It’s crankfest time at the Independent (UK). Over the last few years, the Indescribablyoverhyped (as Stoat describes their climate reporting) has been the most outspoken of the world’s newspapers on the threat of climate change, but this weekend it allowed some of the UK’s leading climate cranks to state their various cases.
Bewhiskered botanical unbeliever David Bellamy:
Global warming is the biggest scam since the church sold indulgences back in the Middle Ages.
Economist Ruth Lea:
When you hear people saying the temperature is going to rise by four degrees this century, do you hear anyone explaining that there’s only a 0.001 probability that will happen? No.
“Climatologist” Piers Corbyn[1. If Corbyn’s a climatologist, then Ken Ring is the saviour of meteorology]:
There’s no evidence that carbon dioxide drives world temperatures or climate change. The ‘hockey stick’ is fraud, Al Gore’s film is fraud, and schemes to remove CO2 from the atmosphere by machines are a scam.
Nigella’s dad, Nigel Lawson:
There has been no global warming this century, and that is apparent from figures produced by the Hadley Centre, the branch of the UK Met Office that monitors world temperatures[2. Despite the Hadley Centre explicitly stating that warming goes on].
Swindler Martin Durkin:
Objectively, it is staggeringly obvious that climate-change science is complete twaddle. There is no correlation, on any meaningful timescale whatsoever, between CO2 and temperature. Take the politics and the grants out of it, and no one would take it seriously.
Hans Schreuder – classic crank:
I haven’t been targeted by activists, which is a shame, as that would have created publicity. I called Al Gore a liar and lots of other things on the site, because I was hoping someone would sue me for defamation. But nobody has bothered.
What a pity, Hans.
Anyone up for a bet on how long before Poneke does a gloating post? He seems to have finely-tuned crank radar ..
I couldn’t possibly comment… 😉
(Notice the footnotes? Great little plugin generates them automatically.)
.. and, regrettably, much less interest in climate change science. Oops, that comment was intended to follow on from the previous one.
It is a pity that Durkin’s movie is utter cr*p. It’s funny that denialist blah on about Gore’s movie, but never say anything about the complete rubbish movie of Durkin’s.
[crank] Of course Swindle’s not crap, it supports our position[/crank]
See also: discussion at Frogblog here.
i just read that a couple of hours ago – unbelievable. I can imagine their environment correspondent, Geoffrey Lean, is currently in a spitting fury, calling editors and generally hitting the roof.
I rather think the opposite. The claptrap is so obvious (and undercut by a panel of facts at the bottom of the article), that I think it makes them look – how shall I put this politely – out of touch with reality… Great picture of Bellamy though.
Hans Schreuder’s response really made my day. Now that his views are finally published, I’m sure that he’ll conclude in a fit of pure logic that this means that he’s being suppressed.
Then again, in a way I can understand Schreuder’s pain. I’ve written so much unflattering stuff about Viscount Monckton… so why hasn’t Monckton threatened to sue me yet? Argh!
— bi, International Journal of Inactivism
I’ve already had threats of legal action – does that mean I win?
You’ll enjoy the revelation in this comment, and my rejoinder. You may need to add an extra dimension to your conspiracy chart…
:-B
I’m not sure it’s a conspiracy theory though… I remember that the mainstream position is that Callendar’s specific thesis was indeed incorrect, but for different reasons.
— bi, International Journal of Inactivism