Roger Pielke Jr. Will Be So Sad
The Sunday NY Times, shock, horror, features a comic strip by Brian McFadden, which, shock, horror, this week is Learning How to Combat Climate Change Denial. Now Eli, of course, is for fair, but not unfair use, so rather than showing the entire strip, will show the last two frames
which, even by themselves, will make Roger very sad, and his friends Kloor and Revkin, even sadder. Still, reading the lyrics provides more flavor:
Step 5: Choose the weapon that best suits you - ice core samples, alternative energy, Ed Begley Jr., facts.
So young bunnies how do you Combat Climate Change Denial?
Posts
18 comments:
Try and have some fun with it. Check their sources, then check the primary non-quote-mined/graph-mined sources. Agree that Al Gore made money from tobacco. Point out my electricity comes from Scottish hydro, I haven't flown in years, I don't drive. Bung some cash the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund's way, and link to it whenever appropriate. Point out Bob Ferguson makes up to $300,000 a year for an average working week, and James Hansen puts paleo and obs before models. Don't let them get away with cherrypicking wind as if it's the only sustainable, and don't forget that fracking's been suspended in Pennsylvania due to drought (which has yet to receive even an acknowledgement - when it's ignored, you know you got the ball in the back of the net). Don't be afraid to call a lie from their source a lie. If they complain about Skeptical Science links, link to SkS again. Link to the science, via SkS if appropriate (see above). Admit you're wrong when you're wrong..... but point out they never admit to being wrong. The science is older than relativity, and in 1920 they'd have been part of the anti-relativity movement (thank you Conservapedia). Link to the science. "Denier"'s been in use since the 1980s with HIV/AIDS denial. 31,000 scientists includes Ginger Spice (twice), the doctors from MASH, and dead people. Link to the science. Fossil fuels have astoundingly crap EROEI compared to sustainables. The highest percentage of scientists who disagree with the IPCC's core conclusions is 5%. Use Google Warming 101 to cut out the dross and PR repeats. "Doing the maths without doing any science is not doing the science." Peter Gleick's still walking free - he even has his passport, which is more than you can say for one of the Sky Dragon Slayers.
Be sure to read as much of the scientific research as you can — don’t limit yourself to the sources they give. Be sure to study the data yourself — don’t take their word for anything. Perhaps most important, don’t limit yourself to looking only at what they show you — be especially careful of fake skeptics turning the spotlight on a time span that’s too brief or an area that’s too small. If you use these safeguards, the truth of the matter will usually become clear. It’s work — but it works.
More here:
http://tamino.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/defense-against-the-dark-arts/
To J Bowers:
Which of the Sky Dragon Slayers is without a passport and why?
John Puma
My opponents generally pride themselves on being more rational than those crazy alarmists. So my approach is an emotionless dismembering of their strawmen.
Extending tamino's comment - trace their claims back to their original sources. If they are embarrassed by them, you might get the 'alarmists don't allow real science to be published.' At that stage I let them be. Once they don the tinfoil beanie, leave them be.
Similarly, if they start spouting "one world government", just walk away.
In other words, pick your fights. I can see, Eli, that you like edging into the political sphere. But that way leads to the dark side.
http://ilcoloredirosso.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/mouse.jpg
I fight it with despair.
Jay tries to take the Michael out of noisy and rabid deniers, but be nice and gently gently with mild deniers.
It doesn't work. If you gently explain why looking at stuff, for instance sea ice, is best done the way scientists do rather than the way conspiracy blogs do the mild deniers very quickly become angry and rabid.
When someone says that the weather we see today is somehow different than ever before, or that sea level is rising like it never has before, or that glaciers are melting, or polar bears are drowning, or wind turbines are a good idea, or a hundred other science denial talking points. I don't fight them, I realize they are buried deep in the faith of climate alarmism.
I merely nod and smile politely, and at the first oportunity find a way to change the subject.
cheers
When someone compares the last fifty years to the time of the dinosaurs and before, with their different forcings, I tend to think of them as a retard and a lost cause.
@ John.
Oliver K Manuel. It's a sorry tale. He copped a plea with the Missouri DA and had his passport confiscated. His kids were more concerned for the safety of their own kids, which was why they went to the authorities as adults. To his credit, Watts had already thrown the book under a bus and banned Manuel for trolling, which upset Poptech because that was bad PR for the cause.
BTW, I don't think 'Woy is Wong' (the use of childish names or language to try to establish that your opponent is childish) is effective for anything but building bonds in the 'in-group' by inviting them to join together to sneer at the 'those dumb guys over there.' It is monkey poo-throwing behavior. I despise it when 'they' do it; I despise it when 'we' do it. As a tactic to combat denial, I think it sucks.
Anon above has a valid point, which I have been expressing for years on deaf ears.
Oh well let the children play.
Celery Eater
Most of what JB, tamino and Anon. #1 said, though with the point about dino-era climate I find it helps to point out the relative stability of the Holocene and how hard we're kicking the system (MT is good at explaining this).
In person the misinformed but curious separate pretty quickly from teh crazy. I carpooled once with a fellow who basically read off a bunch of standard and mutually contradictory talking points, but also cited the Constitution wrt his divorce case, and marveled how his computer networking business had 40% employee turnover -- in 2010!
Woy is still Wong, and after the fiftieth time even a Bunny runs out of the milk of human kindness.
Some of these guys need a less gentle reminder.
"I will not have my fwiends widiculed by the common [wabett]wy. Anybody else feel like a little... giggle... when I mention my fwiend..."
Cymraeg llygoden
To J. Bowers:
Thanks.
Sorry tale, indeed.
John Puma
"Some of these guys need a less gentle reminder."
Oooh people must be quaking in their boots! LMAO
That is hilarious Eli, very funny.
Celery Eater
> So young bunnies how do you Combat?
Love and Light.
Or else an idiosyncratic mix of panther and snake techniques.
Being a basically lazy person, I'm tempted to let reality do the fighting for me - it'll be kicking them in the balls soon enough.
"When heatwaves claimed the lives of 15000 young, old, and feeble, I said 'no problem', because I'm not old, young, or feeble(or French, Russian, or mid eastern); when floods destroyed farms and lives in the Mississippi valley(and Thailand, and France, and Pakistan), I said 'not happening', 'cause I don't live on a farm near a river; when drought and fire destroyed livestock and lives in Australia and Texas, I said 'positive effect of global warming', cause I like barbecue; sea level rise, hurricanes - not interesting - I'm not close to the coast. Maybe when global warming comes to me, I'll be concerned."
Brian Dodge
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