Opinion by Anthony Watts and Charles Rotter
If you haven’t read Dr. Curry’s post about Cliff Mass, please do so before proceeding.
It is our viewpoint that Cliff Mass is an honest scientist. Some here may disagree with him as he believes AGW is a serious issue.
But unlike advocate scientists, and their media enablers, he is an honest broker who pushes back against the hyperbole advanced by those advocates. For this he is being viciously attacked. Being connected with a radio station for his popular science program, Dr. Mass is aware of both the public perception and the peer reviewed science. Having that unique perspective he sees when arguments for intervention go too far, beyond what the science can support, and because he has integrity, he is one of the few scientists with the courage to speak out about it.
Our idea is this: with the mob attacking Dr. Mass, it would probably be helpful if the administrators being bombarded by irrational hate mail against him received another side of the story, one of rational support for his commitment to truth and inquiry.
There’s some caveats to consider if you want to join in support.
- This is only about supporting a man with academic and scientific integrity
- This isn’t about arguing about whether AGW is real or not, if you go down that path, it won’t help Dr. Mass
- UW administrators aren’t going to be interested in letters that turn into diatribes
- Calm and respectful emails only. You don’t do anyone any favors with rants
- Intelligent and pertinent messaging please
- Academic credentials are a plus
- Independently created letters are a plus, which is why we provide no sample letter here
You can address the absurdity of points being made by critics, but please, only write a letter if you can be calm, on point, and polite.
For reference, here are some pertinent links surrounding the issue:
- Dr. Mass’ original essay about climate change and Washington State Initiative 1631
- Alex Lenferna, a Ph.D. candidate in the UW Philosophy Department with a Certificate in Atmospheric Science. He wrote a blog post that Dr. Curry characterized as a “hit piece” which has instigated the backlash Dr. Mass is experiencing.
- An anonymously written hit piece by an activist group: Cliff Mass, Scientific Lies, and the New Climate Deniers
- Dr. Judith Curry’s opinion piece, reposted on WUWT
- The UW faculty web page for Cliff Mass
That said, here are the contacts:
UW President Ana Mari Cauce uwpres@uw.edu
Dean of College of the Environment Lisa J. Graumlich envdean@uw.edu
Mike Townsend, Secretary of the UW Faculty secfac@u.washington.edu
Remember, only write a letter if you can be calm, on point, and polite.
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Given the time of year, it’s a shame that his first name isn’t Chris. Maybe people would be kinder to him then. Maybe not, i forgot that the leftist, liberal, socialist greenies don’t respect Christmas either.
“leftist, liberal, socialist greenies don’t respect Christmas”
They certainly don’t, Anthony T, but that won’t stop them from taking the day off from work. Hypocrites.
Hi Anthony and all:
I sent this yesterday. Consider sending to the Chair of the Faculty Senate.
Best, Allan
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/12/13/cliff-mass-victim-of-academic-political-bullying/#comment-2556424
To:
George Sandison, Chair of the Faculty Senate
University of Washington
George Sandison
Faculty senate chair
Telephone: 206-685-2703
Email: sandison@uw.edu
Personal Profile:
http://www.washington.edu/news/2018/10/18/new-faculty-chair-george-sandison-outlines-his-priorities/
CLIFF MASS: VICTIM OF ACADEMIC POLITICAL BULLYING
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/12/13/cliff-mass-victim-of-academic-political-bullying/
Dear Sir:
Please read the aforementioned article re the alleged academic political bullying of Cliff Mass by other members of the faculty of your university.
I do not share the concerns of Cliff Mass on the subject of alleged Catastrophic Human-made Global Warming, but I am astonished and offended that your university would tolerate the abuse of Mass’s right to free speech by extremists, including members of your faculty.
I understand you are a physicist, and thus are familiar with the Scientific Method. The extremist views of those parties criticizing Mass (regarding wilder weather, etc.) are not supported by credible scientific evidence. Neither are Mass’s concerns about Catastrophic Human-made Global Warming, for that matter, but it is his unalienable right to state his opinions without the persecution that he has been subjected to.
There is overwhelming evidence that the impacts of increasing atmospheric CO2 will result at most in some moderate, net-beneficial global warming, along with a hugely beneficial increase in plant and crop yields. That is the mainstream view of so-called “climate skeptics”.
The scientific situation is more complicated than that, since atmospheric CO2 trends lag temperature trends at all measured time scales, and most people will agree that the future cannot cause the past (in our current space-time continuum). That issue is too complicated for the current discussion.
I suggest that you must re-establish the right to Freedom of Speech on your campus, or surrender your institutional integrity to the ill-informed extremists in your midst.
Yours truly, Allan MacRae, P.Eng.
Calgary
I’m more sceptical than yourself but I think its not a good idea to use the chance to express more sceptical views. WUWT recently reported a RS paper that found no increase in number or area burnt by wildfires globally. To question that global warming has made it worse does not need a bribe from big oil. Far from it. Anyone who can’t appreciate what a lame assertion it is should lose their academic position. They clearly are a waste of resources.
Thank you Robert,
My approach has always been to tell the plain truth as I see it, and take the flak.
In my letter I resisted stating my full position on this matter – that global warming alarmism is promoted by liars who have deliberately deceived the public. I suggest that the leading perpetrators of this huge scam are traitors to the nation who belong in jail.
Not one of the warmists’ very-scary projections of runaway warming, wilder weather, etc. have materialized. They have falsified data and research to raise false alarm, and trillions of dollars of scarce global resources have been squandered on worthless intermittent green energy schemes/scams.
Vital electrical grids have been severely compromised, electric power rates have greatly increased, and Excess Winter Deaths have increased , all due to the forced imposition of worthless green energy into the grid.
I think that you’re being too kind to them but you need to convince others who will only question things if they read it in the New York Times that everyone is becoming sceptical.
Note that grid-connected green energy does not even reduce CO2 emissions – it increases them, because of intermittency.
“There’s some caveats to consider if you want to join in support.
This is only about supporting a man with academic and scientific integrity
This isn’t about arguing about whether AGW is real or not, if you go down that path, it won’t help Dr. Mass”
Agree. You broaden your base of support by supporting his qualifications as a scientist and a productive faculty member. If you refight the climate wars you’ll lose at the University of Washington.
The idea is to help Dr. Mass.
Can I get a ‘Certificate in Atmospheric Science’ because I read this blog and check Willis’ math?
Then I can write a letter with academic credentials.
Jean Parisot, well if Anthony’s cat can be a member of scientific institution, then you should be able to get a certificate.
That is a fine idea!
My Brother actually met him and follows him to some degree on his blog, I will ask him to send him support as well. My Brother lives in the same area too, which is why he also met Terry Brooks and maybe other famous people too.
Agree that is about academic freedom and support, NOT what he believes about AGW issues.
Sure You agree: Best scientists don’t want to politicize science. Sometimes they find that a little discussion is needed, about how to cope with university authorities who are very political, or the popular media’s blur about the subject.
In navigating this, maybe we’ll take some cues from anthropology and sociology. For example: Who might create a benevolent and harmless list? — of the key players and list each one’s exact affiliations (past or present) with churches, lodges, political organizations, corporations, foreign nations, or power cliques. This would not be a maneuver in itself, to scandalize such affiliations, but an attempt to understand the wider context of the power plays. See what patterns emerge. It may help with efficiency & effectiveness of communicating the honest message we intend — we who love the truthfulness of science. I wish You well. I understand, from what I’ve read in these links, that the sincerity of science is experiencing a throttling attempt (strangulation attempt) by ham-handed political fingers.
I don’t know about Cliff Mass’s blog. I attended an earthquake conference in early 1993 as a member of the public. I met Dr. Kerry M. Joels in 1977 when he spoke at Seattle Center about NASA activities. I was a fan of the NOVA show in the 1970s when I was a young adult — and two of my heroes were Isaac Asimov & Carl Sagan. I’m one of five brothers of Sunsettommy.
A worthwhile suggestion Anthony, but as has happened with Bob Carter, Peter Ridd and Bjorn Lomberg in Australia, university administrators these days are so frightened by activist staff & student collectives, they won’t do jack about bullying of legitimate scientists who won’t carry the AGW flag.
Mr.
Doesn’t mean we can’t try. A simple email wouldn’t go amiss.
Not much time, not much effort.
HotScot…I’ve got my doubts. Without the MSM I think our efforts are useless…this AGW thing is simply going to play out.
You, Anthony (gotta luv WUWT) and a good list of others know full well the AGW concept has been successfully oversold…so what, nobody is listening.
The crowd has no clue….can you blame them?….other than web places like WUWT there’s no info.
It’s fascinating, I no longer care.
Sorry, I meant to say…”so what, nobody is listening to us.”
M.W.Plia
I’m listening. I was a ‘believer’.
Even conservative government ministers in Australia couldn’t (wouldn’t?) take on the university mafia.
Depressing, isn’t it?
The man wants and gives an honest debate. Not have some iditot (no matter the credentials)
yell and spit in your face “Denier!” . Just cut to the chase this is a religion as much as any
al that is missing is the grand inquisitor and the stake..
I have a Bachelor’s in General Biology-what is being done to this man is medieval ..
This situation reminds me of WWII where the you have the democracies on one side joining the communists on the other to fight the Nazis.
Will we both win this war in order to fight the next?
The Alex Lenferna link doesn’t work, for me anyway.
Delete the comma at the end of the URL
Lenferna just defended his dissertation yesterday, per his Twitter. It’s titled:
“Equitably Ending the Fossil Fuel Era: Climate Justice, Capital & the Carbon Budget. “
That’s it. End of modern world. All who disagree will receive mob justice from the South African Fulbright scholar (and terrible houseguest here in the USA).
God bless Anthony, this site, all the contributors and commenters. This is one of many reasons as I have grown, I’ve become more and more traditional and conservative. I’m still working on bring polite but chalk that up to bring from near the Philly area..
This is to be commended, and hopefully, young people are starting to see that one side foams at the mouth with ignorant hatred, and the other side stands for honest debate and moral principles. Really awesome to see.
I support this effort but it has nothing to do with being old or conservative. Science is neither liberal nor conservative. One does not have to be an ideologue to question some of the alarmist rhetoric and these abusive tactics.
“This isn’t about arguing about whether AGW is real or not, if you go down that path, it won’t help Dr. Mass”
you have utterly lost the plot
And you have lost the purpose of the request.
WUWT has reached the terminal stage of hermeticity.
this is very typical – it’s the usual life cycle of an internet forum
initially, it’s people who share a hobby or interest – and they are all excited about their topic and having found comrades who share the interest
starting out a meritocracy
eventually, long time members have discussed every topic more than once and can spot a noob
noobs are, initially, assisted, cultivated, educated’
but that also gets ‘old’ and reruns of sesame street get to seem pontlesss’
it’s found to be boring enough to justify rudeness and now begins the gate.keeping
the old timers begin to dominate. it grows harsher, the more it’s resisted.
this is when the Internet trolls find their fun- tweaking the gate keepers who protect whatever orthdoxy has emerged
soon, they find that the main joy to be had from the forum is in tormenting others with style – gotchas, PWNEDs, mic drops.
humans require moral justification for whatever they do, so next develops the rationale for abusing others.
that is always based on some kind of ‘activist mission’, such as ‘education’ or ‘saving somebody/something’
and the missionaries are now righteous by official doctrine of a concensus.
At this stage, senescence has arrived and new blood is driven out.
Only the self approved core of true-believers remains.
They’ve already talked about everything they had to say.
New ideas are unwelcome; a narratibe has become dogma.
Heresy has become easy to distinguish by the use of ‘key words’
It takes no time at all to identify a heretic or blasphemer. Being a rerun of a rerun, dogma bombing a noob or heretic is no longer exciting or interesting and becomes a chore which is resented.
hostility becomes the standard greeting for a potential new member.
This results in failure to recruit and the old timers are lost by attrition – more interesting things come to occupy them in other spheres.
The forum stagnates despite occasional punctuation with episodes of ad hoc activism.
The forum becomes irrelevant to all and comments & participation plummet.
Only the occasional burning of an apostate maintains interest- and that’s not sustainable…lol
they eat their own.
You are where you want to be.
You can importune the congregation for $$ and vanity. What else can affirm your new identity?
RIP WUWT.
He seems fun.
Did you accidentally get here when looking for Realclimate?
Poor TruthDoesn’tMatter
Your rant died of irrelevance before you even started.
May your single remaining brain cell RIP..
Yes, why be helpful when you be petulant instead?
So you demonstrate with no self awareness Charles.
‘it’s not about Polly Klaas- it’s about fighting unjust accusations of traffic violations’
(and, necessarily, snarking anything counter narrative.)
You’ve sunk below the threshold -and there is no cure for what you got.
Of course, I am aware of the irony – you can not, must not and will not go where reason rules the day. Whatever anyone says now can never penetrate your consciousness.
You can’t ever again achieve the level of self awareness, honesty and integrity to question your renewable commitment to demagoguery and promotion of your vanity.
Having accreted an insulating layer of sycophants, you now arrive at the terminal phase of hermeticity.
RIP
You have not demonstrated anything but overwhelming mouth-breathing,
TruthDoesn’tNatter to you.
You have no self-awareness of how incredibly empty, and desperate for attention, your comments sound.
Surely this piece will be seized on by the environmentalists as PROVING that Dr. Mass received support and encouragement from Big Oil funded denier web sites?
It may do more harm than good. I recall the attempt by the Guardian to run an anti-Bush letter writing campaign that backfired spectacularly…
@ur momisugly dodgy geezer
As I understand it, WUWT is not advocating we should write as representatives of this site but using our individual identities. Unless you actually DO work for Big Oil, there shouldn’t be a reason for the UW potentates to associate you, or any one of us, with B.O.
“Unless you actually DO work for Big Oil….”
Is Big Oil hiring? Asking for a friend.
Bullies search for weakness.
Punch back twice as hard, put them on their back foot.
FYI… Your link for “medium.com” doesn’t work. Need to remove the comma at the end of the URL.
https://medium.com/@AlexLenferna/if-you-care-about-climate-change-dont-listen-to-cliff-mass-vote-yes-on-1631-d61b2631226b
Thanks for organizing this. Three emails sent.
I am a U of W alum.
I will write a calm defense of the sanctity scientific and academic freedom in defense of Dr. Mass.
I am shocked and disturbed by the attacks on an honest scientist.
(Thank You) MOD
I too graduated from the UW and have written to the three persons mentioned.
(Thank you) MOD
A sign of maturity is the ability to disagree and at the same time be respectful.
Stalinists recognize only their presumed authority and will destroy anyone who questions it.
UW gets most of its revenue from tuition. About a third comes from the state though. link That means that, while they are in theory independent, they should be susceptible to political pressure.
Which politicians can be interested in this problem?
I’m acquainted with Senator Doug Erikson and will ask him for advice about who to contact.
Good idea.
Freedom is not free.
If you want to preserve your freedom of speech then speak up when it is challenged.
If we lose our freedom of speech, then everything is lost.
As J. S. Mill pointed out, if you oppose free speech for those with whom you disagree, you do not agree with free speech.
It is more like Climate Science is now practicing it’s own version of McCarthyism.
This will no doubt be an unpopular opinion, but it may be a bad idea to interfere when those on the other side (whatever the issue might be) begin to turn on each other.
It may be the only way CAGW is relegated once and for all to the dust bin of history, sooner rather than later, is for them all to eat their own.
I may not be the most popular commenter on WUWT, and one reason for that is I have one overriding objective: To see wrong ideas and bad science rejected. Most especially those that are dangerous and harmful to ordinary people living their lives in freedom.
If he knows how those on his side of the climate debate behave themselves, why is he not a CAGW skeptic already?
Email address for Lisa J Graumlich does not work.
I have had several email discussions with Dr. Mass regards wildfires and ocean acidification. He got chastised by UW and Seattle Times for arguing that reports of local ocean acidification damaging oysters were due natural upwelling and the pumping of naturally acidic waters into larval oyster rearing tanks. This conflicted with UW’s newly formed Ocean Acidification Center and securing big influxes of grant money. Dr. Mass graciously passed around my essays on ocean acidification that supported his arguments to professors involved in UW’s ocean acidification program. They could not refute what Dr. Mass or I presented but that did not matter. What was more important than scientific objectivity was maintaining an inflow of grant money, so I doubt any appeal to the UW admins will generate much sympathy.
UW disgraced itself in its handling of Elizabeth Loftus’s investigation of “the Jane Doe case.” See Wikipedia on it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Loftus#“Jane_Doe”_case
I would be curious regards how sympathetic Graumlich will be. She did her earlier research in the Sierra Nevada that suggested a warmer Medieval Warm period, stating “The summer temperature reconstruction shows fluctuations on centennial and longer time scales including a period with temperatures exceeding late 20th-century values from ca. 1100 to 1375 A.D., corresponding to the Medieval Warm Period”
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222799005_A_1000-Year_Record_of_Temperature_and_Precipitation_in_the_Sierra_Nevada
I listen to his thoughtful show on weekends in the PNW. I will also be writing my letter of support this weekend.
I agree that to address the University of Washington about the Cliff Mass situation, a certain degree of decorum is in order, but I don’t believe that being polite in the nicest of terms in writing to these people is in order either.
If you read the letter the Department Chair in the Atmospheric Science Department Dale Durran wrote in support of the carbon tax initiative, I-1631, that failed to pass by voters by a wide margin last month, it is very apparent that some serious brown nosing is going on between the political class that funds this racket through the universities and the politicians who use these prostituted versions of science to rile up the public to try and get them to believe humans are destroying the earth from their CO2 emissions. This looks as though it goes right to Washington state Governor Jay Inslees office, who was the sponsor of the carbon tax.
Durran wrote that CO2 emitted by humans remains in the atmosphere for centuries, builds up and causes dangerous “climate change”. He asked his faculty staff to sign this letter he wrote in support of the I-1631 measure, which many felt uncomfortable doing. Not only this, but Durran’s claims about atmospheric CO2 are grossly in error as revealed by the accurate modeling of the C14 isotope residence time that fits an inverse exponential curve and demonstrates the residence time is actually anywhere from 1.2-5 years as presented by the works of Murry Salby and Ed Berry, who are Phd atmospheric scientists.
Advancing such nonsense by a department chair is proof of how badly these universities have become corrupted by money grubbing the political establishment that funds them and their willingness to be dishonest to help set terrible public policy with. The two groups could not be more of a conflict of interest against each other than anything ever seen.
There is no excuse for this behavior, and I would encourage those who care to write about this to state so and point to nonsense like this being a bigger reason than ever that honest individuals like Cliff Mass need to be retained to do the work that taxpayers expect. And along with this should come a willingness to make it clear to these dishonest political hacks and their complicit academics like Durran, that this behavior will not be tolerated any longer and if it continues, private individuals thinking about giving cash gifts to the universities promoting this climate rot will stop.
This academic culture of totalitarian obeisance to CAGW and social justice warrior creeds is a new fasc1sm that makes the Na3is in the 1930’s look like a stamp collecting club. Sorry Godwin old boy but this is no game and this is no joke.
This fasc1stic hard left academic culture has taken hold in all English speaking countries – the USA primarily but also Canada, Australia and NZ, and is an incipient fasc1sm that threatens not just one country or continent but the whole world, using the pseudoscience of climate catastrophism as a vehicle.
As a UK national I find it painful to have become aware that it is my own culture and language, not that of any foreign nation, that poses the number one threat of nascent fasc1sm and an explosion of state violence that follows the cultivation of a new narrative of moral superiority and victimhood. We are the new na3is and the new threat to democracy and freedom of the whole world. Truth was already the first victim long ago. I’m glad that I speak Russian, so at least have a safe place to go when this all kicks off.
Not to sure about Dr. Mass situation, but I’ll tool up a respectful letter .
Or troll some of his on line enemies for sheets and giggles.
Cheers
Lance