Just don't tell me the debate's over…
Yawn, another ridiculous global warming story.
Add it to the list. No really. I checked the date. It isn’t April 1st.
The effect of climate change on chickens is just so… yesterday.
You have to ask the question: if these scientists were actually trying to damage the global warming cause, would they be doing anything different?
Probably not much… it’s beyond parody. [Read more…]
Greens are vegetables too, you know!
I am seriously not making this up.
There is an organisation called the Rights of Nature Tribunal, in which a ‘Prosecutor for the Earth’ will bring cases against governments and businesses where there have been breaches of the ‘Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth’. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so freaking scary.
I know it sounds like something out of medieval witchcraft or Lord of the Rings, but the ABC, naturally, is taking this all extremely seriously (so no giggling at the back):
THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S handling of the dangers facing the Great Barrier Reef will be brought before an international tribunal in Lima, Peru on Saturday. It is one of 12 cases being heard at the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature.
Michelle Maloney, national convenor Australian Earth Laws Alliance and chair of the Environmental Defenders’ Office, Queensland helped prepare the case. She said the aim was to generate a strong statement of concern from the “ethical leaders” of the Tribunal over the governments’ perceived neglect of the Reef in the face of climate change, increasing development and agricultural run-off.
“We will be presenting the escalating threats from industrial development that the Queensland and Australian governments are allowing to happen and that threatens the existence of the Great Barrier Reef in contravention of UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention. AELA is bringing the case to bring to the attention of the global community what’s happening to the Great Barrier Reef,” she said.
The International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature formed earlier this year from an alliance of nearly 100 environment and law groups. It aims to promote what it describes as “wild law”, the idea that ecosystems have an intrinsic right to exist and are not simply a resource for humans. (source)
But wait a minute, if the planet has rights, then it must accept responsibilities, correct? Otherwise, that isn’t justice at all, it’s just victimisation, so the Earth needs to accept those responsibilities before trying to enforce its own rights, yes?
I therefore give notice that I intend to sue the Earth for all the catastrophic earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and other natural disasters that have occurred in the last thousand years and which have killed millions of innocent human beings.
Just because the Earth thinks that we haven’t done as much as we should have done to save the tree frog or whatever, that’s no reason to belch millions of tons of lava onto the surface of the planet and wipe out entire civilisations. I think the Earth needs to suffer some serious punishment for its irresponsible and dangerous actions…
OK, sarcasm off. Fortunately this laughable tribunal has no powers (yet), so governments and industry can simply give it the two-fingered salute, which I very much hope they will.
Warm mail
Usually I just ignore this kind of crap, but hey, it’s a very good day today, so for your entertainment I will share this email received earlier today:
Are you serious?
The debate on climate science is so far into the positive, with thousands of scientifically proven articles stating the same that I am surprised you even exist. But then you are supported by the big business/Liberal party end of town.
Shame on you for misrepresenting the science of human induced climate change. There may be other factors involved, but we as a species have made the greatest impact. Except for you lot of course, who have no positive impact at all.
How many PhD’s on your books do you have by the way?
Disgusted. Next thing you’ll tell me that the bible is all true and that the world is only six thousand years old.
Thanks, Andrew. I know it’s tough when your religion suffers a knock, but as the song goes:
Sometimes one is just staggered by the inanity of the Left, witness the outrage at Tony Abbott’s wink in a radio studio.
Click for full front page…
The masterful Clive James
I am delighted that Clive James is back writing TV reviews for the UK Telegraph. When I was a teenager, I devoured his volumes of reviews from The Observer, which made me roar with laughter. It didn’t matter if you hadn’t seen the programme itself, the descriptions were often more entertaining in many cases. His turn of phrase was, and is, wonderful – describing a famous 1979 battle at Wimbledon (or Wmbldn as BBC commentator Harry Carpenter called it), James wrote*:
Climate witchcraft (© Flickr)
Paraphrasing Andrew S Tanenbaum, the nice thing about warmist excuses is that you have so many to choose from.
The science is so settled that ‘the Cause’ has at least seven different explanations for ‘the Pause’. And of course, they all studiously avoid the obvious answer: that the climate’s actual sensitivity to increasing CO2 is less than the warmists want it to be.
So here we present the Seven Excuses of the Cause:
Excuse 1 – Low Solar Activity
We all know, from the IPCC down, that high solar activity had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with late 20th century warming. How ridiculous to suggest such a thing! But oddly, low solar activity can be invoked as a reason for a sudden stop in that warming. Go figure.
Excuse 2 – Ocean heat
Ah yes, the old ‘dog ate my warming’ excuse. The oceans have mysteriously sucked all the heat out of the atmosphere and have hidden it deep down, conveniently where nobody can measure it. This makes perfect sense, as everybody knows that in order to heat up a cold bath, all we need to do is turn the fan heater on in the bathroom, right?
Excuse 3 – Coal burning in China
Burning coal has added more particulates to the atmosphere, which has reduced insolation and therefore reduced warming. So burning coal good because it stops global warming, but er, burning coal bad because it causes global warming… ouch, my head hurts.
Excuse 4 – Montreal Protocol
The ‘success’ of the Montreal Protocol in reducing CFCs in the atmosphere, themselves greenhouse gases, is the reason why the planet is not warming as fast. At least it achieved something, then, because the Ozone Hole is still there. But David Karoly says CFCs are a far smaller component of warming than CO2… oh dear, another quandary.
Excuse 5 – Pause? What pause?
The Wilful Blindness excuse. Rather than actually work out why the pause has occurred, it’s much easier just to disappear it (a la Medieval Warm Period) by miraculously cooling the past and pretending that warming is continuing exactly the same, or even better, accelerating. I mean, GISS do it all the time, so who will notice?
Excuse 6 – Volcanoes, not pollution
Please forget you just read Excuse 3 above. It’s the volcanoes what done it.
Excuse 7 – Stratospheric water vapour
Please forget you just read all of the above excuses. It’s this one. No, really. Or all of them. Whatever. Just give us more money.
Thanks to Marc Morano, who has all the links over at the ‘Depot.
Enjoy…! Right click for menu to play again.
Leans to the Left
Pinched from Biased-BBC and tweaked remarkably little:
One more added in the comments:
And one of my own:
Please feel free to add to the list in the comments!
Inaugural 2013 Awards
“Deck the halls with howls of folly, fa la la la la laa, la la la laa!”
There’s no better way to get the hysteria across than attacking Christmas, so the first two inaugural ACM Bah Humbug Awards go to…
Sarah Zielinsky – Smithsonian Blogs – for her piece entitled: “Six Ways Climate Change Is Waging War on Christmas“
Sarah channels the spirit of Scrooge by explaining how all our favourite elements of Christmas are slowly being destroyed by “global warming” – reindeer, white Christmas, hot cocoa, maple syrup, Christmas trees and, of course, Santa’s home at the North Pole:
If Santa really lived at the North Pole, he would have drowned long ago. But any fantasies we have about him making a home on floating sea ice will surely die within the century. The extent of summer sea ice in the Arctic has been shrinking, and it could be gone entirely within decades. The U.S. Navy predicts an ice-free summer Arctic as early as 2016.
“We really are heading towards an ice-free Arctic in the summer,” Andreas Münchow, an Arctic scientist at the University of Delaware, told the Guardian. “It just takes a freak event eventually, in the next five or 10 or even 20 years…. The long-term trend is that the ice is disappearing in the summer in the Arctic.”
Unfortunately, she carefully avoids the fact that Al Gore predicted the end of Arctic ice by, er, 2013.
Greenpeace UK and Jim Carter for “An Urgent Message from Santa”
I am sure the character Jim Carter plays in Downton Abbey, Charlie Carson the butler, wouldn’t have any time for environmental hippies, for as he says in Series 3, Episode 8:
“I’ve never been called a liberal in my life and I don’t intend to start now.” (source)
Please send your suggestions via the comments for further worthy recipients.
Skeptical Science has suggested some “gifts for skeptics” (i.e. proper skeptics, that is), so in the spirit of Christmas, here are ACM’s ideas for the warmist in your life:
The SkS Shredder
Inconvenient data? No problem with this shredder. Just watch the Medieval Warm Period disappear. Forget having to change your models to fit reality, simply change reality to fit your models! Nothing could be easier!
Simples!
Escalator News
Skeptical Science loves escalators, so why not buy that special person a subscription to Elevator World?
Fascinating reading!
“ELEVATOR WORLD is the premier publication for the international building transportation industry and has been publishing the latest news, newest innovations, imperative safety issues, current code requirements, events coverage and accessibility, legal and maintenance issues since January 1953.”
And don’t worry, it has plenty about escalators as well!
Print edition, just $125. Order here.
The Skeptical Science Consensus Calculator
Do you need to keep repeating the fake statistic that 97% of scientists agree with the consensus on global warming, when in reality the figure is barely half that? Well, now your troubles are over with the new Consensus Calculator. Specially designed, this clever device will ensure you only get the result you want, every time.
Easy peasy!
Karl Popper – The Logic of Scientific Discovery
Why not find out what real scientists do by reading on of the essential texts on the scientific method. A lot of this will come as a shock to Skeptical Science readers, so best read it sitting down. It’s even available on Kindle, so do yourselves a favour and work out the difference between science and propaganda.
A real page turner for warmists
And finally, to show that special person how much you care…
Yes, it’s the new I “heart” Lew mug. Lovingly crafted and designed, this gift will really send the right message…
Show him you love him…
Available from the ACM Cafepress shop here, a bargain at just $15.99.
Merry Christmas!
Australian Climate Madness 
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