By S. Fred Singer
Gallia omnia est divisa in partes tres. This phrase from Julius Gaius Caesar about the division of Gaul nicely illustrates the universe of climate scientists — also divided into three parts. On the one side are the “warmistas,” with fixed views about apocalyptic man-made global warming; at the other extreme are the “deniers.” Somewhere in the middle are climate skeptics.
In principle, every true scientist must be a skeptic. That’s how we’re trained; we question experiments, and we question theories. We try to repeat or independently derive what we read in publications — just to make sure that no mistakes have been made.
In my view, warmistas and deniers are very similar in some respects — at least their extremists are.
They have fixed ideas about climate, its change, and its cause. They both ignore “inconvenient truths” and select data and facts that support their preconceived views. Many of them are also quite intolerant and unwilling to discuss or debate these views — and quite willing to think the worst of their opponents.
Of course, these three categories do not have sharp boundaries; there are gradations. For example, many skeptics go along with the general conclusion of the warmistas but simply claim that the human contribution is not as large as indicated by climate models. But at the same time, they join with deniers in opposing drastic efforts to mitigate greenhouse (GH) gas emissions.
I am going to resist the temptation to name names. But everyone working in the field knows who is a warmista, skeptic, or denier. The warmistas, generally speaking, populate the U.N.’s IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and subscribe to its conclusion that most of the temperature increase of the last century is due to carbon-dioxide emissions produced by the use of fossil fuels. At any rate, this is the conclusion of the most recent IPCC report, the fourth in a series, published in 2007. Since I am an Expert Reviewer of IPCC, I’ve had an opportunity to review part of the 5th Assessment Report, due in 2013. Without revealing deep secrets, I can say that the AR5 uses essentially the same argument and evidence as AR4 — so let me discuss this “evidence” in some detail.
Read the full essay here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/climate_deniers_are_giving_us_skeptics_a_bad_name.html#ixzz1nn0SciyO
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
IMO, Singer is trying to thread a needle that isn’t necessary. He should man up and declare himself a full blown denier. How hard could that be?
From the article
“To bring about justice and equality in the world” There you have it. The real reason in a nutshell. To take from some and give to others. Meanwhile the takers take their share first ,then dribble out what’s left. They “feel good” and this make everything OK. What a bunch of phooey!
Never should we let them get away with this.
Spare me the cr#@ur momisugly Singer. Folks like you conjured the pejorative to subvert anyone who dared ask questions. Now you try to create nuances of “Denier” hate to save face.
The term “denier” should be qualified. Most if not all skeptics recognize that global warming was true, and so was global cooling. That climate change is true, but it is mainly natural climate cycle of warming-cooling-warming-cooling. So skeptics are not “warming deniers” or “climate change” because they recognize that both global warming and climate change did happen, and will happen again. What is being denied is the “man-made” aspect of global warming and climate change, because there are natural factors (the Sun, GCRs, volcanoes, clouds, water vapor, etc.) that affect the climate, not just human emission of CO2.
I think like most fields you cannot box people under general labels like that as their beliefs vary widely. However people that aren’t open to reviewing the facts from whichever side they may come probably shouldn’t be called scientists.
I first took an interest in the whole shemozzle knowing that my wee patch of the world seemed to me to be in a mild spell (as my parents had suggested to me in the 50s – “you’ve never been able to skate on the river but we did at your age”) and expecting to see the effect neatly quantified for the whole planet. Imagine my surprise to find that the temperature measurements seemed to have been fannied about with, in a manner that seemed to be often stupid and sometimes dishonest. Once I realised that I was dealing with duds and crooks I became even more sceptical than usual. But I still suspect that we are in a mild spell – compared to, as I now know to call it, the Little Ice Age. But if the measurements are conclusive, why do the warmistas fiddle and lie so much? It’s a mystery.
What is your point.
There is not really an in-between argument.
Either there is warming caused by manmade additions of CO2 or there is not any.
Clearly there ism’t any
as evidenced by the results
http://www.letterdash.com/HenryP/henrys-pool-table-on-global-warming
Are you saying I am a denier because my results are telling me that the warming is due to natural causes?
The AWG side is made up of political radicals who want to destroy western civilization so that they can bring to fruition their dream of a great socialist utopia. It has nothing to do with science. Equating the sins of the lefties with those trying to thwart their goals is like equating someone who stole a candy-bar as a kid, with an armed bank robber. How come its always the lefties who talk about compromising. Compromising truth is always results in false. If a robber wants to take all my money, I don’t say “How about half” as a compromise. I get sick and tiered of the “Well they all do it” argument. Lefties lie because it is in their DNA to lie. It is a direct corollary of the “ends justifies the means”. The must believe that because otherwise they would not be able to justify the theft that is implicit in statist socialism.
“I am going to resist the temptation to name names.”
I would like the name of at least one person who ‘denies climate’ as S. Fred Singer puts it.
In the article he states that ‘deniers’ think, “the greenhouse effect does not exist”, and “argue about the cause and effect of the observed increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide”, and “CO2 is so small that they can’t see how it could possibly change global temperature.”
No examples of people denying climate!?
Interesting. Thanks.
If only the alleged academics on the warmista side would have the integrity to do what you are doing now.
I was a denier before it was cool. :P~
Singer says in the essay in the American Thinker:
“But what if there is little to no warming between 1978 and 2000? What if the data from thousands of poorly distributed weather stations do not represent a true global warming? The atmospheric temperature record between 1978 and 2000 (both from satellites and, independently, from radiosondes) doesn’t show a warming. Neither does the ocean.”
I am bit surprised about this assertion. On which data is it based?
Thanks, Ag Economist
Interesting positioning by Singer.
here is the sad truth. Until the “skeptics” as Singer describes thems, take on the “deniers” as Singer describes them, then Warmista will continue to successfully lump “skeptics” with “deniers”
According to singer their are certain positions that are clearly contradicted by the science, cheif among them is the disbelief that GHGs can cause warming
Here is a simple phrase you can use to “self identify” as a skeptic:
“GHGs cause warming, the question is how much”
Unless “skeptics” make strong statements about the mistakes of people who deny any GHG effect whatsoever, you’ll forever be lumped in with the kooks. As for the rest of what Singer says, I beg to differ. But he has this point right. Its important to not be lumped in with those who are anti science
I am skeptical about the claim that the deniers are wrong.. The more hard data we get the more they appear correct, ie, we have no statistically significant measurable net warming definatively attibuted to human added CO2. It is still conjecture. There are competeing theories. Of course, there is lots of warming due to agriculture clearing forests and urban heat islands warming the atmosphere, and soot melting the arctic ice.
Some of us deniers are balanced, it is just a matter of degree and term preference.
I always, specifically use the terminology denier, I am 48 years old – older than the average person – and it doesn’t mean or con-notate the holocaust, it means what I say. “I deny the assertions on man made global warming.” Clearly global temperatures go up, clearly they go down, I don’t deny warming trends – the issue is the cause.
Pure scientists say well CO2 must have some (small effect), my position is 0.03% of the atmosphere is CO2 (small effect). Man made CO2 is 3% of natural emissions that lead to this 0.03%. I think even the most precise, egg headed scientist, who insists on exact correctness would have a hard time to defending 1 degree total change in over 120 years – a remarkably stable data set, then attribute the major cause (I’ve seen estimates at 50%) to 3% of a 0.03% TRACE GAS.
If skeptics speak in clear, concise ways, like this simple logic, there is no room for Warmistas to wiggle. I am a denier. When we say, man made contributions lead to slight warming (in a fair-minded, correct, scientific way), you lose people not comfortable with Math. When you say the CO2 contribution will only have a logarithmic effect – needs to go up a factor of 10 to double impact, you lose them again. I’m not advocating intellectual dishonesty, by any rounding curve you like, whatever infinitesimal impact (only man-made) emissions have, it is below our ability to measure and can be, reasonably reported as going to zero in any fair rounding method.
Rant, off.
I am a “denier” that man is causing climate change. I believe the earth’s climate does whatever it wants to do, and man can do nothing but adapt or die. Until I can see real proof to the contrary (computer models don’t count), my opinion won’t change. And with all due respect to Dr. Singer, his affiliation with the University of Virginia taints anything he may write on climate change. Anyone associated with a university shielding M. Mann is guilty through association.
Seriously I have never met a ‘D’ worder? I have met those who use power and influence based on a perception of threat to change society to their will and those who fight against them !
Neither holds the truth [no one does!] but one side holds all the levers!
Good point. Denying that CO2 is increasing or that increased CO2, water vapor, whatever do not absorb heat (lower frequency, high entropy photons) re-radiation back into space ignores basic physics. The scientific debate should be “How much does an increase, say of CO2 affect climate?” Us skeptics say some but do not invoke the magic multipliers of effect that the hysterics invoke. The political debate is over what degree of action should be taken given that CO2 levels have been measured to be rising. The skeptics answer is not to take any drastic actions that crashes the economy. Western economic and scientific strength gives us the best tools to attack any unforeseen events. It’s prudent for all sides to explore energy alternatives to coal and oil like nuclear and solar, but somehow the climate hysterics just can’t bring themselves to back clean nuclear as a source of much needed electricity.
I think these terms have been so abused as to be recognizable. Yes, the classical definitions are still correct, but in the vernaculars, they are so bent as to be completely unusable.
The real question is: How much warming does co2 cause, if any?
I am a denier, and proud of it. When the hard measured data shows that adding CO2 to the atmopshere causes a discernable temperature rise, I will cease to be a denier. Until then, I will not change my mind. And there is no CO2 “signal” in the global temperature/time graph; none whatsoever.
That should be “no CO2 “signal””
[ Fixed. -ModE ]
Steven Mosher says:
February 29, 2012 at 9:30 am
“Here is a simple phrase you can use to “self identify” as a skeptic:
“GHGs cause warming, the question is how much””
That question is already loaded. Negative feedbacks probably reduce it to an unmeasurable value; but if I answer “zero” to your question, I negate the premise of the question “GHGs cause warming”.
To reply to Mosher, I agree with you, but I’m always more worried about incompetent doctors than total charlatans. And especially about incompetent doctors that try to describe me as a charlatan.
No problem here; the question is how much.