We’ve had issues with Mr. Laden before, and being called on it hasn’t changed his bad behavior, hopefully he’ll learn something this time. This is a pretty simple black and white issue, so I’ll do it with bullet points.
- Yesterday, Mr. Laden claimed WUWT had sunk to a “new low” for daring to question the wind speeds of Typhoon Haiyan hyped in the media with ground measurements reported by the Philippine Meteorological Agency. Our position was the media poorly reported on the storm, made egregious errors that we documented, and that this led to inflated wind speed numbers given to the public, such as 235 kilometers per hour being reported as 235 miles per hour, to give an example.
- He further claimed that we were “disrespectful” for not immediately updating the death toll to the new estimate of 10,000, which was the result of a political meeting in the governor’s office. I said we’d stick with the last report of the Red Cross number of 1200 as I trust them because their mission has no agenda other than aid. The 10,000 estimate may be met, or even exceeded, and if so we’ll report it then. (Now at 1774 as of 1015AM 11/11) UPDATE: 11/12 7AM Philippine president Aquino says to CNN: Typhoon Haiyan deaths likely 2,000 to 2,500 — not 10,000
- He added in a comment:
Let me ask you this but you better answer quick because the ground is sliding from underneath you as I type this. How important is 1,200 vs. tens of thousands? If it turns out to be tens of thousands instead of 1,200 will you STFU forever? Please?
- He then proceeded to write a long winded blog post at “ScienceBlogs”, and launch a Twitter tirade, from the position that he had some sort of moral high ground. As one WUWT commenter put it: The leftie pose of “We care more about real people than you do” is on full display.
- Yet, despite that angry posturing from that self-imagined moral high ground, Mr. Laden never once offered to help the people of the Philippines as WUWT has with the links to the Philippine Red Cross in the side bar graphic and in blog post links. Other bloggers such as Bob Tisdale have followed my lead with links in postings. Even 350.org’s Bill McKibben has thanked WUWT for providing him this info as he was pushing the “Save the Children Organization”, which isn’t disaster equipped.
- I waited over 24 hours to see if Mr. Laden had a conscience, and if he would offer his blog to help the people of Philippines or was simply interested in his holier than thou tirade against WUWT. So far, he has not.
- I made a donation to the Philippine Red Cross.
I chose 5000 Philippine Pesos (PHP) from the menu, which works out to $118 USD as it allows Mr. Laden and others who may donate to easily match the contribution. The maximum value on the Red Cross donation page in the menu is 10,000 PHP, or about $230 USD.
Between his donation (assuming he makes one), his readers donations (assuming he pitches it to them), and my donation along with WUWT reader donations, that should add up to a significant and useful sum, but any amount people may choose is useful and appreciated. Feel free to note your donation in comments if you choose.
The challenge:
I challenge Mr. Laden to meet or exceed my donation, and to post a link and graphic on his blog to the donation page for the Philippine Red Cross, and encourage his readers to contribute.
He is welcome to use this graphic I created:
Give Generously
The link is: http://ushare.redcross.org.ph/
Be sure to select the campaign first in the menu pulldown to be Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan), then select the monetary amount and the payment method.
I also encourage WUWT readers to donate if they feel so inclined. It will be interesting to see if any other blogs who have been critical of WUWT pitch in to help. I’m betting few will as it isn’t in their nature but would be happy to be proven wrong.
Full disclosure: My wife’s maternal side of family is from the Philippines, and we have learned that one of her relatives there has lost a home in the storm. We have no word on the others there at this time.
==============================================================
UPDATE: Laden’s claims in his tirade aren’t supported by actual science and data, he writes:
But Watts and Homewood don’t want storms to be important for the simple reason that the best models strongly suggest that there will be more storms … especially in the Pacific, where Haiyan struck, over coming decades because of the changes to climate that humans are carrying out and that Anthony Watts and Paul Homewood deny to be real.
This paper shows the reality from data – no trend:
Kubota, H. and Chan, J.C.L. 2009. Interdecadal variability of tropical cyclone landfall in the Philippines from 1902 to 2005. Geophysical Research Letters 36: 10.1029/2009GL038108.
“Despite global warming during the 20th century the number of tropical cyclones annually making landfall in the Philippines did not experience any net change. All variability was merely oscillatory activity around a mean trend of zero slope”
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CORRECTION:
“2) Up to 10,000 people are estimated to have died.”
[SNIP – While I don’t particularly like Mr. Laden’s behaviour, that sort of comment about him is over the top – Anthony]
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/photography/2013/11/super_typhoon_haiyan_devastates_philippines_photos.html
About a dozen photos from accessible areas.
A good agency to donate to is Direct Relief. They already have supplies on the way in response to the recent earthquake in the Philippines. They have a good record of efficiently distributing aid all over the world. http://www.directrelief.org/
I have made a $100 contribution.
Your employer might have a policy of matching your contribution. Doesn’t hurt to ask.
I happen to believe that accuracy based on observations is the best thing we can do in memory of disaster victims. We should hold media, politicians, and scientists accountable for pushing agendas and MAKE them toe the line defined by calm, clear thinking and unimpeachable accuracy. Else we muddy the waters of restorative response to devastation and sorrow, even making it worse. Clear thinking is our best course of action in the face of disaster. Best course. So for those who chastise this blog post, would you herald the opposite as a better response? Shall we be silent? I pray not. We should wade into the fray with full intent and resolve to restore order and bring panic to its knees.
… also depends on the type of anemometer(s) deployed; standard ‘cup’ anemometer or ‘sonic’ anemometers installed (or deployed) in the path of the hurri -er- cyclone.
“Comparison of cup and sonic anemometers”
http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/IMOP/publications/IOM-109_TECO-2012/Session1/P1_08_GonzalezSotelino_intercomp_anemometers_UCCLE.pdf
“Ultrasonic wind sensors or cup anemometers? That is the question.”
http://www.windpowerengineering.com/construction/simulation/ultrasonic-wind-sensors-or-cup-anemometers/
“Ultrasonic and mechanical sensors measure the wind in different ways. Mechanical sensors use moving parts and are connected to a datalogger or other data recording device. The “cups” for speed and “vane” for vectoral change measurement physically move with changes in the wind and give accurate readings of speed and direction. Ultrasonic sensors or “sonics” operate without moving parts. On a typical sonic anemometer, a transducer sends a pulse of ultrasonic sound from the ‘North’ facing side of the sensor. A microprocessor measures t time it takes to travel to the ‘South’ transducer. The wind speed is calculated from the time it takes the ultrasound to travel to the opposite transducer. Measurement times are affected by the wind speed and direction blowing along the line between the transducers. Without moving parts, measurement is immediate and precise.”
Donation sent.
Added link to blog.
Thanks, Anthony.
(h/t to WUWT reader StewGreen on another thread)
From the Government of the Philippines sitrep report, a screencap:
http://www.ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/1125/NDRRMC%20UP%20Sitrep%20No12%20re%20Effects%20of%20TY%20YOLANDA%20111113.pdf
My mother told me to “never argue with an idiot because nobody will know the difference” however Mr. Laden is not an idiot…he is evil, he knows exactly what he is doing, so I think what Anthony is doing is absolutely necessary. Even though it gets old, lies must be confronted every time, or the liars will cause even more suffering and destruction. We all know that those who lust for power, control and destruction are using “climate change” formerly known as “global warming” to satiate their unholy lusts. Those scheming snake-oil-salesmen have to lie about the disease of “climate change” in order to scare people to buy their cure-all-snake-oil which is ultimately the destruction of affordable energy.
Why would people want expensive energy? After pondering this question for years and reading everything I could find pertaining to this question I have come to the irrefutable conclusion that the alarmists actually lust for power and control so much that they are willing to destroy everything that cannot be controlled, including people. Some of these eco-terrorists even want to reduce the world population to 500 million, which would mean that 11 of every 13 people in the world would have to die. All this destruction and death is necessary in order to satiate their addiction to power because if it can’t be controlled it must be destroyed. Think Pol-Pot and the Khmer Rouge disguised as scientists and politicians.
I donated through the Canadian Red Cross. The Canadian Government will match my donation.
Payment sent. Proud to be a “DENIER”!!
Add my 5000 php, and ask Mr. Laden and his ilk to match. Greg — Maybe have an adult help?
Charity should be anonymous? Since when? The beauty of charity is that, when people see someone giving, many are moved to do likewise. It’s not like Anthony (and others) gave a million billion dollars and crowed it from the rooftops. He gave a decent donation, told us about it, then encouraged us to do likewise. Looks like it’s working just like a charity drive should (as Anthony plainly stated). I vowed many years ago to never give to huge charities with massive overhead, so I chose to donate via a very good friend. His wife is from the Philippines and her family was affected. Any time I can give directly, directly to people who actually have skin in the game, that is the route I choose. My buddy and his wife have their own personal drive going with monies going directly to a specific village. This is the way charity works. If done in secret – few will ever give even a mite.
Donated via Red Cross.
I find the discussion of anonymous versus non-anonymous donations to be extremely condescending toward the typhoon victims. It smells like righteous quibbling.
John
From http://tinyurl.com/maz4leb (dost.gov.ph 2010344.pdf)
Listed as “THE RISK REDUCTION AND PREPAREDNESS EQUIPMENT PROTECTION ACT” and containing a listing of government Meteo gear included this listed in APPENDIX A:
How likely is it that data from the (or from ‘them’, the) Meteorological Buoy(s) survived or was recorded/captured by a land station?
.
Donation done.
Over the weekend as news of the severe damage and casualties in Tacloban City came in, reviewed older images of the area on Google. The number of flimsy exposed houseboats on the bay was sobering. Even sturdy houseboats on Lake Union, north of downtown Seattle, would be in a pile on the shore after Cat 4 winds.The location of Tacloban’s airport (DZR) on an exposed low lying peninsula (elev. 10 feet) would have been underneath a tremendous storm surge. The area, better described as a barrier island, probably assisted greatly in allowing it to be cleared and reopened for flights by Philippine Airlines on Monday, 11/11/13.
Yet, The Seattle Times today uses The New York Times piece reporting, “By some accounts, the winds raged ashore at 190 mph.” How about reporting PAGASA’s account? And, “…it was unclear if the power of the storm was tied to climate change,…” Unclear to who? The reporter?
I Matched Anthony’s.
Thanks for the link.
I soured on emergency relief after waste and misdirection of donations after the Haitian earthquake. Perhaps this will be different.
Thanks Anthony for the donation link. My thoughts, prayers (and now dollars) out to the people affected in the Philippines. Also glad to see my tax dollars used via the US military to aid the area–by far the most effective logistics operators in the world–but they are very energy intensive!
M Courtney and Tim C,
Thanks for the correction. I thought Oxfam was UN. Happy to be corrected.
It would appear to me, though I’m no math major, that 255 is a lot closer to 1, 200 than 10, 000. If that low of a number holds, will Mr. Laden follow his own advice and STFU?
No, don’t think so.
Well done Anthony for mobilizing the folks here. We have personal friends in the Rotary Club of Loyola near Manila. They have a large water tanker that is now on its way to the devastated area along with emergency supplies and money. Local shipping and transportation companies are suspending charges for relief efforts. We are raising funds from local Rotary Clubs in New England to support the efforts of those on the ground in the Philippines.
Greg Laden is one disturbed individual and should be given as little attention as possible.
Small donation (unfortunately) happily given ….. Still waiting Mr Laden (the silence is deafening)
Being as I am a poet I will not follow Anthony’s futile example and send real money to help relieve the real suffering of real people. Instead I will follow the example of Greg Laden. I am currently contemplating writing a poem about this issue. It may take several years to complete. During that time period i will, of course, hold the moral high ground.
Eugene W.R. Gallun
PS — The joke has already been made (several months ago discussing another big storm and not by me) but is worth repeating — The demand that a category 6 be created on the storm scale begs — begs! — that it be called CATEGORY GORE. Is there a bigger windbag on the planet?
The US is the outlier in using sustained winds based on one minute readings. Most of the rest of the world uses ten minute readings. One minute readings are roughly 12% higher than ten minute readings.
NOAA tropical cyclone FAQ.
http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/D4.html
I just donated 5,000 PHP to the Philippine Red Cross. In your face Greg [snip] Laden.
REPLY: aw, cmon, don’t ruin your good deed with name calling. While Mr. Laden deserves many comparisons he doesn’t deserve that one – Anthony
Thanks everyone!
Bishop Hill and Josh have picked up the donation drive here: http://www.bishop-hill.net/blog/2013/11/11/cult-science-josh-244.html
matched your donation Anthony.
Is there a way of tracking how much your readers have donated?