Graham Readfearn Posts

Moore has never published an independent scientific journal article on climate change. Yet that hasn't stopped the president and others from citing his comments.

You might have heard that quote from outspoken American author Upton Sinclair, who once wrote: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” TV presenter and science advocate Bill Nye “the Science Guy” dusted off Sinclair’s 1935 quote in a new video, in which he challenged climate science denialist and weatherman Joe Bastardi to two $10,000 bets. Nye bet Bastardi, a regular guest on conservative media, that 2016 would be one of the top ten hottest years on record.

David Icke is a weirdo. That’s not me saying that, but Canadian Mark Steyn, who has been crowned “world’s greatest conservative commentator and writer” by the Institute of Public Affairs.

Conservative think tanks in the United States are a sort of “ground zero” for the production of doubt about the links between fossil fuel burning and dangerous climate change. These think tanks produce reports, hold conferences, write books, go on television, produce columns and blogs and generally and liberally splatter the public discourse with talking points.

From a certain angle and with a sympathetic camera positioned just right, a triumphant Marc Morano emerges from a stretch white limo and raises his hand to an out-of-shot Paris crowd as he hits the red carpet for the world premiere of his new movie Climate Hustle. Behind him comes a gaggle of suited climate science deniers, the stars of a film that producer Morano promised would “rock the climate debate”. To many, the big night appears to be a roaring success. But just like many of the arguments from professional climate science denialists, what at first might appear a cinematic coup d'état turns out to be little more than fakery and stage management.How do I know? I was there.

So one of the climate science denial industry’s most celebrated scientists has been caught describing his research work as “deliverables” to his fossil fuel funders.Dr Willie Soon, the aeronautics engineer who dabbles in public health, atmospheric science, solar physics and sea level rise, describes himself as an “independent scientist”. More often though over the years, he is described by others as an “astrophysicist” at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, lending him credibility which most serious climate scientists would argue Soon’s science doesn’t deserve.

A billionaire “vulture capitalist” and major backer of the US Republican Party is a major funder of the think tank of Danish climate science contrarian and fossil fuels advocate Bjørn Lomborg, DeSmogBlog has found. New York-based hedge fund manager Paul Singer’s charitable foundation gave $200,000 to Lomborg’s Copenhagen Consensus Center (CCC) in 2013, latest US tax disclosures reveal.

You know that weird sensation when you experience something and you immediately get the feeling you’ve seen that very same thing before?
No, I’m not talking about déjà vu.
I’m talking about watching a press conference from climate science denialists at United Nations climate talks.
Specifically, we’re talking a

The Australian Press Council upholds complaints of misleading reporting after an investigation into Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper The Australian revealed intentional distortion of climate change reports.

There’s an old proverb that suggests it’s always the lie that gets half way around the world while the truth is still pulling its boots on. This is especially true in the realm of climate science, where deniers are quick to jump on anything that supports their theory (in itself a huge no-no according to scientific principles). The latest: a story in UK's The Times about an article rejected by a science journal for factual errors, but twisted to appear like a deliberate suppression of climate change denial.

Philosopher Lawrence Torcello wrote an article arguing there was “good reason to consider” that “the funding of climate denial” was morally and criminally negligent. He was prepared for blow-back, but not the malevolence that ensued.

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is intent on making the public believe that the noxious fumes spewing from coal manufacturing plants is nothing more than life-giving smog, showering plants with extra CO2. The evidence to back this up? Climate change denialists at the very fringe.

It’s known as the Kochtopus – the extensive network of think tanks, institutes, university departments, political funding arms and “grassroots” activist groups funded by oil billionaires Charles and David Koch. The multi-tentacled network has pumped tens of millions of dollars into groups that deny the risks of human-caused climate change. But if it is Koch cash that helps fuel these groups, then what is it that fuels the Koch brothers themselves beyond the obvious financial interest?

Leading environment and civil society groups plan to walk out on Warsaw's COP19 climate talks. The groups were systematically shut out from discussions, while business and industry groups set the agenda.

While scientists overwhelmingly agree on anthropogenic climate change,The Australian represents climate science as matter of opinion or debate rather than as a field for inquiry and investigation like all scientific fields.

A Chicago think-tank that contributes to climate change confusion just got caught in a boastful lie. It turns out, the Chinese Academy of Science doesn't think the Heartland Institute's skeptical report is based in science. At all.

A U.S. study earlier this year found that members of the public and the media tend to be more skeptical about global warming if you ask them during a cold snap. Another U.S. study last year found that asking people about global warming during a hot spell could increase the number of “believers” by almost six percentage points.

If you read a newspaper story that included a direct quote from someone - let's say, for instance, UK climate scientist Dr. David Viner - would it be acceptable to put quotation marks on the headline of that story and claim it was a quote from Dr. Viner? You can have a minute to think about it.

If you haven't seen them on the television or come across their interviews on the radio or in newspapers and magazines, then you've almost certainly seen their work as your eyes scan the climate change section in your local book store or library.

They are the authors of books claiming to reveal the "real truth" about global warming and climate change - that it's either all a hoax, that it's overblown bad science from green ideologues or an elaborate illusion and wrongheaded nonsense.

If you haven't seen them on the television or come across their interviews on the radio or in newspapers and magazines, then you've almost certainly seen their work as your eyes scan the climate change section in your local book store or library.

They are the authors of books claiming to reveal the "real truth" about global warming and climate change - that it's either all a hoax, that it's overblown bad science from green ideologues or an elaborate illusion and wrongheaded nonsense.