done a phenomenal job digging this stuff up. I first heard of Fenton Communications a couple years ago in a blog piece or two at American Thinker. I think perhaps crosspatch has been too kind to the Fenton group in his comments. Read more…
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/11/a_new_study_on_bisphenol_a_bpa.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/a_chemical_scare_campaign_is_g.html
“Roger Harrabin, environmental analyst, BBC (London); Scarcity: How many rich people can the Earth take?”
Let me guess. Roger is among the few rich people that the Earth can handle miraculously.
@crosspatch:
It should be known that, whilst Cindy Sheehan began her anti-war campaign as a typical no-brain lefty, she has woken up entirely to the hypocrisy, spitefulness, arrogance, and totalitarian nature of the Left. At the same time, she knows the Right is another tool of division and she hasn’t swung to either wing of the same bird of destruction and filth that the majority of people keep alive with their ignorance and emotional attachments. Although I don’t listen to it, I’m aware that she hosts her own show (on radio or Internet radio, not sure) called Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox. Listen for yourself. I have no doubt she’s long parted ways with the “progressive” PR sorcerers at Fenton.
Mr Watts
http://activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/o/110-environmental-media-services
Fenton Communications is a subject that goes WAY back with me. It had to do with the Valerie Plame story and it had to do with some Washington Post stories on Afghanistan. It had to do with Dana Priest and her husband’s connection with the whole Fenton thing. I started noticing that all of the players in all of this stuff seemed to connect back to Fenton Communications in some way.
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/2-reporters-behind-the-wps-latest-leak
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/dana-priests-husband-gets-joe-wilson-media-gigs
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/the-leftist-world-of-dana-priest-and-william-goodfellow
I began to notice Fenton’s hand in various anti-war activist groups
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/anti-war-group-never-validated-soldier-names
I started to see Fenton as the “invisible hand” in just about EVERY issue that gained national media attention
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/alar-scare-radicals-sue-to-stop-oil-refinery
And I am sure you will find Fenton Communications behind the latest efforts to stop an oil pipeline from Canada to the US.
So when it dawned on me that AGW was being used to further the political agenda of the left, I knew Fenton would be in there somehow but I either missed or forgot about the Fenton link to Real Climate.
The links between Real Climate and Fenton first surfaced here at WUWT in this thread in 2009
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/12/20/a-telling-omission-by-real-climate/
crosspatch says:
November 30, 2011 at 2:34 pm
And lo and behold, a great deal of the contributions to EMS comes from: (drum roll) … Tides Foundation!
Oh, my goodness. We basically have the number one financial organ of activist “progressive” causes. You have to be in pretty good standing with all the right people to get money from Tides. No way they are going to give money to anyone who is actually objective. They ONLY provide money for activist organizations that further their agenda.
Actually, in a web search I see this link being made in 2010 in a thread called “Catholicism and Climate Change” on a religious website. “]
🙂 I feel special…Thank you 🙂
James Sexton says:
November 30, 2011 at 3:17 pm
///////////////////////////////
James
I have just had a quick look at your site. I have not been on it before. There were some interesting posts well worth a read.
And sure enough …. Center for Biological Diversity is a Fenton Communications client, is in the news, and sued the State Department over the pipeline. “Bold Nebraska” is another one and Fenton apparently “Likes” that organization on their facebook page.
Mike Mann put the”we” in this email on helping out RealClimate:
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009, Tim Osborn wrote:
Hi Mike and Gavin,
Keith’s temporarily come in to get a handle on all this, but it will take time. Likely
outcome is (1) brief holding note that no cherry-picking was done and demonstrating data
selection is defendable by our time tomorrow; (2) longer piece with more evaluation etc.
in around a week. No point is posting something that turns out to be wrong.
Keith may post them on the CRU website, but presumably they could be linked to from a
RealClimate page or, if Keith agrees, be reproduced on RealClimate?
Cheers
Tim
At 14:16 30/09/2009, Michael Mann wrote:
Hi Tim,
Just checking if there are any further developments here, i.e. some more info from
either Tom or Keith. Gavin and I feel we need to do something on RealClimate on this quickly, probably by later today. thanks in advance for any help you can offer,
mike
http://foia2011.org/index.php?id=6326