Dr. Katharine Hayhoe tries to scare Canadians with threats of warmer temperatures

Mass Public Indoctrination Program on Climate Change Introduced in ‘Alberta Narratives’ During Calgary Climate Symposium

By Michelle Stirling and Trevor Marr

CALGARY, Alberta, Canada

As the IPCC Cities Conference progressed in Alberta’s capitol city of Edmonton, March 5-8, 2018, Canada’s energy center was not going to be left out.  The Calgary Climate Change Symposium featured “Climate George” – George Marshall, activist and author of the UK, and Dr. Katharine Hayhoe of the Political Sciences department at Texas Tech University.

Marshall introduced the idea that it was too difficult to talk about climate change because it was such a polarizing issue, suggesting that conversations would immediately turn to talk about the spinach tart at dinner rather than the climate ‘crisis.’  The conversation would be especially difficult in Alberta where so many jobs rely on oil, gas and coal, he intimated.

Marshall noted that his background is in the social sciences and that facts and evidence just turn people off – so the way to go is to have people tell personal stories of how climate change has affected their lives.

There was some interactive play in the audience, where audience members were asked to turn to total strangers near them and explain to each other how climate change affected them and what were their worst fears.  The 2013 catastrophic flood of Calgary’s downtown core was suggested as a topic – and there was a certain romantic attachment expressed about how Calgarians were SO kind and compassionate to each other in that time of distress and devastation.

Indeed, the 2013 flood in Calgary was NOT a climate change event, but a weather event.  Flooding in Calgary is common, and as Roger Pielke, Jr. pointed out in his 2005 paper “Misdefining ‘‘climate change’’: consequences for science and action” – there is no ‘danger’ from flooding if people don’t build on a flood plain, as has been done in Calgary.

Dr. Hayhoe then charmed the audience with her folksy presentation telling us how her mother’s tulips were coming up in March instead of April and how this had never happened in all the time she was growing up in Ontario.  This would normally be termed an anecdotal commentary, not scientific evidence, but this is the path the “Alberta Narrative” has taken.

Earlier in the day, Dr. Hayhoe had mocked Friends of Science Society in a most un-Christian-like way, though she admitted she liked our billboards.

https://youtu.be/GmaqQ-8X3CQ

Dr. Hayhoe presented graphs and maps showing Albertans that there were averages of weather stations and there were trends that showed warming.  These were largely indecipherable to the audience but just throw a little red on there – even the one representing more snow – and people will be sufficiently alarmed.

Likewise, Dr. Hayhoe said Alberta’s winters were good because they kept nasty bugs, insects and poisonous snakes away from Alberta.  Likewise, noxious weeds like kudzu, which she said cannot take root in any region with extremely low winter temperatures but has been found in Ontario.  http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plant-pests-invasive-species/invasive-plants/fact-sheets/kudzu/eng/1331750489827/1331750551292 This was apparently meant to show that Ontario is warmer than ever.  (Note – in fact there are poisonous snakes in Alberta in the Medicine Hat region.  Odd that almost all ‘snowbirds’ – aka: Canadian winter vacation escapees – love to go to places that have many poisonous snakes.  That does not seem to be a deterrent for sun-seekers. But back to science.)

Dr. Hayhoe also showed how her ‘downscale’ modelling could help cities forecast the need for larger pipes for infrastructure in the event of future flooding – but not too large.  That would cost too much.

Following these power point displays of graphs, maps and a rear view mirror, telling us we could not look back while society drove forward because we would drive off the curve on the climate change highway, Marshall and Hayhoe said there would be a province-wide campaign just like this one, to go to dozens of communities and get hundreds of people telling their ‘Alberta Narrative” about how climate change has affected them.

http://www.aenweb.ca/delegates/alberta-narrative-project

Power Point:

http://www.aenweb.ca/files/ab_narratives_project_overview_invitation_deadline_feb_14.pdf

Both seemed to express some sadness that the oil, gas and coal workers in Alberta should ‘be treated respectfully’ as they are about to be replaced by wind and solar generation – which was really the thrust of the Marshall-Hayhoe event.

Marshall had shown a map of Canada made by Yale Climate Connection, indicating that Albertans were less inclined to ‘believe’ in climate change – and several graphs that indicated this was due to either being conservatives or Christian.  Dr. Hayhoe later discussed how she often spoke to faith groups.

Neither seemed to know that most of Alberta’s resistance to the idiotic Alberta Climate Plan is that there are over 70,000 Professional Engineers and Geosciences who are part of Alberta’s professional sector.  Most of these science professionals are well aware of the climate modelling fiascos, the iffy data, and the torrid claims about climate change that are nothing compared to earth’s own ‘active planet.’

In other words, Albertans judge climate catastrophe claims on the evidence, facts and data, not on the anecdotal stories of foreigners who are trying to boondoggle Albertans out of billions of dollars for ineffective wind and solar.

In closing, Mayor Nenshi spoke, thanking the Rockefeller Foundation for the “Cities” person who is now part of City Hall staff and saying that there was a prepared speech which he was required to read. This seemed a bit odd as the Mayor is a very capable public speaker.

One wonders who paid for it all – including the catered reception – and just how shafted will Albertans be as this climateering train wreck runs its course.  The present tab on coal phase-out and the early implementation of more wind and solar is already about $30 billion in costs.

Now THERE’S an Alberta Narrative.

One P. Engineer who attended had this to say:

I attended the Calgary Climate Symposium last night at Telus Spark with keynote speakers George Marshall from UK and Katherine Hayhoe now from the USA. There was plenty of hype, drama, fearmongering, telling us to Prepare for the Changes, calls for ‘conversation’ and it was more of a UN propaganda, fabricated goose-stepped indoctrination into an Orwellian 1984 manipulation (or should I say People-ipulation?).

In the parking lot after the thought control session I asked the respectful, pleasant Ms. Hayhoe the definition of the Climate Change? And her definition included Natural causes, but she looked me in the eye and said we should now be heading into an Ice Age, but we are not, because of Fossil Fuels killing our climate with CO2! I said that is a Good Thing, as we were shivering in a frozen (-20C) and 3′ deep, snowy parking lot as she was telling me we were perilously warming the Planet!

I was trying not to laugh! Actually, I was too cold to laugh! I reminded her of the fact that we used to be covered in 2km of Ice and Snow during the Ice Age and I asked her ‘What Caused THAT? Caveman SUV’s?’ And she said that today is different!?! She asked me to look at her web site for more convincing info to support her concern for “PeopleKind,” I will look at it ASAP!

UPDATE: This slide from her presentation pretty much says it all. Reality vs. predictions – reality wins.