James Hansen’s understudy, eco activist and founder of 350.org Bill McKibben just gave me an endorsement, which I’m surprised about. The article, syndicated in a number of outlets is titled Climate-change deniers on the ropes
McKibben writes of the Heartland billboard, claiming it has put a damper on all things skeptic, and has pretty much driven Heartland’s donors away. Perhaps he missed this report where Heartland says the donors have doubled, despite losing some.
Here’s the money quote though. McKibben writes:
Whatever the final outcome, it’s worth noting that, in a larger sense, Bast is correct: this tiny collection of deniers has actually been incredibly effective over the past years.
The best of them – and that would be Marc Morano, proprietor of the website Climate Depot, and Anthony Watts, of the website Watts Up With That – have fought with remarkable tenacity to stall and delay the inevitable recognition that we’re in serious trouble. They’ve never had much to work with. Only one even remotely serious scientist remains in the denialist camp. That’s MIT’s Richard Lindzen, who has been arguing for years that while global warming is real it won’t be as severe as almost all his colleagues believe. But as a long article in the New York Times detailed last month, the credibility of that sole dissenter is basically shot. Even the peer reviewers he approved for his last paper told the National Academy of Sciences that it didn’t merit publication. (It ended up in a “little-known Korean journal”.)
McKibben goes on to name other skeptics, including Monckton and Luboš Motl, for their roles.
I got quite the kick out of this ending though:
But damn, it’s a hard fight, up against a ton of money and a ton of inertia. Eventually, climate denial will “lose”, because physics and chemistry are not intimidated even by Lord Monckton. But timing is everything – if he and his ilk, a crew of certified planet wreckers, delay action past the point where it can do much good, they’ll be able to claim one of the epic victories in political history – one that will last for geological epochs.
Gosh, “certified planet wreckers”? Where does one get a certificate like that? Is getting one like being a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, where only a valid credit card is needed? If so, maybe I’ll offer them here.
Couple of things Bill, since I know you read WUWT:
1. Where’s the beef?
2. Hansen’s alternate view of cause was swept under the rug, he’s flip-flopped on the causes of global warming back and forth.
3. Climate “Deniers” Winning the War
h/t to Dr. Leif Svalgaard
UPDATE: here’s another article, with “planet wreckers” in the title
NOTE: This is an update by Mike Lorrey, added after the fact – Anthony
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I’ll go with a “Certified Planet Wrecker” tee shirt if it comes with a letter of certification and a bumper sticker. Am I certified yet? If not, tell me how. Do I need to prove knowledge of “global warming” BS when I see it?
As a bona fide and recognized Asshole by the likes of a group like McKibben, I formed the “Assholes of America” and remain president. It has become an international organization. The motto: “To be an Asshole, you can’t be a common asshole.” It has been in existence over 25 years. I can’t reveal any more.
I envision a crane with wrecking ball with the name “Planet Wrecker” on it, poised to smash into a building already severely pockmarked, with the barely-legible and partially falling name of “Planet Alarmadon” on it. The crane itself would, of course carry the official “Certified Planet Wrecker” logo, with a maniacally-grinning Anthony at the controls.
Typical professional alarmist rhetoric, just one long ad hom, no actual science discussed. What was it Lindzen said? “When the science is on your side you argue the science. When it’s not, you attack the messenger”.
McKibben’s article is another perfect example.
Living in the Adirondacks where Bill McKibben has spent the last 20 years I have had to listen to his dribble so often it makes me sick. Thats why we named him Crazy Bill McKibben 10 years ago. My favorite nut operation he ran here was Step Up for CO2 where he wanted everyone to go hiking to show they cared. After the local newspaper (propaganda machine ) ran an article on it I wrote a letter to the editor. After I pointed out they were all driving cars to go hiking increasing their carbon foot print. Step up never made it past the first year.
I don’t doubt that Mr. McKibben was gifted by God, as a writer. Unfortunately I feel he has abused his gifts. Where the poet John Keats said, “Truth is Beauty,” Mr. McKibben has seemingly fallen prey to the false political dogma which states, “The ends justify the means,” and has consequently subscribed to diverting, subverting and perverting truth, until a most horrible darkness has risen in our time.
Therefore, in honor of his achievement, I would like to suggest we revive, in his name, the practice of inventing “Little Willy” doggerels.
I believe this less-than-high art-form first appeared in a small book called, “Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes,” by Col. D. Streamer, 1901.
Here is an example of the sort of rhyme we are looking for:
“Willy found some dynamite,
couldn’t understand it quite,
curiosity never pays,
it rained Willy for 7 days.”
and
“Willie studied chemistry
But Willie is no more
For what he took for H20
Was HClO4”
Climate-change deniers on the ropes. And after we’re sure the warmist scare-mongers aren’t breathing in anymore poisonous CO2, we’ll let the ropes go.
Mike Bromley the Canucklehead says:
June 4, 2012 at 8:06 am
> Hey, Bill, there’s a cabin in the woods near Lincoln, Montana, that could have your name on it. Cheap, I’m thinkin’.
Sorry, the FBI moved the whole cabin to California as evidence.
Then it got moved to Washington to become a museum exhibit, see an online
exhibit complete with the cabin modeled by software at http://www.newseum.org/exhibits-and-theaters/temporary-exhibits/g-men-and-journalists/unabomber/index.html
My family bicycled through Lincoln in 2003 and ate in a restaurant I expect Kaczynski visit. Nice little cabin, I always thought the FBI or other agency should have auctioned it off like they do with other asset forfeiture.
Curious – we both read Scientific American in our pre-teen years. I have a yurt near a dirt road, but there are no utility poles there and it gets wonderfully dark at night. Haven’t written a Manifesto yet. Major differences are I stil like technology and I have better things to do than to blow up people.
TANSTAAFL
I resemble that remark
Odd that us planet builders are deemed to be wreckers. Sums up watermelons nicely, brain fitted inside out.
Bernd Felsche says:
June 4, 2012 at 9:57 am
Episode 6: Captain Watts navigates his Destructor Fleet….
Will McKibben produce anything of substance to defend against the light?
Stay tuned for a message from our sponsor.
_______________________________________
You forgot to name the sponsor. It has to be GE of course!
Henry Clark says:
June 4, 2012 at 10:28 am
Anthony Watts, if you happen to read this comment, do you think there might be potential for having a reference page on WUWT for skeptical papers? ….
Henry, It has already been done by Potech (Thank You Poptech)
1000+ Peer-Reviewed Papers Supporting Skeptic Arguments Against ACC/AGW Alarm
http://www.populartechnology.net/2009/10/peer-reviewed-papers-supporting.html
McKibben writes: “Whatever the final outcome…..”
It is interesting that he uses that phrase. Is there just a tiny little bit of doubt in his mind….?
Don Keiller says:
June 4, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Where’s this ton of money?
I ain’t seen it.
For info I had to pay out of my own pocket to see University of East Anglia (UEA) in court to win my FOI action. I represented myself.
UEA employed a nationwide firm of lawyers and a top barrister.
Where was “big oil!” when I needed them?
________________________________________
Big Oil was too busy funding the University of East Anglia gaggle of lawyers. Who the heck do you thik funded UEA in the first place? Shell oil and BP!
I’d like one of those certificates, framed, on my wall.
Though a bumper sticker might be nice, too.
You’ll need to custom-print them, with our names/handles on them.
What’s the seal/watermark on yours? I can’t quite see it.
/Mr Lynn
sunshinehours1 says:
June 4, 2012 at 7:57 am
Heartland’s Billboard was correct. They are nuts.
—————————
The comments could have stopped right here.
‘Nuff said.
Has Mc Kibben been invited by the IPCC to be a reviewer for the upcoming report? What does it say about the IPCC to have invited the #1 denier then? 😛
I wouldn’t mind their fantasy world so much if they:
A) Knew it was a fantasy world.
B) Didn’t cast me as a villain in their melodrama.
C) Didn’t spend so much tax money!
Just when you think alarmists have hit the lowest they will go……….
Robert Austin says:
June 4, 2012 at 10:38 am
Or how about a multi-armed Anthony Watts (aka Vishnu) with the quotation:
“Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
Shiva is the Destroyer. Gotta keep the pantheon straight, yanno…
I’d love a sticker. Designed lots of them myself here and you should be able to turn any of them into real bumper stickers.
But hey, I want a “double measure” sticker. Why? Because not only do I challenge climate science orthodoxy, I’ve now come to the point of challenging “climate skeptics orthodoxy” too. Yeeess, I’m not only a well-seasoned, hard-nosed “certified planet wrecker” (click my name), I’m now also a “transcendental ranter” planning some real experiments (“who needs data when you’ve got models?”) to replicate Graeff’s experiments.
I have checked the science, the experimental work, and the data very carefully. It won’t go away – despite my being not-a-trained-Climate-Scientist like Monckton, Carter, Plimer, McIntyre, Jo Nova, et al.
Caleb says:
June 4, 2012 at 6:25 pm
Slight correction:
For what he took for H20
Was H2SO4″
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=H2SO4
Chris B
Love that word Cagwism. You should trademark it. A cagiest is one who believes in Cagwism. Musch better than Alarmist 🙂
I meant Cagwist
Of course I disagree with that Senate, and of course Joe McCarthy got a bum rap. I should ask you if you disagree with the stereotype tactics of the media and the Communist fellow travelers of painting the Irish WWII tailgunner as a drunk and the gay bashing of Roy Cohn as an untrustworthy misanthrope. Two wrongs don’t make a right indeed.
You seriously would use Wikipedia to make a point about a political correctness issue like Joe McCarthy? That’s like using Joe Romm or Paul Ehrlich as a reference source on catastrophic Climate Change.
You say that McCarthy lied and ruined people’s lives. What lies and whose lives? Stop being a politically correct zombie and explain. There is a lot of political posturing that emanates from Congress historically to disregard or whine about, but the actual, I said the ACTUAL infiltration of the State Department is not one of them. For example, we were just treated to years of such emanations accusing Bush 43 of invading countries for their oil and such (which would be very close to treason on the President’s part), floor speeches from Congressman, dutifully repeated on TV and the media, and all were simply lies of course. But that atmosphere is pretty constant, it happens throughout our history, yet you choose to whine about the one clear time when they, McCarthy and others were directly on target. Sheesh.
And it’s not like he wanted to clean up Hollywood or Academia or the news media (who were then hardly influenced by commies but are now throughly infiltrated), no, he was upholding the ‘enemies foreign and domestic’ part of his oath(s) and was concerned with the taxpayer funded USA Armed Forces and Federal government. Spend some time researching Venona, whose cables were declassified four decades too late for Joe McCarthy and others, who fought a very serious battle with their best ammunition sequestered. These were not witch hunts at all since real life Communist spies are not witches.
The only way to make this comment sensible, topical and factual would be to re-write it as so:
Whining about McCarthyism is so wonderfully politically correct but it is illogical now since the facts are known. McCarthyism can now be redefined as the stubborn, ignorant or intentional shielding of traitors and enemy spies at all costs, a form of cognitive dissonance really. It is often implemented through a media campaign of smearing against the whistleblowers and allows Irish or gay smears for which the fellow travelers get a temporary pass. And there in lies the connection to the climate change hoax – attacks on whistleblowers. So you have it completely backwards when saying McCarthy is like the Alarmists. And if you think about it, it is the exact same set of people ideologically then and now on the wrong side of the issues – the leftists socialists. They flirted with Communism then and are now flirting with the climate change hoax because both roads lead to the exact same place, massive powerful government promoted to god, the human individual deprecated to servant.
[NOTE]: I cannot believe this stupid WordPress comment entry form that is 3 sentences tall as I try to edit this. Impossible! Apologize in advance for any errors. We should find the identity of the retarded programmers over there and splash their names over the Internet so they never again get hired to anything except maybe printing lost and found fliers for the supermarket pegboard. If you worked for me I would so fire you.
RE: Perry says:
June 5, 2012 at 1:17 am
I stand corrected.
If Heartland has any brains, they would offer new doners a “Planet Wrecker” certificate, bumper sticker, tee shirt or other memento.
Mike Lorrey’s effort above is a good start except instead of “Certificate of Achievement” it should read “Certificate of Destruction”.
And we could have levels, like Scientology.