“It’s not the heat, it’s the stupidity.” – WUWT commenter H.R.
Change of plans.
Below is the note we just sent out to our friends accoss the USA.
Dear Friends,
I think I screwed up.
Yesterday 350.org sent out an email, telling people that we were going to melt a big hunk of ice in the form of the word “Hoax?” in front of Capitol Hill. We asked for money for it, and also for relief efforts for victims of the heat wave. The idea was simple enough: if this epic heatwave gripping the nation has one small silver lining, it’s that its reminding people that global warming is very very real. And the response was strong — we raised the $5000 it would have taken to pull off the event, and far more than that for relief efforts.
But we also heard from old friends, especially in nearby West Virginia, who asked us not to do it. The sight of ice melting while they sweltered would be too hard to take; their region, they pointed out, is as hard hit as any in the country by the heat wave, and it would make people feel like their plight wasn’t being taken seriously. Bob Kincaid, at Coal River Mountain Watch, said: “Our work in Appalachia is hard enough as it is, since we must ever contend with the well-funded coal industry PR machine.” They’d use, he said, the sight of that melting ice to make people feel disrespected.
That makes sense to me.
It’s sometimes hard to balance what we should do in one place with what we should be doing around the globe. Climate denial in the U.S. has huge implications for, say, the two million people in Assam, India, currently flooded out of house and home — it’s really important to fight people who deny science and hold up needed action. But it’s not worth causing trouble to our friends in the process. And the people who fight mountaintop removal in Appalachia are some of our oldest friends; we’ve been, as it were, up and down the mountain with them. Movements only really work when they move together.
So: no ice melting on the mall this morning. We’re sending out whatever the reverse of a press release is called. The money we collected will all go for heat and drought relief, and we hope it will do some good. If you’d like your contribution back, let us know (and we’ll send a separate mailing to everyone who contributed to make sure they get that chance). It’s been a long, hot, tough week everywhere east of the Rockies; let’s hope the heat breaks soon.
Thanks,
Bill McKibben for 350.org
P.S. The note announcing this thing yesterday came from Jamie Henn, our communications director. But the idea was mine, not his. I’m a volunteer in this effort, and there are days when it definitely feels like you get what you pay for.
=============================================================
Senator Inhofe released this statement this morning before the cancellation:
Inhofe Welcomes Global Warming Alarmists Back to Washington DC
Washington DC – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today welcomed 350.org, a group of global warming alarmists, to the National Mall where they will unveil a giant sculpture with the word “HOAX?” carved in ice. According to the group’s website, the event is in response to the igloo that Senator Inhofe’s family built during a snowstorm in Washington back in 2010, which they called “Al Gore’s New Home.”
“Let me be the first to welcome my global warming alarmist friends back to Washington,” Senator Inhofe said. “It’s been a long time: since the complete collapse of the global warming movement, many activists have been missing in action. Think about it, when was the last time anyone heard a Democrat talk about global warming in Congress? Remember, not a single global warming cap-and-trade bill has been debated on the Senate Floor since President Obama took office nearly four years ago, and Democrats have been in control of the Senate the whole time. In fact, the global warming campaign has failed so miserably that President Obama is now pretending to support oil an gas to gain votes for the election. One would think alarmists would be outraged that their leaders never mention global warming, but we’ve heard very little from them. Their loss of support in Washington is an inconvenient truth that often goes unnoticed.
“Back during the blizzards of 2010, my grandchildren had a lot of fun building an igloo outside the Library of Congress that they would call ‘Al Gore’s new home.’ That igloo was the comic relief needed for a public that had grown tired of every summer being used by alarmists as proof of man-made global warming. Today’s sculpture just goes to show that my friends on the left have not learned their lesson. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post warned them shortly after the igloo gained attention not to use weather as proof of man-made global warming. As Milbank wrote, ‘If the Washington snows persuade the greens to put away the slides of polar bears and pine beetles and to keep the focus on national security and jobs, it will have been worth the shoveling.’
“Clearly my global warming alarmist friends have not read my book, The Greatest Hoax. If they had, they would know that alarmism has failed every time, and will fail again and again. In fact, I have yet to find one objective person who has read The Greatest Hoax who doesn’t agree with me. Only a small percentage of meteorologists subscribe to man-made global warming and the American people are no longer buying it. The left has completely lost the debate almost as fast as that ice sculpture will melt on Saturday. But don’t expect Al Gore or President Obama to come out and help them drum up support. These activists are on their own.
“I wish I could have been there in person to join in the ice melting festivities, but 350.org put together this event when Congress is out of session and few elected officials will be in Washington. I do hope they enjoy their day in the sun as much as my family enjoyed our day in the snow.”
=============================================================
I think other things also contributed:
1. The forecast showed the heat wave breaking, with a reduced high today of 103 from yesterdays 106, with cooler temperatures tomorrow and into next week.
2. The possibility that the image of HOAX? would actually backfire on them. It was a poorly conceived idea to start with.
3. As I mentioned yesterday, the sculpture may have lasted past sunset…into the cooler next day given it was to be 6’x12’ a darned big sculpture. The FAQs below was for a tabletop sized ice sculpture.
http://www.sculptediceworks.com/faqs.htm
A: An Ice Sculpture’s detail will last up to 6 hours indoors, such as a reception hall. For outdoor events, it depends on the temperature and placement of the ice sculpture. Sculptures typically melt about 1/4 of an inch per hour. It is especially important to keep sculptures out of direct sunlight.
The possibility the ice would not melt fast enough for a convincing photo-op loomed large. A 6×12 foot block of ice doesn’t melt in an hour, and we are dealing with “short attention span theatre” when it comes to photo ops. See the video below as they drone on.
4. The ice melt stunt has been done before, as WUWT readers discovered yesterday:
I am not sure what Clipe is showing, but if anyone doubts my claim of 10 meters of snow at whistler, here is the proof:
“Summer has finally arrived in the Lower Mainland — hopefully — but it’s still winter on top of Whistler Mountain.
At the top of the lifts, visitors can stroll along corridors created by snow walls up to 10 metres high.
“It’s because we had so much snow over the winter. And it probably won’t all melt throughout the summer, either,” said Lauren Everest of Whistler Blackcomb.”
http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Still+winter+Whistler+Mountain/6890186/story.html
It is a skeptical organization that should adopt the melting Hoax display as an annual event on June 23, the anniversary of the Hanson-Wirth 1988 Congressional Hearing, a true milestone of the greatest scientific and political hoax in human history.
The sculpture in addition to the big melting word “Hoax”, carries embedded in it non-melting letters and words depicting words now out of favor: CAGW, Global Warming, Tipping Point, Yamal, etc. Even include current words that are associated with the Hoax: IPCC, Climate Justice, AR4, AR5. The embedded words will be refracted as the sculpture melts making for an interesting temporal form of art and attracting greater attention to the piece.
Flank the sculpture with Images, statements and graphics from the hearing and the recent history depicting the failure of the predictions and claims.
There’s a good chance that rationale for cancellation went far beyond the desire not to upset the “old friends” who truthfully didn’t give a hoot. This excuse was way beyond total lameness. Even the second graders rolled their eyes!
The real danger was that someone with a bit of science knowledge would figure out the CO2 “footprint” of the whole ice production process. Included would be the petrochemicals used to freeze the water in the first place, the same for producing the “dry ice” (yes, frozen CO2) that requires even more energy usage to get it down to 70F below, just to keep the original ice block frozen for the trip to DC.
Then, of course, the gas for the truck, air conditioning for the driver, and air conditioned busses, idling wastefully using even more petrochemicals) for the reporters, politicians wanting photo ops, and a few crying West Virginians (hired actors on Union scale) that made it down to the Capitol (and they used petrochemicals and released CO2 too, in their drive down to DC).
Of course, Senator Inhofe needed to emit zero CO2 to make his points, and by contrasting this fact, even the dimmest of wit would know how fraudulent the organizer’s were!!!
I take it that West Virginians are not putting ice in their drinks during the heatwave because watching it melt is too distressing?
I am starting to think that Mr McKibben deserves compassion as well as satire.
Not to me – can anyone explain, or even give some clue, to the logic in this?
Watching Ice melt is really exciting, you know, like watching paint dry, really pulls in the crowds.
Possibly OT, if one of our American friends could explain to me:
What exactly is this business of removing mountaintops, in Appalachia or elsewhere? Does it pay well? It does sound rather epic to me, the sort of career move I might like to make.
Sen. Inhofe has to realize that there is no need for cap and trade since our Undocumented Worker-in-Chief had the EPA make it happen any how.
THe EPA has gone even further and is busy, with the help of the FDA seeking to take over all vitamins and nutrients as if they are drugs (think of all of that testing, time, and money, and the resulting high price for vitamins), is killing the energy sector and the farming sector. Perfectly Marxist goals.
If they make vitamins too expensive to put in foods and daily tabs, they will have a less healthy population and a greater need for ObamacareTax.
Oscar Bajner says:
July 8, 2012 at 5:03 am “. . . career move . . .”
It is called mining and has been “epic” since the discovery of salt, or copper, or lead, or silver. And coal too! If you mean “move” in the sense of location, then try Alberta, North Dakota, or Western Australia. Coal in this region has seen good and bad times. One resident author:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_M._Caudill
The Appalachians are noted for the export of good mountain music and musicians, so if that’s your thing, check it out:
So the real hoax was in saying they would use the money to put up a sculpture.
“If you’d like your contribution back, let us know”
Question. Why do those that donated need to act to get their money back? Refunds should be automatic. Why not simply refund the money?
Almost makes it look like the true “motivation” was the money. The heat wave was the “opportunity”. The press release was the “means”. Having obtained the money, this latest announcement is the “getaway”.
Shows how low moral standard have sunk in Washington DC that this is not seen as a crime. In a city where taxpayers are fleeced of trillions, $5000 must seem like chump change.
Even the EPA knows the facts.
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/images/indicator_downloads/heat-waves-download1.png
Granted, ice sculptures last a while, or people would not order them for hours long events.
But… do they really think that melting ice in Washington, in July, would be impressive ?
Fred pointed out a telling bit about Bill McKibben. He thinks nothing at all of keeping the money that was earmarked for the project, Donors to the project now need to pursue him to refund what he should be refunding automatically unless instructed to do otherwise.
That’s how sadly bent Bill’s ethics are.
u.k. (us) says:
July 7, 2012 at 4:46 pm
“I must ask: What does clicking on those ads do for Anthony ? ( be precise, please).”
djaces says:
July 7, 2012 at 5:35 pm
As I recall the explanation Anthony gave when he first added GoogleAds to the site, he receives a small remuneration (very small, think pennies) every time a site visitor clicks on one of the ads. I don’t know, and I really don’t care, how much income Anthony derives from this but, whatever it is, he deserves it all and more for the incredible amount of time and work he devotes on all our behalves.
====================
I guess I’ll never get a straight answer, but now that I have the computing power to recklessly click on ads, I will.
Maybe others will do the same, which was the main objective of my comment.
=============================================================
Sorry I can’t explain what I don’t know the details of myself. The best I know is what djaces said. But I do trust that Anthony wouldn’t have them unless they helped keep the site going. (Unless WordPress didn’t give him a choice.)
steveta_uk says:
July 8, 2012 at 12:57 am
They’d use, he said, the sight of that melting ice to make people feel disrespected.
That makes sense to me.
Not to me – can anyone explain, or even give some clue, to the logic in this?
================================================================
I’ll be glad to explain the logic of it. Just let me check something first before I show how they think ………………..(I go to the medicine cabinet)……………………….Sorry. We’re out of aspirin so I better not continue.
Hi: Senator “I” from “O” is an “AH”, so all the FOX news hounds who listen to “things” like him, can just sit in their six figure AC’ed homes and “whatever”. They are all bought and paid for… nothing new, and I myself would not have based my ice action on their pool of dirty “crude”. They will have their day in the sun, hopefully without “cloth” or water…
…..Bill
You got that one right.
Now that I think of it, maybe there’s a relation between AGW and ADHD. (That sounds like an idea for a grant proposal.)
daveburton
Is your conclusion that Piers Corbyn has “hot hands” ?
(Incidentally, I recall 2 recent years where he said that a cold December would continue through February – one contested by Joe Bastardi – and it didn’t pan out.)
Having had the dubious pleasure of listening to a talk by McKibben given to a group of scienitists who are Christians. His ‘science’ was junk his ‘theology’ junkier still. His style? A classic ‘TV evangelist’. And here we have the classic TV evangelist trick of getting money out of the gullible. I note he makes no suggestion that they’ll get their money back. Don’t his followers ever read Mark Twain?
McKibben and science????
His background is not “science” of any variety, it is journalism of a lightweight eco-freak variety.
Most of what Bill McKikbben imagines he knows about “science” he learned as a gossip columnist (i’m being facetious) for the New Yorker in the 1980s when he edited their “Talk of the Town” section.
[Wikipedia excerpt on McKibben]:
“As an undergraduate at Harvard University, he was president of The Harvard Crimson newspaper. Immediately graduating with a degree in journalism he joined The New Yorker as a staff writer and wrote much of the Talk of the Town column from 1982 to early 1987. He quit the magazine when its longtime editor William Shawn was forced out of his job, and soon moved to the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York.”
… and from his own website bio, the only claim to anything about “science” in his background his own take in the trendy books he writes meditating on nature and society:
http://www.billmckibben.com/bio.html
One last one on McKibben’s “approach” to science. This is from his own website now reflecting back upon an undergraduate essay 30 years ago which he says still guides his approach (emphasis added):
http://www.billmckibben.com/bill-mckibben-reader-excerpt.html
rw, I don’t know anything about Piers’ hands, but the one and only prediction of his that I’ve ever paid attention to was an outlandish earthquake prediction — which proved to be incredibly accurate. I only noticed it because it was so over-the-top. It seemed utterly preposterous to me that a meteorologist would claim to be able to predict earthquakes.
I don’t know whether he’s very smart or very lucky (or both). But his prediction was absolutely right.
Or, they didn’t raise enough money to cover the cost of the sculpture.
Or, someone dropped it.
Or, they mis-spelled “HOAX”.
I guess they thought anyone stupid enough to invest money in a giant HOAX made from ice was fair game!
Or they realized the difficult-to-sculpt question mark would melt to the point of being unreadable (or easy to misread) relatively quickly leaving HOAX (or even “HOAX!” or “HOAX.”) standing by itself for some time. If so, it’s a pity they caught that ahead of time. 🙂