Sometimes you just have to laugh. This is one of those times. I’ve been put in my place by an “urban coyote poet” for daring to publish on this blog.
Elmer (of M4GW, not M4CC), Chris Monckton, and I , apparently are threats to democracy, and mentally imbalanced too, because apparently a radio station personality, Sue Jeffers, is using WUWT as references on air in Minneapolis. Observe:
She browbeat him with a torrent of misinformation: There is no global warming; polar bears are not in trouble; consult the work of “Lord” Monckton; on and on.
I wondered where she got this nonsense, so I checked her website. There she promotes links to the Republican Party, the Tea Party, and a site called “Minnesotans for Climate Change,” which is linked regularly to Wattsupwiththat.com. Mystery solved — mad Anthony Watts is a major source for the misinformation she dumps on her listeners.
Oh, the humanity! I’m apparently mad as a hatter. I’ll give the advice I give radio listeners that sometimes write in to my own radio station to demand that some program be taken off or censored: you have control of your own radio receiver, if the program doesn’t suit you, change the station. You are not being forced to listen.
The rant continues:
Then there is “Lord” Christopher Monckton, neither a lord nor a scientist, whose job in England appears to be deputy head of a right-wing nationalist party. In the United States, he serves as “policy advisor” to an infamous climate-denial website, apparently qualified for the position by his degrees in classics and journalism.
It is notable when poets consider themselves qualified to pronounce “climate truth”, and to pronounce others as being “mad” for having a differing opinion but people with backgrounds in mathematics (Monckton) and meteorology (myself) are not. Oh, the ironing.
You can read the entire Lenfestey opinion piece at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
The state of fear at the new year
I thank Mr. Lenfestey for bringing hundreds of new visitors to WUWT, perhaps they’ll take time to read and consider rather than simply taking an emotional stance as Mr. Lenfestey has done.
Readers may want to get background on Mr. Lenfestey at his website – I particularly liked this photo in relation to his book of poetry anthology LOW DOWN AND COMING ON; A FEAST OF DELICIOUS AND DANGEROUS POEMS ABOUT PIGS (Red Dragonfly Press, 2010)
UPDATE: Chris Monckton sends this letter:
To The Editor, Star Tribune.
2 January 2012
Sir,
Climate: get the facts right
Mr. Lenfestey (January 1), in an article about the climate that remarkably presented not a single fact about the climate, says I gave a “misleading” presentation at Bethel University in 2009. That presentation was truthful, while the driveling attempted rebuttal of it by a non-climatologist at a local bible college, gleefully referenced by Mr. Lenfesty, was full of elementary errors of science, of fact, and even of arithmetic. Would it not have been fairer also to give the URL of my detailed and, indeed, devastating reply to this mendacious nitwit? See scienceandpublicpolicy.org/reprint/response_to_john_abraham.html?Itemid=0.
Here are a few facts about the climate. This millennium there has been no statistically-significant global warming (UAH and RSS satellite data, 2001-2011). Sea level has been rising for the past eight years at a rate equivalent to 2 inches per century (Envisat, 2004-2011). Pacific atolls are gaining land mass, as is Bangladesh, where sea level has been falling (Mörner, 2011). Global sea-ice extent has hardly changed in 30 years (University of Illinois cryosphere data, 1980-2011). Hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones are at near-record lows of activity (Accumulated Cyclone-Energy Index, 2011).
It is at least ten times cheaper simply to adapt to any warming that may occur than to tax, trade, regulate, reduce or replace CO2 (President Vaclav Klaus, lecture at Cambridge University, May 2011). Besides, China, which already emits more CO2 than the entire West, will continue to build one or two large coal-fired power stations a week (annual official PRC statistical communiques, 2008-2010).
Authorities are investigating the tiny, malevolent clique of politically-motivated scientists behind the now-collapsing climate scare for downright scientific fraud against taxpayers: ag.virginia.gov/Media%20and%20News%20Releases/News_Releases/Cuccinelli/100410_UVA_Mann_Docs.html).
A growing body of learned papers concludes that the warming we cause will be about one-third of what the IPCC predicts, so it will be harmless and even beneficial (Lindzen & Choi, 2009, 2011; Spencer & Braswell, 2010, 2011; Douglass et al., 2008; Shaviv, 2008, 2011; etc., etc.).
Finally, Mr. Lenfestey puzzlingly says I am not a Lord. But I am (Who’s Who, 2007-2011).
Yours faithfully,
MONCKTON OF BRENCHLEY (by Letters Patent granted to my late grandfather in 1957).
The Tree Whisperer: Don’t Ring us we’ll Ring you……
He suggests one should “check the qualifications of your source”. What, exactly, qualifications does he possess, that allow him to pontificate? Certainly, less impressive than mine (and far less impressive than many other denizens of this site). What qualifies him to judge? The pigs? When do they grow wings?
Anyway argumentum ad verecundiam is sterile – especially if your authorities are Michael Mann, Phil Jones, Kevin Trenberth et al.
Accept the real motive – so cogently stated by Prof Dr Ottmar Edenhofer before Cancun.
I’ll try to be good ~snickerlin~
A tongue twister about pigs comes to mind. Goes something like:
“I’m not the fig plucker, nor the fig plucker’s son,
but I’ll pluck your figs till the fig plucker comes.”
…or something like that.
No, wait a minute that was about figs, my bad.
Is this guy Lenfestey related to that “climoproctologist” who wears the Superman outfit, or to the accordion playing Lawrence Welk wannabe? [No offense intended to any proctologist, Superman or to the memory of Welk]
Anyway, Anthony, accept the extra traffic. Maybe some of the extra visitors will not have totally closed minds.
I love that photo of him ‘whispering’ to what appears to be a big ear on that tree.
Perhaps he is talking to its rings.
Oh, I note, that along with his expertise in Climate Science™, he is also an expert on the English Aristocracy.
Who knows what is true anyway ? I certainly dont check all of the basic facts I read here, or read the papers or try to understand the statistics or the different disciplines.
I dont have the time. I am an expert in my own field, and in my chosen hobby, and thats it. I will never , in a million years understand most of what you fellows are going on about. But I have a set of tools that I can deploy to try to work out in which direction the truth lies, and on which side of the debate I should add my voice.
I look at the type of language being used, is it emotional, persuasive, political or simple sales talk. I look at the mentality of the voices as expressed in words. Does the mentality include deception, sanctimony or dissonance. Is the mentality one of integrity.
Is there intelluctual honesty. Does the person ever admit to any doubt, or to ever being wrong, or to ever follow a false trail. The warmists lose easily on every count.
I may not know the words. But I know the tune
EO
rwct says:
January 3, 2012 at 10:17 am
“HMMMM. The TREE Whisperer. Anyone know what they whisper to him,or is the whispering only one way? I am going to have to get out my old Tape with Clint Eastwood singing:I talk to the Trees,and they whisper to me,or something like tha,t from Paint Your Wagon. Maybe Clint knew something we don’t?”
HA! I loved that flick! Here it is that sappy Eastwood solo, nwct!
Clint Eastwood – I Talk To The Trees
I identify more with Lee Marvin – I Was Born Under A Wanderin’ Star:
“a torrent of misinformation: ….. polar bears are not in trouble”
LOL, even though polar bear numbers are increasing we all know they’re in trouble! Even coke says so. /sarc
This must have been what James Speth (cofounder NRDC, former Dean Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science, and CEQ under Carter) was hoping to create- poets wresting control of the science:
“The new environmentalism must work with this progressive coalition to build a mighty force in electoral politics……. Our environmental discourse has thus far been dominated by lawyers, scientists, and economists. Now, we need to hear a lot more from the poets, preachers, philosophers, and psychologists.”
Since much of climate science seems to be works of fiction writers- maybe poets will be a nice change of pace
http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=207520 Oct 2008: Environmental Failure:
A Case for a New Green Politics
In the Twin Cities, the StarTribune is known as the Red Star. Now you know why.
He should write a poem about Man and Bear and Pig.
It appears that the Lord Monckton’s rebuke makes an ash of the tree whisperer
“Strange how it is undemocratic to ask for a debate or have differing views – shades of totalitarianism.”
Shades? Naw. They’re wearing the whole Guy Fawkes mask of totalitarianism.
Mr. Lenfestey meet Chris Mooney
“Chris Mooney is a science and political journalist and the author of three books, including the New York Times bestselling The Republican War on Science and…”
Mr. Lenfestey should check the log in is own eye.
If you needed confirmation as to the mental stability of the “scammers” and their ‘rent a red rabble; followers this must be it.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jSSrbGuxzcnD2BZ2DBN8k-xmQO5w?docId=CNG.9df9789394ff7fed0db488d27e023895.191
I kid you not, this is a real attempt at connecting the dots like the Antarctic warming fiasco.
regards and a great 2012.
Isn’t it strange how a lot of nutters actually look like nutters – this guy is certainly not the exception to the rule!
Yeah,
Agree with the comments. Pigs= Methane.
One thing:
Lenfestey’s politics are probably like Animal Farm. Two legs Bad (Human methane/ CO2 emissions) Four Legs Good (Animal emissions). 🙂
“LOW DOWN AND COMING ON: A FEAST OF DELICIOUS AND DANGEROUS POEMS ABOUT PIGS” – Yeah, whatever. I will take e. e. cummings any time.
mr youse needn’t be so spry
concernin questions arty
each has his tastes but as for i
i likes a certain party
gimme the he-man’s solid bliss
for youse ideas i’ll match youse
a pretty girl who naked is
is worth a million statues
[snip]
What a boar!
But this idiot means well, so it is all OK.
In the words of the famous Eccles “I talk to the trees, that’s why they put me away”
Happy New Year Anthony!
Happy New Year Lord Monckton!
Happy New Year contributors and moderators!
Thanks for all the good science!
One thing though, scott. How come the word “liberal” has come to be used to describe totally iliberal or antiliberal attitudes? (see http://www.oarval.org/avalencia/Liberalen.htm)
John T says: January 3, 2012 at 10:42 am
The sad part is, many of them don’t even know what the debate is about. Its not about whether or not the earth has warmed since the Little Ice Age (it has) or whether or not CO2 is a greenhouse gas (it is). Its about two key questions (at least to me). How much has the earth warmed? And how much of that is due to CO2 (it may be negligible, it may be significant)? Those questions haven’t been satisfactorily answered, and until they are, there’s no way to know what, if anything, can or should be done.
———————————————————————————–
John, I think you’ve stated it rather well. After 30 years of climate measurements, there is still valid argument over whether the globe is warming or not. The amount of warming caused by humans is indistinguishable from random noise. It’s a scientific curiosity, not something to be concerned about.