Sigh. This is so bad… it’s funny. For the record, it is now official; Chris Mooney is a paid political hack disguising himself as a science writer. I’m going back to calling him a “kid blogger”, because no adult could have thought processes that give conclusions like this.
Chris Mooney | The Politics of Ice and Fire
The time to act on global warming is clearly now—right now. In a sane world, Congress would immediately take up carbon cap legislation, and President Obama would be giving a big speech on the issue—and pressing Mitt Romney to explain why he flip-flopped into climate skeptic land, moving in precisely the wrong direction on one of the most important issues to afflict humanity.
Moreover, President Obama would recognize this as a smart political move, because the hard-core deniers notwithstanding, public opinion on global warming follows the weather. It always does. Now, with the whole country wondering about the sweltering heat, about the wildfires and the derecho and the destruction, people are more than ready to hear that, yes, this is global warming, and yes, something has to be done about it.
And yet still, it is not happening.
I cannot overemphasize how dramatic a missed opportunity this is—because we know that even against the backdrop of an overall warming trend, the weather is extremely fickle, and so is public opinion. In late 2009, the year of ClimateGate, and then in early 2010 (of “Snowmageddon” fame), public doubts about climate change increased in association with winter weather—and that could happen once again as soon as the end of this year.
h/t to Tom Nelson
I find it amazing that Mooney can’t even do basic research on the derecho, like I did. 30 seconds with Google and he’d know that it wasn’t anything to do with global warming and according to NOAA’s SPC, that the Washington DC area and much of the eastern seaboard gets one about every four years:
So, why all the fuss over last weeks storm? Because it didn’t hit flyover country.
It hit the center of defective thinking, Washington DC. Hyperbolic ground zero.
I suppose though if you are a “hard core” fake science writer, you don’t look for such things. Somebody should take Mooney’s blogging computer away from him before he hurts somebody with it.
Anthony, I have to say that’s stooping pretty low…putting that picture of the guy at the top of the piece…some things are best left to the imagination!
He doesn’t even seem to have got the directive to call it “climate change” rather than “global warming.” Another one of their self-appointed spokesmen, whose rank stupidity is a positive asset for us.
Pointman
Now, now, Anthony, don’t you think this is a bit harsh? (tongue in cheek here) I know of one or two eminent (sic) scientists who think that Chris Mooney is some genius of climate communications, or “fantastic” as they say below! [I hope this is not OT even if a bit of a tangent, since it illustrates the close convergence between propagandists like Mooney and the more activist members of the “climate scientist” community worldwide] Excerpts from a couple of comments and links I posted at Bishop Hill when the Gergis et al (2012) paper imploded a few weeks ago:
re: Gergis and Chris Mooney…. This is (unintentionally) quite funny! Gergis writes in March 2010 for a university audience about the “guerilla war” over climate policy (embracing Chris Mooney’s account). She provides with obvious approval what seems to be her paraphrase of remarks by Mooney: “Most people know how easy it is to click the ‘publish’ button on a blog, but in reality, very few know the rigours of publishing evidence-based science in the peer-reviewed literature.”
Bishop Hill thread on Gergis et al 2010
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Joelle Gergis [hearts] Chris Mooney, 2010
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[ME: I keep seeing these gems that show how “politicized” her own agenda is…. Is she more activist or scientist? This is a different version of her thoughts after that “Science Meets Parliament 2010” and here she fervently embraces the Chris Mooney/Michael Mann “guerrilla war” and “asymmetric warfare” narratives. In fact she thinks the talk she heard by Mooney was “fantastic” so we don’t need to worry that we are misunderstanding the fervor of her commitment to upholding the CAGW narrative in a guerrilla war against “well orchestrated” critics ….]
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Joelle Gergis and Allie Gallant think Chris Mooney is “fantastic”
The real problem is that there are still far too many people out there who believe this kind of rubbish, and until MSM start to do their job properly that state of affairs will remain.
Perhaps Americans do not see this anymore but Europeans the better, this kind of tooth paste advertisements. Anthony, you don’t live far from Hollywood. Get some nice looking boys and girls for your site, showing their teeth and telling the world that they are happy skeptics.
Chris who?
Well my latest e-mail newsletter from John Key; NZ Prime Minister, talks about NZ meeting its committments to the global community on carbon footprints. But he mentions that it was a big imposition on Kiwi folk, and they had cut it back a bit.
I tried to tell him a couple of years ago, that NZ could do the world community a favor by simply telling them to shove it, and not be brow beaten by the propaganda.
Well he did run it by his top science advisor, who unfortunately is some Lord somebody (but evidently a scientist of some repute) and the chap stuck to the party line that MMGWCCC is a proven fact. Can’t blame the PM for taking the advice of his well credentialled science advisor.
But NZ (Ausland too) can ill afford to go along with such imagined catastrophe propaganda.
Well I tried. I got a distinctly less convinced reaction from the science folks, including climate guys at UofA back in March, but I’m sure they too see the academic sword of Damocles over them and their careers.
By the way; who the hell is Chris Mooney; izzat some scientist I am supposed to recognize either by sight or name ?
You could 50 post like this daily, on both sides of this debate. Why is this worthy of a post? If it is, describe why, so we have the context. If not, move on and talk Livingston and Penn effect.
“And yet still, it is not happening.” <-global warming 😉
“John Trigge (in Oz) says:
July 5, 2012 at 11:06 pm”
And on the 7th day she rested…
Never herd of him, but he will grow out of his adolescent ‘I can change the world’ fixations.
Pointman
If it catches your interest I would love to know what you think of the Gergis/Gallant lovefest with Chris Mooney at Canberra in 2010 (see quotes and links I posted above). I know you are just the person to provide the context of what Chris Mooney was doing in Canberra, how his style of propaganda compares to what’s gone on in Australia in recent years, etc.
Never heard of him, but he will grow out of his adolescent ‘I can change the world’ fixation.
Wikipedia page:
“He received his B.A. in English from Yale University in 1999, and has been a member of the board of the American Geophysical Union since November 2010”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Mooney_(journalist)
More on Mooney
http://www.agu.org/news/press/pr_archives/2010/2010-39.shtml
sigh……. Chris Mooney (B.A., English, 1999) qualifies to be on the Board of the illustrious American Geophysical Union because….. what? He’s written some propaganda propounding a left-wing activist’s view of influencing the public and policy makers??
At least the AGU has a distinguished ethics panel which can assess with objective rigor the quality of propaganda being disseminated by “climate communicators”…… OOPS, that was a Gleickian moment:
Chris Mooney appointed to the Board of the American Geophysical Union
Peter Gleick’s leadership: AGU’s new task force on scientific ethics and integrity begins work
The guy has a BA in English. Why is he writing on science matters? Oh wait, I forgot, modern “journalism”. And then modern “journalists” wonder why, for example in Germany, the subscription numbers for newspapers are dropping. This has turned almost into a crisis, with some papers openly demanding a tax so that they can survive. Seems that the people are slowly waking up.
I’m going to show this a friend of mine. She will have a field day.
I have to agree with Pointman,
Mooney and fellow alarmist groupies of this deluded self persuasion, more than just help along the realists and aid the true scientists’ case. If, he were capable of cogent thought [too big an if – for Mooney] – he’d be holding his head in his hands right now – for scoring ‘another own goal’.
“I cannot overemphasize how
dramatic a missed opportunityhuge a drama queenthis isI am…”FIFY.
Mooney also has form in the atheist community as a diehard accommodationist: he has taken money from the Templeton Foundation and regularly bleats about how we should be nice to theists and pretend that their views can be reconciled with science. I think ‘kid self-promoter’ might be a more accurate term.
Thank you
John Trigge (in Oz) says:
July 5, 2012 at 11:06 pm
Global warming hit Yunta, South Australia last night – MINUS 7.5C, the lowest overnight temp for 30 years.
Julia(r)’s carbon tax is working already and we’re only 6 days into saving the World.
I had finished my mug of tea when I read the above so it didn’t end up on the keyboard and monitor.
James Bull
Chrfis is just a Rahm Emmanuel wanna be, asking Obama not to waste a crisis. BHO has already shot his was with stimulus and ACA. What with the latter being called a tax by SCOTUS. Another tax not happening at least till 2014
It has only ever been about power and control.
That’s why the hue and cry never change substantially, they just adjust to the details or ignore them.
If Obama were to bring up “fires,” Republicans would bring up the canceled Forest Service tanker contract and ask questions. (They might also point out similarities to the skulduggery around Obama’s Gulf Spill behavior.) His advisers are aware of this potential counterpunch, and have probably decided it’s not worth it, especially since he doesn’t need popular backing for any legislative measure he has in the wings–there isn’t one. He’s letting the EPA, plus the economic recession, plus shale gas, do his work for him.
Mr Mooney. May consider saving the planet by issuing less fertiliser via firruginous coloured comment.