Thursday, September 07, 2006

Moving the goalposts......



We've been at this pop-stand for a bit over a year. On the whole Eli is satisfied. I think the blog and the Rabett's comments elsewhere have had some effect in moving the climate debate, much more so than the relatively small number of readers would indicate. Rabett Run works well in combination with shorter comments elsewhere, as a place where evidence for this and that can be assembled, a place for the type of very long comment that causes eyes to cross when they are in a comment section, and it recently has become a second home for Ethon after the eagle was kick out of his Rocky Mountain home. And, oh yes, the occasional snark fest. Mustn't forget those.

When I saw that John Fleck had Rabett Run on his blogroll as meta-climate I wondered what meta-climate was, but on reflection John had it exactly right. The point of this blog (and many of my comments) is to change the debate not the data, or the interpretation of the data (the models).

Eli will take modest credit for showing how language is being manipulated by the denialists, that someone who repeatedly claims to be on your side, may not be, and to have played a part in changing the way in which those who have observed that people are changing the climate address the public and their denialist opponents.

In the coming year we would like to start writing about climate biosphere interactions and how global climate affects local conditions. And, oh yes, WGII and WGIII from the AR4.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find your comments here and elsewhere very useful, Eli. Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Yes you really do need to do some work on biosphere interactions.Your post on permafrost shows your limits of knowldege on biochemistry,and biota microsytems and the cryosphere are at present around elementatry school.

maksimovich

EliRabett said...

We are here to learn, not to preen, Mak. So why don't you go a bit beyond trying to wave the magic wand. Attitude only gets you so far in life.

Anonymous said...

John Fleck said -

It's "meta science", not "meta climate". I was trying to figure out some sort of of a category for people like you (and me) who mostly don't write about the science itself, but how the science stumbles about in the world, bumping into things.

EliRabett said...

John, that simile I like even better.

(Serves me right for not checking your blog before typing)