Leo Hickman of the Guardian’s Environment blog Friday had a frustration-filled, teeth-gnashing screed where he expressed his disdain over so many skeptic blogs being nominated for the best Science & Technology Category of the Weblog Awards 0f 2013.
Source: Weblog Awards site.
He accuses the climate skeptics of “gaming” the competition because they’ve succeeded in generating so much enthusiasm.
It was tough not to gloat reading that piece. It’s indeed a good look at a sour grapes display by the increasingly defeated looking alarmist side, now that they see they have got no chance of winning. Of the five finalists, four are skeptic blogs. The sole remaining alarmist blog, Skeptical Science, has dropped out.
On the long list of 17, thirteen were climate science skeptics (including NoTricksZone).
If anything, the Weblog Awards results tell us one thing: the alarmist blogs have a very, very serious problem. The problem (for them) is that nobody is listening to their message any more. And, except for themselves, nobody else even has an inkling of enthusiasm left to nominate them, let alone to vote. They’re rapidly sinking into irrelevance.
The problem boils down to credibility. You can only cry wolf so many times before people ignore you totally and think you’ve completely lost your marbles. The hysterical shrieks of a world-ending climate collapse are looking more ridiculous today than ever, and many are finding it simply too embarrassing to be associated with.
The Guardian laments that it didn’t even know who some of the blogs on the long list were. Well, whose fault is it for that ignorance? Should we be surprised to hear this from a media outlet that appears ignorant of hundreds of peer-reviewed papers showing that CO2 is way over-hyped? If the Guardian had done its homework, it wouldn’t be standing there appearing so clueless. Reporting means getting both sides of the story, and not just the part you agree with and ignoring all the rest.
The skeptics on the other hand are energized, enthusiastic, and their numbers are growing by the day. Little wonder they are mopping up at the Weblog Awards. If a blog can generate that type on enthusiasm among readers, well, then it deserves to win. It gets down to having the ability to capture and engage an educated audience, and to do so without resorting to spectacular tabloidish claims of a dramatic global meltdown.
The alarmist/hysterical climate blogs have been so out-classed that those left (Skeptical Science) are now hightailing it out of the ring. Like when it comes to debating climate science in public, they are willing to step into the ring only if the fight is rigged in a way that ensures they’ll win – quality and science be damned.
PS: Thanks to readers for having nominated NoTricksZone. Being on the list of the top 17 is already a great success.
This old adage: “The Truth will Out” is still true today…………..a long hard road for sure but we ARE winning the battle for truth!
Three possible reasons why AGW sceptic blogs predominate and the Warmist blogs failed to score significantly in the nominations.
First: Alexa Rankings, with #1 being the most visited site in the world.
Wattsupwiththat – 26,407
Realclimate.org – 138,461
Skepticalscience – 141,058
Second: Environmental concerns among citizens around the world have been falling since 2009 and have now reached twenty-year lows, according to a multi-country GlobeScan poll.
http://www.globescan.com/commentary-and-analysis/press-releases/press-releases-2013/261-environmental-concerns-at-record-lows-global-poll.html
Third: The inconvenient fact – confirmed by Pachauri and the Met Office – that there has been no stat sig warming for 17 years now, and even Hansen admits there has been do warmong for a decade can’t help their cause.
Funny how Hickman failed to mention those.
Fourth: AGW Sceptic blogs are more trustworthy and contain more interesting stuff.
Fifth: Warmist blogs compare with congregations of Jehovah Witnesses. There is more chagrin than humour.
Sixth: People like to be in a winning team.
Hickman boasts that he has been around the climate debate more than most, they says he doesn’t recognize most on a list of sceptic sites. The problem is his eyes are blinkered and only reads what he wants to believe.
The reason why sceptic blogs do so well is because the media does not give a fair airing for sceptical views. As a result people use their keyboards, and when they land many are hooked and have their eyes opened. 😉
So Pierre, you did well to be on the same list as the other nominees, apart from the warmist wankers of course!
Things can only get better!
Congratulations!
Leo Hickman is a clown of the first order.
His incoherent rambling, a thing to behold and he’s been running round in ever decreasing circles, dribbling and screeching “global warming the sky is falling in” ever since he found it could pay the bills by writing idiot tales for some execrable left leaning rag [the Guardian newspaper].
Soon and not before time, he will disappear up his own fundament and no one, nobody, not even the green-loons – will notice.
I think Cook figured the only chance for him to win was if the skeptic sites split their votes evenly while he garnered all the believers. Then he considered the possibility that even if that happened his site might still end up last. That would be an embarrassment he would never live down. So he decided it was better to tuck his tail between his legs and run off to avoid that possibility.
You have chosen, with exceptions noted, a niche, namely, “Climate news from Germany.” Therein, NoTricksZone is #1.
A great service. Thanks.
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You write: “. . . many are finding it simply too embarrassing . . .”
This is a good point. Some of the AGW (“climate change”) team have gotten so sloppy in their science endeavors or, at least, in the reporting thereof, that a sincere scientist must find it difficult to stay in the club. In other cases, Gleickgate comes to mind, one has to applaud fraudulent behavior to maintain acceptance. The “cause” has also been undermined by Mother Nature’s non-cooperation and the very costly green agenda. Some coincidences have helped – sunless days just after massive solar panel installations, collapsing wind towers, governments supporting costly UN parties while deficits grow and folks can’t afford winter heat, a starlet flying from Hawaii to Wash. D. C. to protest a fuel pipeline, and the list goes on.
look for missing comment
I’ve voted for the last two bloggies, but I can’t get email confirmation from this one. I tried twice with Firefox and once with IE 10.
Nowadays, most traffic to climate parasitic websites are from aggregate skeptical blogs like Tom Nelson, Climate Depot, WUWT, Steven Goddard etc usually linking there to some show the latest abomination or idiocracy being claimed by a rent seeking alarmist.
Alarmists are on the run, they can’t debate, they can’t compete, they can only come at you from behind. Leo Hickman is the man for that job, Gleick for everything else.
Look at it from the bright side. Alarmists have raised the Ad Hominem Argument to unprecedented heights. Lewandowsky is at the top, doing what former Soviet psychiatrists only dared to do in secret. He is the champion of this cult, granted a warm welcome by the AGU. Gleick is just a minor pickpocket.
Congrats Pierre. And yes, skepticism is growing almost everywhere, including here in our part in Asia. cheers.
Congratulations, well done Pierre. If we stick to what we believe is the truth we’ll win – evenetually
WUWT, Tallbloke, JoNova…pretty impressive company you are keeping these days Pierre. Very well done!
I have seen your articles quoted all over the sceptic blogosphere.
I agree with John F. Hultquist above and you are providing a much needed English language insight into the climate happenings in the biggest European power almost none of which reaches us here in Canada from any other source.
Thanks for all your effort which must be exceedingly time consuming!
Thanks to you, John, Edward, Don, Nonoy and everyone else for the kind words. I’m enjoying the blogging!
A well earned citation PG – you were a lone voice but you’ve helped bring about a changing of attitudes in Germany [plus EIKE] – and just for that – big kudos.
Thanks…makes my day 🙂
Thank you, NoTricksZone, for speaking truth and the scientific method against political propaganda and disinformation. Eventually, truth will prevail but in the meantime the cost of measures based upon misinformation is incredibly expensive and unfortunate — thus we (believers in the efficacy of science based upon real data) is urgent.
Erratum: thus the efforts of we (the skeptics, more appropriately, the realists) is critically important.