Miners’ mandatory attendance at Romney rally cost them a day’s pay
By Philip Bump You may remember last week when Fox Nation ran the headline “Ohio Miners Turn on Obama,” showing a photo of miners trooping into a Romney rally. Readers dubbed the article “Inspiring.” We were kind of wet blankets, noting that the head of the company indicated beforehand that he would bus those miners … Read more
Stages of Denial: ‘Peiser refuted Oreskes’–In a poor piece of work that has been retracted by its author
Objection: Sure, Oreskes found no one bucking the consensus, but her paper was refuted by Benny Peiser, who did the exact same survey and found very different results. Answer: True, Benny Peiser did attempt a similar study and submitted it as a letter to Science responding to the Oreskes study. But for very good reasons, … Read more
Stages of Denial: ‘The temperature record is unreliable’–But temperature trends are clear and widely corroborated
Objection: The surface temperature record is full of assumptions, corrections, differing equipment and station settings, changing technology, varying altitudes, and more. It is not possible to claim we know what the “global average temperature” is, much less determine any trend. The IPCC graphs only say what the scientists want them to say. Answer: There is … Read more
Stages of Denial: ‘There is no evidence’ — Yes, there is
Objection: Despite what the computer models tell us, there is actually no evidence of significant global warming. Answer: Global warming is not an output of computer models; it is a conclusion based on observations of a great many global indicators. By far the most straightforward evidence is the actual surface temperature record. While there are … Read more
Stages of Denial: Climate change mitigation would lead to disaster’–Not really, but this may be lesser of two evils
Objection: The kind of drastic actions required to mitigate global warming risk the destruction of the global economy and the deaths of potentially billions of people. Answer: Is this supposed to mean the theory of anthropogenic global warming must be wrong? You can not come to a rational decision about the reality of a danger … Read more
Stages of Denial: The U.S. is a net CO2 sink
Only if you ignore fossil fuel emissions Objection: The United States absorbs more CO2 into its land than it emits into the air. The world should be grateful. Answer: As often the case, at the heart of this talking point is a grain of truth. But it does not serve the purpose for which it’s been … Read more
Stages of Denial: China and India have joined Kyoto, they just have different obligations, as is morally appropriate
Objection: Why should the U.S. join Kyoto while India and China haven’t? Answer: The U.S. puts out more CO2 than any other nation on earth, including China and India, by a large margin. Considering the relative populations (a billion-plus each for China and India versus 300 million in the U.S.), per capita emissions in the … Read more
Stages of Denial: ‘Kyoto is a big effort for almost nothing’–Kyoto is only in its first phase
Objection: The Kyoto treaty, even if fully implemented, would only save us about a tenth of a degree of future temperature rise many decades from now. What a waste of effort! You can see for yourself here at the Junk Science website. Answer: There are three big problems with this claim. First, it’s a red … Read more
Stages of Denial: The problem is not how high the temperature may go, but how fast it is changing
Objection: The earth has had much warmer climates in the past. What’s so special about the current climate? Anyway, it seems like a generally warmer world will be better. Answer: I don’t know if there is a meaningful way to define an “optimum” average temperature for planet earth. Surely it is better now for all … Read more
Stages of Denial: ‘It’s the sun, stupid’–Very bright, yes, but not getting brighter
Objection: The sun is the source of warmth on earth. Any increase in temperature is likely due to changes in solar radiation. Answer: It’s true that the earth is warmed, for all practical purposes, entirely by solar radiation, so if the temperature is going up or down, the sun is a reasonable place to seek … Read more
