Another Oldie But Goodie- The Blue Man Group Bangs It Out For Global Warming

Get blue baby.

45 Scientists on list of ‘500 with Documented Doubts’ Say F-You to Global Warming Deniers [Updated!]

Shock of all shocks! Many of the scientists on the list of ‘500 scientists who don’t believe in global warming’ not only didn’t even know they were on the list, they want everyone to know that they believe the exact opposite. Deniers of global warming have been using this for what seems like ages already, claiming that if so many scientists back up their stance, it gives more credence to the idea that global warming isn’t real. They didn’t bother to fact-check and confirm the list, but DeSmogBlog did, and here’s part of what they found:

I am horrified to find my name on such a list. I have spent the last 20 years arguing the opposite.”
Dr. David Sugden. Professor of Geography, University of Edinburgh

I have NO doubts ..the recent changes in global climate ARE man-induced. I insist that you immediately remove my name from this list since I did not give you permission to put it there.”
Dr. Gregory Cutter, Professor, Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University

I don’t believe any of my work can be used to support any of the statements listed in the article.”
Dr. Robert Whittaker, Professor of Biogeography, University of Oxford

What makes these findings even more incredible is that so many scientists came forward to deny that they had doubts about global warming within just 24 hours of receiving an email from DeSmogBlog. They’re up to 45 out of 500 – nearly 10%.

What’s really funny about this is, global warming deniers have accused the rest of us of pulling evidence out of our asses saying none of the data we have so far supports the reality of global warming, and here they are with their ‘facts’ being disproven. Great job, DeSmogBlog!

UPDATE: DeSmogBlog got a response from The Heartland Institute, the organization responsible for the inaccurate list of scientists who supposedly don’t believe global warming is real. They’ve withdrawn their claim of having identified 500 scientists with ‘documented doubts’, but won’t apologize! From DeSmogBlog:

Heartland President Joseph Bast rationalizes that aside from the misleading headline, “none of the articles and news releases produced by The Heartland Institute or the Hudson Institute (the original source of the lists) claims that all of the scientists who appear in the lists currently doubt that the modern warming is man-made.”

DeSmogBlog debunks Basts’ lame excuses with a smackdown that can’t really be argued with. Check it out at DeSmogBlog.

Link [Environmental Graffiti] + [DeSmogBlog]

Photo credit: Flickr user Akuppa

Hallelujah! Americans are Waking Up to Global Warming Reality

Across the nation, a Fox-News-induced fog is lifting away from the brains of Americans. You see, while most of us are fully aware of the realities of global warming - and some are skeptical, but still want to be proactive just in case - others have been living in a fantasy world of unicorns and gumdrop trees. Or perhaps they’re part of the group that’s making so much disgusting money off of our current policies and practices that they don’t want to change. Either way, good news from Reuters:

A new Harris Poll reports that 2/3 of Americans not only believe that global warming is real, but they also believe that humans are a main cause of it. And of the remaining 1/3, only roughly half of those believe that human activity has nothing to do with climate change. This represents a slight change from the previous years. One in ten Americans has looked up their carbon footprint, with younger people taking a more active interest in defining their footprint (18% of 18 - 31 year olds). This seems to bode well for the next generation’s willingness to take personal responsibility.

The poll also found that 63% of respondents reporting that they’re actively trying to reduce their energy use and 43% are purchasing more energy efficient appliances. Unfortunately, the bad news is, people seem to think the problem won’t affect them during their lifetime, and fewer feel that climate change is as substantial as they did last year.

America: TURN OFF FOX NEWS. It’s for the good of all mankind. Change the channel to just about anything, and you’ll be better off. Their endless shit stream of opinions parading as fact is enough to send us straight to Idiocracy (speaking of which, if you haven’t seen this movie, RENT IT. You won’t be sorry.)

Link [Reuters]

Explain This Away, Skeptics: Arctic Ice Melting Faster Than We Feared

The conservation group WWF has found that arctic ice is melting even faster than previously thought. The recent acceleration of melting in the Greenland Ice Sheet wasn’t accurately predicted by experts, who are now shocked at the gravity of the situation.

From Reuters:

The Greenland Ice Sheet — with an ice volume of about 2.9 million cubic kilometers — is shrinking at a fast pace and “could contribute much more than previously estimated to global sea-level rise during the 21st century,” the WWF said.

It also said that Arctic warming has reduced both the area and thickness of the northern region’s multi-year sea ice, making it more prone to summer thaw.

Many climate change scientists have inadequately considered the drivers of such trends, such as interactions between sea ice thickness and water temperature, according to WWF.

What this means to us is simple: further heating of the Earth. The WWF has said that climate change in the arctic is already dramatically affecting ecology in the region and has called on arctic nations such as Russia, Norway and Canada to start working together for real change.

This is bad, bad news. But before we get all serious and mull over the weight of this situation and what it means for our planet’s future, I just want to say BAM! IN YOUR FACE, GLOBAL WARMING SKEPTICS!

Link [Reuters]

Germany: Bush’s ‘Losership’ Climate Change Speech the Work of a Talking Monkey

Oh, the shameful glimpses we get into what the world thinks of our country.

Most of us are aware of (and actually care about) the fact that the United States has lost its esteem in the world arena under Bush. It’s not just the hundreds of mind-blowingly idiotic things that he’s done over the years. It’s the incredibly dumb things that come out of his mouth. I don’t think I’ll ever forget when he said, “Too many OB/GYN’s aren’t able to practice their love with women all across the country.” (WTF?)

The latest gaffe is sort of a combination of the two - stupid ideas, stupid statements. And the leaders of countries like France and Germany are rolling their eyes and pronouncing Dubya a ‘neanderthal’. Hilarious! From Reuters:

“The president gave a disappointing speech,” German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in a statement issued in Berlin headlined “Gabriel criticises Bush’s Neanderthal speech. Losership, not Leadership”.

“The American administration is starting to awaken,” French climate change ambassador Brice Lalonde said. “It’s a bit late.”

“We are looking forward to whoever succeeds the present (U.S.) administration, because we believe we can probably only do better,” South African Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told reporters.

Losership, not leadership. Fantastic. I think most of us agree!

Link [Reuters] via [The Lede]

Photo: Wikimedia Commons + Wikimedia Commons

How to Solve Global Warming? Charge More for Beer

Want to get the bitter, unwashed, gun and religion clinging masses to care about Global Warming? Make ‘em pay more to get liquored up after a hard swing shift at the widget factory.

Gothamist has it:

Climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger blames the drought in Australia on global warming and says rising temperatures will continue to deplete barley yields. In the U.S., a decrease in hops production has been especially damaging to microbreweries that don’t have the same leverage as major beer producers. Shane Welch, brewmaster at Six Point Craft Ales in Red Hook, predicts the cost of the most sought-after hops will skyrocket “50, 70, 120, 200 percent” in the next few years. And Kelly Taylor, brewmaster for Kelso of Brooklyn beers in Clinton Hill, tells the Post that his malt prices shot up 50 percent in one year.

In the shorter term, industry professionals are predicting a 10-15 percent price jump for the consumer. But a group of activists in Queens are getting off their duffs to try and do something about it before it’s too late. Last night the Queens County Young Democrats held a “Save the Ales” forum at the Sly Fox Inn in Fresh Meadows. They even got City Councilman James Gennaro to be the keynote speaker, though it’s unclear exactly how much ale they were able to save last night.

Link [Gothamist]

Photo credit: Flickr user Surfstyle

Seven Years and Tons of Lost Credibility Later: Bush Decides Greenhouses Gasses Need to Be Curbed, Color Us Unimpressed

Am I the only one who could give two shits about Bush’s new plan (just announced today) to curb Greenhouse Gases? That’ll be left to the next President, this guy is just riding out the clock after what will go down as the worst Presidency in history. George Bush is an asshole and we can’t wait for him to move back onto the Ranch and let Obama get to work fixing all his mistakes. Global Warming will be one of them, we don’t need that douche nozzle chiming in now on how important it is to go green. I’d rather hear what Paris Hilton has planned to fight rising CO2 emissions.

The AP has it:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Revising his stance on global warming, President Bush on Wednesday proposed a new target for stopping the growth of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

The president also called for putting the brakes on greenhouse gas emissions from electric power plants within 10 to 15 years.

“To reach our 2025 goal, we will need to more rapidly slow the growth of power sector greenhouse gas emissions so that they peak within 10 to 15 years, and decline thereafter,” Bush said in excerpts of the speech released early by the White House.

“By doing so, we will reduce emission levels in the power sector well below where they were projected to be when we first announced our climate strategy in 2002. There are a number of ways to achieve these reductions, but all responsible approaches depend on accelerating the development and deployment of new technologies.”

Bush was not to outline a specific proposal, but he’ll lay out a strategy for “realistic” emission reduction targets and “principles” he thinks Congress should follow in crafting global warming legislation.

Link [Breitbart]

Photo: Flickr user Tootsfontaine

Watch Al Gore’s Awesomely Updated Slideshow from TED: The Urgency of Manbearpig

Al Gore is my hero. Check out the new slideshow he gave at TED about the solutions needed to win the fight against Manbearpig Global Warming.

HT [Ecogeek]

Creationist Science Tours: Helping Build Tomorrow’s Crack Ass Backwards Fundamentalist Christians

Fundamental Religious thinking, no matter what religion found in, is the enemy of mankind and the environment. After all, if the world is going to end sometime soon in a rapture of godly light, why on Earth would I take the time to recycle? Global Warming can’t be real, and if it is there’s certainly nothing we can do about it- it’s all part of god’s plan. Fundamentalism is a virus that in part lives on through the indoctrination of children, as seen here in a bit from ABC News on two guys who give tours of modern museums but spew a bullshit young earth creationist spin on the whole thing. It makes me sick to see those little kids looking up at the adults who are filling their head with their Literal Bible propaganda. Blech… And just so our Fundy Muslim friends don’t feel left out- here’s a video of a Koranist (is that a word?) insisting that the Earth is flat because the Koran says so. Link [The Friendly Atheist]

Fake Steve Jobs is Mad He Wasn’t Invited to Join Richard Branson’s Secret Planet Saving Club

 

Fake Steve Jobs just went off on a tear about Richard Branson and his not-so-secret cabal of planet saving green moguls. He thinks Richard Branson is a con man, Global Warming is probably a crock of shit (he should have lunch with Bob Lutz), and even throws in a dig at Al Gore for good measure.

It’s good, here’s a snip:

Here’s the thing. Everyone who’s ever dealt with Richard Branson realizes that he’s a complete con man, and his involvement in anything is a sure sign that it’s a crock of shit. Honestly, no matter where you are, if Branson gets on board you know there’s something profoundly wrong with the project. It’s the business equivalent of finding out that some movie has Donald Sutherland in it.

Truth is, Goldilocks does not really believe the world is about to burst into flames. What he does believe is that the global warming “crisis” is the next big way to make money off hype and fear. It’s the Y2K scam all over again. Truth is, the photo above and the ones on the linked page show a bunch of lucky rich bastards scheming to get even more rich. I’m telling you this because I’ve talked to these guys. I’ve been invited to invest in these funds. And I’ve done it. Why not? If the ducks are quacking, as they say.

Every VC in the Valley has a hard-on for greentech because it’s the first market they’ve ever seen where they can mitigate their risk by laying it off onto governments (ie taxpayers). The trick is to spread lots of hype and put pressure on governments (hence Kleiner hires Al Gore) so that governments will provide subsidies to keep these venture-funded startups alive until they can be flogged off onto the public markets. They’ll sell these stocks to dentists and they’ll use the same pitch that Toyota uses on the Prius — sure it’s overpriced, but think how good you’ll feel. These will be IPOs as a form of therapy, and the Birkenstock-wearing suckers will sing Kumbaya and talk about how capitalism is saving the world.

I’m guessing Fake Steve Jobs didn’t get an invite to Branson’s meeting. Poor fake guy.

Link [Fake Steve Jobs]

Next Page »