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Analysis: The poor quality of the CO2 alarm

If ever there was a top noble cause, you might think ‘saving the planet’ would be it, and that it would attract our brightest and best to rally round its flag and trumpet its alarums. But I don’t see that happening. I see low quality science (e.g. the MBH Hockey Stick), I see low quality scheming (e.g. the Climategate Revelations), I see crass financial and political opportunism (e.g. renewables and the Gore revival), and I see wanton cruelty and foul propaganda (e.g. bio-fuels and the 10:10 video ‘No Pressure’). Then the sundry alarmer blogs and trolls and ‘activists thinly disguised as journalists’, and materials designed to frighten children make me feel that sadists rather than heroes have been attracted to rally round the flag of CO2 Alarm. All in all, it is overwhelmingly unedifying, and that is quite curious by itself.

Now that is all by way of lead-in to explain why I found much to agree with in a recent post by Scott Adams, and would commend it to all who come this way:http://blog.dilbert.com/post/158549646496/how-leonardo-dicaprio-can-persuade-me-on-climate

He is not impressed by the presentation of the Great Alarm. Here’s a couple of extracts:

‘If you want to convince me that climate change is real, the best approach is to abandon the current method that packages climate models in a fashion that is identical to well-known scams. (Or hoaxes, if you prefer.)

Let me say this doubly-clear. When I say climate models are packaged in a fashion that is identical to known scams, I am not saying they are scams. I’m saying they are packaged to look exactly like scams. There is no hope for credibility with that communication plan.

To make my point visual, imagine walking into your kitchen and finding an intruder wearing a ski mask and holding a gun. You assume this person is not your friendly neighbor because he is packaged exactly like an armed burglar. If you shoot that intruder, and it turns out to be your neighbor playing a prank, you probably won’t go to jail because it isn’t your fault. The problem was that your neighbor packaged himself to look exactly like an armed burglar.’

And:

‘My point is that Leonardo DiCaprio would have a tough time persuading me that climate science is both real and serious. But it isn’t his fault, because science has packaged climate science to look like a hoax, and sent him out to sell it. I respect and admire DiCaprio for his heart on this matter, and his effort on behalf of the planet. But science has failed him by giving him hoax-looking sales collateral. ‘

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