More Climate Change Denial Claptrap

A few days ago, a post appeared on the Kaslo Community Web FB page.  One of the irregular posters on that page had found what he obviously considered the coup de grace in the on-going battle between science and anti-science.  It was a movie trailer for The Global Warming War.  It claims that it is "... not motivated by politics, money or emotionalism".  It also claims that climate change "hasn't been proven scientifically".  I imagine most people will watch it without any analysis or background checks.  Let's see who and what is involved in this expose.

First, just remind yourself that nobody involved in real science every uses the phrase "proven scientifically".  Evidence may build up and persuade based on the sheer volume of that evidence, but the term "proven" is pretty much never used.

The people involved in this video include:

Marc Morano - works for a "think-tank" in Washington DC that receives lots of funding from Big Oil.  Just because he can get on a camera and state that human-caused climate change is "bullshit", doesn't make it so.  Like most climate change science deniers, he presents no evidence to support his position.

Dr H. Sterling Burnett - a philosopher who works for the National Center for Policy Analysis, a "free market" think tank funded by billionaires including the Koch Brothers.  Burnett has been quoted as saying the Gulf Coast disaster was "more hype than reality".  He's also quoted by the Heartland Institute as a climate expert.  He's not.

 Dr Tim Ball - identified in the video as a "climatology professor".  He's actually a geographer.  He is also a "scientific advisor" to the Exxon-funded "Friends of Science".  As an aside, the University of Winnipeg doesn't seem to have a climatology department.

Dr Paul Driessen - associated with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow.  Among many other climate change science denial activities, he has spoken at the Heartland Institute's ICCC7, which received over $67 million from ExxonMobile, the Koch Brothers and the Scaife Family Foundations.

Dr John Theon - is listed as an "expert" by the Heartland Institute.  He is retired from NASA.

Dr Mark Alliegro - a cell biologist that the Heartland Institute lists as an expert.  He claims that there has been no increase in severe weather.  Interestingly, the insurance industry sees it differently.  Stories about that here and here.

Dr James Wanliss - actually does research into Physics and Space Weather.  His position as a climate change denier seems to be rooted in Christian fundamentalism as evidenced in the following: "it is possible to have a balanced Biblical view of stewardship and conservation to the critical issues of environment and development."

Dennis Avery - is an agricultural economist.  His position can be best described with this quote from him: "Why did most of our moderate modern warming take place before 1940 (with 1934 being the warmest year) and why haven't we had any warming over the last nine years? Could it possibly be the moderate natural 1,500-year cycle revealed in the ice cores and seabed sediments?".  He seems to have missed the warm years in the past few decades.  His biography describes him as "a supporter of biotechnology, pesticides, irradiation, factory farming and free trade. He also considers himself an expert on “agriculture, environment, world hunger issues, biotechnology and pesticides, trade, and water issues.  Most warming "before 1940"?  Where has he been?

Then there is FOX News with the story that "It's the Sun's Rays".  Fox News, the mouthpiece of American Conservatism, the Republican Party.  Faux News has a history of inaccurate and misleading coverage of many things, including climate change.  Google lists many sources that have studied this inaccuracy.  More here and here.  It would be safe and fair to say that FOX News has no credibility on anything.

The Cosmic Ray Theory of climate change and Dr Henrik Svensmark.  This could be an interesting explanation, but it appears that it's dead.

John Coleman - the founder of The Weather Channel.  His degree, 50 years ago, was in journalism.  That said, he did spend a few decades in the "weather business".  He is credited with claiming that climate change is a hoax.  Snopes considers the veracity of that here.  Although this item is superficially "true" in the sense that the words quoted above were indeed written by John Coleman, the statement that they "refute" global warming (i.e., prove it to be false) is something of an exaggeration. As Coleman's critics have noted, he does not hold a degree in climatology or any related discipline, nor has he studied or conducted any research in that field; he merely parrots arguments advanced by others. Moreover, much of his criticism of climate change deals with impugning the motives of those engaged in that discipline rather than refuting the science behind their work.

Once again, just because someone wants to claim climate change isn't happening doesn't mean they have "refuted" climate change.  They need evidence.  

Dr David Deming - He is another climate change denier affiliated with the National Center for Policy Analysis, funded by the Koch Brothers, among others. One quote of his: "The largest mistake would be to start to move away from petroleum, a proven and economic energy source, to more speculative and expensive sources…The world will eventually leave the age of oil, but there is no geologic reason for this to happen until near the end of the 21st century."

Lawrence Solomon - a journalist who describes himself as "one of Canada's leading environmentalists".  He has an interesting mix of affiliations, one being as the Executive director of Energy Probe, a fossil fuel lobbyist group.

To summarize:  no politics, no money?  I don't think so.  Massive funding from the Big Oil lobby and many associated foundations.  Politics?  Well, it sure isn't science that they're espousing.  This is typical of climate change science deniers.  They spend all their time pointing fingers, jumping up and down, accompanied with lots of arm waving, but they DO NOT present any evidence that climate change isn't happening or that we're not the main cause.  What is true is that there's no science in what they're claiming.

If anyone wants the real story, there is a good article in Science or Not? which lays out the extent of our current knowledge on climate change and the role of humans in it.