I started this blog on April 14, 2005 with a first post pondering what it means to be a progressive environmentalist.
For more than two years various people have made a significant contribution to the blog including Alan Ashbarry, Ann Novek, Arnost, Chthoniid, Chrisgo, Paul Biggs, Boxer, Ian Castles, David, David in Tokyo, Ender, Gavin, Helen Mahar, Hasbeen, Louis Hissink, Lamna nasus, Warwick Hughes, Jim, John, Roger Kalla, Ian Mott, Libby Eyre, Walter Starck, Neil Hewett, Rog, Roger Underwood, Russell, Steve and Steve, David Tribe, Schiller Thurkettle, SJT, Travis, David Ward, Luke Walker, Paul Williams, Woody, Graham Young and many others.
Thank you so much and please kept sending contributions and/or providing commentary.
A few weeks ago I decided to have the banner redesigned and I invited a few regular contributors to take a more prominent role in the running of the blog. Neil Hewett and Paul Biggs agreed.
Neil Hewett
Neil worked as an outdoor educator in the timber community of Ravenshoe at a time when the forestry industry was being closed down and tourism promised as an alternative industry – a promise that remains unfulfilled. He then spent seven years in remote aboriginal homelands before returning to the Daintree rainforest in far north Queensland, Australia, to become a co-founding director of Cooper Creek Wilderness.
You can read more about Neil here and email Neil at neil@ccwild.com
Paul Biggs
Paul is a Biological Sciences graduate who works in medical research at Birmingham University, UK, since 1979. He became interested in climate change after watching a BBC documentary which claimed that the Gulf Stream could be cut off within 20 years, resulting in the UK having climate like Alaska.
He now spends much of his spare time debunking the claims that there will be a man-made climate catastrophe due to carbon dioxide.
You can read more about Paul here and email Paul at pmbbiggsy@yahoo.com
The Goat
The goat is looking over my shoulder – check out the banner. The goat lives on a farm in the lovely misty green Bowman River valley near Gloucester, New South Wales, in Australia.
The goat posts new threads at this blog on behalf of anyone looking for an alias. Just send an email to mail@jennifermarohasy.com
Blog Rules
While the banner has changed, the rules remain the same. If you have forgotton study the picture and text here.
And also,
We strive for tolerance and respect. We don’t always agree with what we publish, but we believe in giving people (and goats) an opportunity to be heard.
The blog is archived in the National Library, Canberra, in Australia.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD is a critical thinker with expertise in the scientific method.
Hi Jen,
Thanks for creating the forum, moderating them is always a difficult job, I hope you will be dropping in on a regular basis.
Best wishes for the future,
Patrick.
Well done Jen, but lest your reasons be read as an admission of failure by some here, it isn’t.
(And thereby leaves “luke” AND “Ender” and “SJT” with…………………….
Louis and Lamna,
I am not going anywhere.
But hopefully there will be a few more posts from Neil. Paul has already been posting heaps on greenhouse.
Also, hopefully people will start sending stuff to Neil or Paul for posting – I already get something regularly from Ann Novek, Marc Morano etcetera.
So no admission of failure – rather the sign of a healthy, expanding blog forum.
D’oh!…. :o)
Jen,
Keep up the good work! Reactionary environmentalists have blogs everywhere–progressive environmentalists can take heart from your efforts.
Jen,
Oh – I err! I took the lead from the previous posting. Which proves something as well I suppose. Tsk tsk taking comments at face value.
Writing of blogs – John Ray’s Greenie watch has an excellent post today summarising the science and shows it slowly and relentlessly settling in on the climate sceptic position. And the inconvenient facts such as the UK Met office admitting that no global warming occurred since 1998.
There is one other fact that seems not to have penetrated Greenie brains – the chemical balance between the atmosphere and oceans are such that oceans contain 50 times more CO2 than the atmosphere and the delay time from observation is 5 years. (Beck has additionally confirmed this from the chemical analyses).
So if you decide to propose to increase the CO2 content by double, then, as Tom Segalstad points out, that requires the oceans to absorb 50 times that increase. Small problem – there isn’t enough oil and coal in the crust that we know of to do that.
So what about previous CO2 levels? It could well be that the oceans may not have been around at those times – or, conceivably been much smaller. We know so little about earth processes and the geological past.
And surprise-surprise – devouit lefty friends are now asking for copies of sceptical papers to counter the tedious climate alarmists claims they are being subject to. So if the rank and file ALP types are now rejecting climate change alarmism, thereby joing Michael Costa in NSW, then the tide has turned.
And an one final point, Jim Hansen has finally stated that “Creation” is at risk (See CCnet and Steve McIntyre’s comments on THAT). Creation is at risk? As I said before elsewhere, global warming or climate alarmism is but the latest occurrence of a millennial cult prophesying the end of the world. Seems Jim Hansen has inadvertently confirmed it.
As Nigel Calder said so eloquently, we have been simply lied to by the climate alarmists and Greenies.
“It could well be that the oceans may not have been around at those times – or, conceivably been much smaller”
Let’s all have a party! (Thanks Jen)
A magic party hey
“Thinking flourishes in the land between doubt and certainty” (David Malone 2007). I shall doubtless avoid certainty about climate, or any other issue. Thanks to all for lots of information – I have learnt much.
The outing of Hansen as a believer in Creation has buried that particular conspiracy theory!
rog,
Interesting point. Actually, Hansen’s statement invites the conclusion that humans are more powerful than God–more powerful than creation, and therefore in a position to destroy it.
Replace the notion of God with Gaia, and you get the same result–humans are complete masters of Creation, and Gaia is helpless to remedy matters, even though she may wax wroth.
The worst accusations I have ever seen leveled against humans, even the most powerful of them, is that they will destroy the planet *by accident.*
Even so, a concerted assault on God, Gaia, or the planet in general would fail. At worst, we would see economic collapse and people everywhere would be forced to depend on organic farming. With global starvation like they see all the time in Africa.
Since starvation in Africa is generally agreed to be not all that bad, we don’t have much to worry about, do we?
Well we know you guys would be heavily into God – as in God given rights to do whatever. Mainly to make a buck at expense of the third world.
Nothing to do with God, more with the rights of the individual preceding those of the State.
The 3rd world is making a buck and at the expense of the developed world, have a look at how far China has come and the markets it has displaced.
God?
I’ve never come across one in my experience, so what is Luke blathering about then, us being heavily into God?
Is that the same as being heavily into CO2, Luke’s God?
Just popped in Jen, not sure I like banner.
But thanks for a great blog. I’m not an environmentalist per se, though I do like the planet as it is the only one I’m allowed to visit.
I am a tree cutter from time to time, Big trees or tall poppies if you like.
The arguments on AGW were great.
I like your industry and nature blogging theme, the two issues are not mutually exclusive.
Recommendation:
As strippers seem to be back in vogue perhaps some shiela nature lovers getting back to natures call, for a banner perhaps.
No blokes tho I’m sexist.
John V K
Strippers? Of course you mean those who “strip” bark of trees in the logging business…..but I think you might be referring to some other type that get politicians into deep do-do???
It’s too much for one person to to maintain a job and keep a site like this running at the same time–unless you work for NASA and let the taxpayers pay for your non-productive time while you goof off on personal hobbies.
Jen, you’ve done a great job, and the addition of additional contributors will hopefully give you more time to do what you want or to concentrate on making this even better through more specialization.
Since God has been brought into the topic, can we expect the left to blame Him for creating CO2 or is capitalism the preferred target?
Theosophy?… Pffft, too easy Woody.
If we are that far off topic then lets really throw down the gauntlet..String Theory..Quantum Gravity.. Occam’s Razor… and the Theory of Everything.
C’mon folks you now you want to…
I reckon Gaia will do us for now Lamna
Nobody is up for it?…. Shame on you!
Woody of course being a right wing gimp wouldn’t consider that scientists do vast amounts of non-paid work already way beyond the job description. You’re clueless Woodrot.
Not so clueless as to know that NASA employees associated with ultra-leftwing Columbia University in NYC spend a lot of time during the day creating posts and managing the RealClimate web site just to keep up the scare tactics and the paychecks coming. They work for the government. What do they care about doing what they are paid to do rather than playing on their web site? I see the hours of those posts, and I don’t think that these guys work for NASA at night.
Eh, so what makes these NASA employees any different from many others?!! It makes your point seem more valid tho Woody – not.
You don’t know that all Woody. Pure supposition and bulldust from you as usual. Accountants don’t work at night unless paid. Right wing goons like you have no idea of the diversity of their membership. Your game matey boy is to silence all communication. Typical denialist stuff. We’re awake to you.
Really the time has come to rest the keyboard Jen as this has become yet another fashionable but boring, inaccurate blog.
Luke: “Your game matey boy is to silence all communication. Typical denialist stuff.”
Pretty laughable from the side which insists that the debate is over and so tries to silence people who point out problems.
—
Cato, sorry. I agree, but the lefties get their panties in a wad everytime anyone contradicts them. For me, I’ll try to do more reading and less commenting so as to not induce a stroke in Luke and Travis and to respect Jen for this site.
>For me, I’ll try to do more reading and less commenting
Promise?
Thanks heavens. Travis I’m surprised how easily he gave up. Maybe only a pretend right-wing extremist?