https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/terence-corcoran-heated-battle-between-112049196.html
By Terence Corcoran
In a decision last week that should shock all who believe in free speech and open science debate, a Washington Superior Court jury found journalist Mark Steyn and another writer guilty of defaming Michael Mann, the Penn State climate scientist behind the “Hockey Stick graph,” possibly the greatest global warming marketing tool since Al Gore’s polar bears. For having allegedly published “false facts” with “knowledge” of their falsity, Steyn was fined US$1 million.
The 12-year-old case, with Mann’s millions in legal fees funded by unidentified sources, has attracted scant attention outside the confines of narrow climate science battle zones. What was revealed during the Mann-Steyn confrontation, however, is the underlying desperation of global warming fearmongers who have portrayed Steyn’s loss as a victory for what they claim is unquestionably sound climate science.
Few media covered the Mann-Steyn trial — previewed on this page in early February — or the decision beyond blithering about how the jury verdict offered support for Mann’s hockey stick science and the inviolate truth that fossil fuels are pushing the planet toward imminent catastrophe. Mann’s post-verdict statement was enough for mainstream media journalists: “I hope this verdict sends a message that falsely attacking climate scientists is not protected speech.”
Nothing of the sort was proven during the Mann-Steyn court process.
In fact, it’s climatists such as Mann who need help. As the trial took place, the political and scientific aspects of climate change seemed to be weakening, if not unravelling. The European Union this week brought in a Net Zero Industry Act that effectively abandoned major carbon-emitting targets. Electric vehicle progress is struggling, economically and politically. The last global climate conference, COP28, was deemed a mixed bag of challenges and failure by most observers and activists. Signs of climate policy push-back are everywhere.
Skepticism is a necessary aspect of the scientific discovery process. During the trial, however, skeptics such as Curry were not allowed to testify, despite her having prepared a 54-page report for the court on the hockey stick science, which was highly critical of Mann’s work.
In her 2023 book, Climate Uncertainty and Risk: Rethinking Our Response, Curry calmly and methodically outlines the merits of skepticism, or — as she describes it, neo-skepticism. As she spars with Mann, she describes the role of skepticism. “The label neo-skeptic refers to a scientist who comments publicly about concerns that current climate policies may not have the desired impact on changing the climate and human welfare for the better and are not commensurate with the uncertainties in climate science.” She puts Bjorn Lomborg in the neo-skeptic camp.
In Mann’s view, skepticism and contrarian views are nothing more than the evil product of billions of dollars in fossil-fuel industry funding that should be labelled denialism. As Curry’s unaccepted report to the Mann-Steyn trial demonstrates, her work and the work of others raise serious questions about the validity of the science behind the hockey stick and other iconic claims of planetary doom.
No wonder Mann continues to feel post-victory that he needs to maintain his mean-spirited accusations against Curry and others. Even the polar bear scam has been curbed by activists. Could the hockey stick be next?
