Marc Morano of Climate Depot presents his written testimony at the Congressional Hearing on Climate Change in Fairview, West VA of May 30, 2013. This represents just the latest milestone on how far the global warming science has collapsed in the face of growing scientific skepticism over the recent years.
Ten years ago and more, the scales were actually tipped completely in favor of the warmists. The theory of man-made global warming at the time was rather new to the public and seemed plausible. The planet had just seen a couple of decades of strong warming, and it all appeared to fit together. Yet, much of the science was still poorly understood, and, as is always the case in science, skepticism refused to let go.
In the beginning the number of skeptic voices represented only a small and cautious minority – only a few scientists and blogsites were actively challenging the theory. By the early and mid 2000s, serious challenges began mounting. For example Steve McIntyre exposed Michael Mann’s hockey stick as a worthless statistical artifact, Michael Crichton had written a bestselling thriller critical of global warming, and skeptic blogs capable of reaching broad audiences were beginning to communicate skeptical science and findings. The skeptics grew in numbers, yet resembled more a disorganized motley crew who possessed limited public communication power.
But that changed in the late 2000s. Suddenly the Earth had stopped warming for 10 years, winters turned harsh, and lots of skeptic blogs were coming online and piling on. That the IPCC 4AR of 2007 was riddled with errors, exaggerations, and relied on a lot of gray literature had become clear and thus seriously damaged the UN body. The IPCC was humiliated and on the defensive.
The release of the Climategate e-mails and failure of the Copenhagen Conference made the situation even more desperate for the warmists. Claims of broad agreement on the science were exposed as having been premature and wildly exaggerated. The science was coming apart. All that was left was to effectively communicate that reality to the public.
Expert communicator Marc Morano routs the warmists
The effective communication of skeptical science got a major boost when Marc Morano stepped onto the stage. Although Morano had already been active in debunking the AGW scare and the notion of consensus as Communications Director for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee under Senator James Inhofe in the 2000s, it wasn’t until he published his award-winning Climate Depot climate science/news clearinghouse site in 2009 that the message began to be heard in earnest.
With Morano, the science debunking the AGW claim had now found a powerful and talented PR expert who effectively communicated the inconvenient climate science findings to the media and public. Often we find Morano on television, radio and in the print media, nationally and internationally. Since Morano helped fire up the climate science communication machinery, the debate for the skeptics has turned into a virtual rout of the warmists.
In his written congressional testimony, Morano writes “that on virtually every claim — from A-Z — the claims of the promoters of man-made climate fears are failing, and in many instances the claims are moving in the opposite direction. The global warming movement is suffering the scientific death of a thousand cuts.” He adds “these are not good times for the promoters of global warming” and “the idea that CO2 is the tail that wags the dog is no longer scientifically tenable.”
Just how bad have things gotten for the global warming scientists? Morano adds in his testimony:
Gore and the UN IPCC are now reduced to pointing to every storm, flood, hurricane or tornado as proof of man-made global warming. The UN has been reduced to blaming man-made global warming for prostitution. See: Climate Astrology — ‘It Has Been Foretold’ of Extreme Weather: ‘UN IPCC science has a status similar to interpretations of Nostradamus and the Mayan calendars’ & Climate Astrology borrows from the past: ‘Before That Witch Moved Into The Neighborhood, We Never Had Bad Weather Or Disease’.”
Morano adds later on:
UN IPCC scientist Kevin Trenberth has said every weather event now influenced by global warming. […] They are turning themselves into anti-science activists. […] Their theory that somehow the weather is unusual that we have a ‘new normal’ — not only does it fail to convince — it becomes a laughing stock when you start actually looking at the hard data’.”
Not only have climate scientists and CO2 activists desperately used single weather events to defend their crumbling science, they also have spent the last years trying to launch smear campaigns against the skeptics, claiming they are massively funded by Big Oil, Koch Industries and coal. This is only a diversion from the real debate and scientific data.
In truth the warmists and global warming activists have been showered with billions in funding, compared to only a few million finding their way to the hands of skeptics in recent years. So why are the skeptics drubbing the warmists in the debate, even though they are outfunded thousands to one? It’s called: focusing on the scientific data. Period.
Smear jobs, weather claims, appeals to authority, and models in the end are admissions of defeat.
In his testimony, Morano sticks to the science, citing almost 2 dozen renowned international scientists, e.g.: Bengtsson, de Freitas, Plimer, Svensmark, Happer, Schmitt, Levitin, Curry, Christy, Pielke Jr., to name some. In the testimony, we do not see Morano using the diversionary tactic of questioning the billions in funding behind warmists scientists and activist groups. Keep the focus on the science and data!
On energy Morano reminds Congress that coal and “other carbon based forms of energy have been one of the greatest liberators of mankind in the history of our planet. Is it greedy to want heat, A/C, lower infant mortality, longer life expectancy? Coal is the moral choice.” Little wonder one coal power plant is coming online every week in China and that even green Germany is burning more coal once again.
Read Marc’s Congressional testimony here: written testimony Congressional Hearing on Climate Change.
Photo credit: http://www.cfact.tv/marc-morano/
Logic and data will always win against what the Americans call liberal. Only when the American liberals get to falsify the data first, do they have a chance to delay their downfall for a while. We have seen this with GISS and we currently see it with economic data, e.g. the CPI.
BTW, how is Gavin doing? Is the past still cooling under his control? Anyone heard anything?
BTW, how is Gavin doing?
Metaphorically speaking, Gavin is drowning in a cesspit of his own filth.
Good news!
So, in the US, why is “Climate Change” still around? Because it is not being allowed to fail. Its support starts up at the top with our President, who is quoted as saying…
“I don’t have much patience for people who deny climate change…”
– Barack Obama May 29, 2013
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-i-don-t-have-much-patience-people-who-deny-climate-change_731961.html
Conclusion? “Climate Change” is still around only because it is being propped up like a dead corpse.
Bob, in my experience, after a while everyone with a nose comes to realise that there is a body in the area. Patience.
Pierre, I rarely pipe up here, but never miss a post. I recall your frequent interventions at Bishop Hill (and Anthony’s place I think – so much to read).
Here, you have built a fine place, among the true believers, at least those who read English, and I am very glad to see you beginning to record positive results.
I hope the Great Flood currently afflicting Germany is not causing too many difficulties for you,
O/T hair-like extensions to Stockholm skyscraper are the future energy of the EU.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/30/strawscraper-design-by-belatchew-arkitekter-stockholm-building_n_3347107.html?utm_hp_ref=arts
O/T Zetsche, boss of Daimler, presents newest Daimler EV, costs half a million Euro. Demands more subsidies for EV’s.
http://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/inhalt.spitzentreffen-elektromobilitaet-zetsche-fordert-anreize-fuer-elektroautos.48da9f67-ba95-4aec-93d8-b30b1e444583.html
Currently a huge ICLEI/Agenda 21 love fest is happening in Bonn.
For a planet that hasn’t warmed in 15 years they sure talk a lot about The Climate Change
http://www.iclei.org/en/our-activities/our-agendas/resilient-city/resilient-cities-2013-live-blog/day-2.html
Looks like they still hope to be able to push through more taxes.
Notice how each interviewed guy says the biggest problem for our city is The Climate Change.
Now we’ve known for a while that that is the scapegoat for their “sustainability” drive. Which is by the way a different word to justify the need for re-zoning and expropriation without due process and all encompassing govt control.
The interesting part is that they are not capable of changing their tune, and thus their core strength – obviously appearing Global Warming – has turned into their core weakness – an obvious lie, as nothing is warming anymore.
Not only does Obama need to have this thrust in front of him, it needs to be made very clear, using his own language, that we ‘don’t have much patience with those who deny reality and deliberately deceive’.
Other shrills, for prime example, Bill McKibben, also needs to be pressed hard with such factual scientific data, and their pseudoscience challenged at every turn.
The Medieval Warming from 800 AD to 1300 AD Micheal Mann erased to make
his “hockey stick” was several degrees warmer than anything “global
warmers” fear. It was 500 years of great abundance for the world.
The Vostock Ice Core data analysis show CO2 increases follow temperature
increases by 800 years. That makes temperature change the cause and CO2
change the effect; it is not the other way around. Finally…
CO2 is a “trace gas” in air, insignificant by definition. It absorbs 1/7th as much IR, heat energy, from sunlight as water vapor which has 80
times as many molecules capturing 560 times as much heat making 99.8% of
all “global warming.” CO2 does only 0.2% of it. For this we should destroy our economy?
Carbon combustion generates 80% of our energy. Control and taxing of
carbon would give the elected ruling class more power and money than
anything since the Magna Carta of 1215 AD.
See The Two Minute Conservative via Google or: http://adrianvance.blogspot.com and when you speak ladies will swoon and
liberal gentlemen will weep.
Of course, when the (ex-) warmists now parrot “Climate Change” they are guaranteed to be correct, as the climate never stopped changing, and Guess What!
It never will!!!
Pierre, thank you for this encouraging note about last week’s meeting.
While I agree with your statements about a focus on science being the strength of the skeptical battle against the CAGW agenda, I don’t think the end of the CAGW scam will happen until we have an effective political component as part of that battle. Thanks to Marc Morano and some others, we have the start of an effort to shine a light on the greens’ politicians, and to hold them accountable for the social and economic damage they continue to cause. With each month that passes without the dreaded catastrophic warming, those politicians will find themselves more vulnerable; and when the truth finally causes those politicians to scatter like the cockroaches they are, that’s when the CAGW scam will die. We need to be ready to help make that happen.