Vanity Fair about the Foul

Eli is playing with the meeting mice. Till he gets back later this week you can play at Vanity Fair where there is a rather complete deconstruction of CEI and Myron Ebell, the denialist's denialist. Myron and CEI have taken about 2M$ from Exxon Mobil alone since 1998. Tom Wigley has the last word in the middle of the article

Mainstream scientists say that, along with a warming atmosphere, our oceans are heating up, too. "I think that's made up," Ebell says. "I understand that the oceans are primarily heated by direct solar radiation. I do not understand how—beyond just the surface—they are heated by the warming up of the atmosphere. It seems to me that the atmosphere would have to warm up significantly above the previous level before that radiation could actually heat up the ocean."

"That's the most preposterous bullshit I've ever heard," exclaims Tom Wigley,

He explains why, but read the article to see why dealing with trash like Ebell requires one not to be polite. Of course, the pithier amongst the mice might prefer James Wollcott's description of Rush Limbaugh

For us non-dittoheads (that is, the unconverted), a more fitting memorial to Mount Rushbo might be a diorama of the environmental destruction that he did so much to enable in his multi-decade reign of denigration. Global warming's most popular denialist, talk radio's most imitated showman, conservatism's minister of disinformation, he has injected millions of semi-vacant American skulls with a cream filling of complacency that has helped thrust this country into the forefront of backward leadership. He has given Republican lawmakers the rhetorical cover fire to do nothing but snicker as the crisis emerged and impressed itself on the rest of the world. He conscripted concern for nature as just another weapon in the Culture Wars. May the grasses of his favorite golf courses go forever yellow and dust storms whip from the sand traps.