Tuesday
Feb072012
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill Influential in Germany
Feb 7, 2012 Climate: HSI According to Pierre Gosselin, the Hockey Stick Illusion is influential in Germany, playing a part in the writing of a new book on global warming that is creating quite a stir over there.
Vahrenholt decided to do some digging. His colleague Dr. Lüning also gave him a copy of Andrew Montford’s The Hockey Stick Illusion. He was horrified by the sloppiness and deception he found. Well-connected to Hoffmann & Campe, he and Lüning decided to write the book. Die kalte Sonne cites 800 sources and has over 80 charts and figures. It examines and summarizes the latest science.
Reader Comments (47)
Bish
It must give you a great feeling of satisfaction that your book played a big part in this. Your effort will in time be seen to have been a major turning point in the history of the downfall of the madness that climate change became.
Ironic that Vahrenholt is or was ceo of a wind turbine manufacturing company in his spare time, quite inconvenient.
"http://www.repower.de/en/presse/press-releases/detail-press/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1400&cHash=473caa731f977f19ff54a068bf5725ba</A>
@Phillip Bratby
... and perhaps a major "tipping point" :-) But in either or both cases ...
Hear! Hear!
As a Brit living in Europe Anglo-Saxons forget there is a non-English media world out there.
The Swiss German speakers, Austrians, many Europeans with German roots, the Czechs, the Hungarians. All will be influenced by pieces like these.
I have always thought that CAGW was a European Social Democratic luxury. A luxury that can no longer be afforded.
As with the "100 Tories", the debate is opening up.
Hilary. I thought of using the words "pivotal moment" rather than "tipping point".
Bild and Der Spiegel, wow! I say if the Germans are 'getting it' then the damn may finally burst here in loony green Britain.
Lets face it, if Germany reneges on the green mania, then the whole lot, ALL of the twisted EU adherence to the fallacy of AGW is: down and into the midden whence it came.
Glory be.
"His colleague Dr. Lüning also gave him a copy of Andrew Montford’s The Hockey Stick Illusion. He was horrified by the sloppiness and deception he found"
I feel I have to point out that you could interpret this pair of sentences in a less than flattering way :-)
Oh damn, if only I'd said weir..............http://witteringwitney.blogspot.com/2012/02/heritage.html
'
"His colleague Dr. Lüning also gave him a copy of Andrew Montford’s The Hockey Stick Illusion. He was horrified by the sloppiness and deception he found"
I feel I have to point out that you could interpret this pair of sentences in a less than flattering way :-)
Feb 7, 2012 at 9:31 AM | mrsean2k'
You could - but context makes the correct interpretation quite clear!
Bish - totally agree with Phillip Bratsby comments above.
It was a great read as well - Thank you.
And here is just a thought...
McIntyre, Watts, Delingpole, Betts, Dennis, Edwards, Guardian hacks, Skeptical Science.
These are just some of the know high profile readers of the site. There are others who have not made their presence known.
So BH and his books and his blog are players in this game.
And yet the "opposition" have not managed to undermine this site. Devalue it. Entering the fray here (from whatever point of view) means you have to add some value.
There are many who fear to tread here. The blog does make a difference.
"One of the fathers of Germany’s modern green movement, Professor Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt, a social democrat and green activist,..."
Don't raise your hopes, people.
What is a social democrat and a a green but a watermelon, a commie rat in disguise?
What is 'climate change' but a commie conspiracy to rule the world and sap and impurify our precious bodily fluids?
sHx: What is a social democrat and a a green but a watermelon, a commie rat in disguise?
Worms turn, sHx; wisdom seeps; scales fall from eyes -- and aside from one-liners there really is the potential in all of us to pause and consider; and in some of us the heart to stand-about and say we were wrong.
Until proven otherwise I choose to see Professor Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt as one who has that courage.
It's a book which deserves to be read even by those not adept in the English language.
I'm sure readers in China, Japan, maybe Brazil would appreciate a translation, as would the very environmentally conscious Thai people -- จิตหลอนเกี่ยวข้องความเปลี่ยนแปลงสภาพอากาศ is the best title I can think of in Thai ('the hallucination of climate change', since nobody plays hockey here).
Bish, your translators are standing by ....
All converts are [more than] welcome here, some of the greatest combatants now battling on the realist side, have been converts who 'have crossed the bridge' from the 'other side'.
I'm with Dr. Phillip Bratby. Fantastic news Bish.
The authors seem to misunderstand the general position held by skeptics (at least to my understanding). The second sentence in this paragraph is quite a good summary of the opinion held by those who claim to be 'skeptics'.
One commenter at the NoTricksZone post linked to by the Bish is suggesting AchtungGate for this particular event! (jonathan frodsham at 7. Februar 2012 at 04:05). Let us hope it makes a big enough impact to deserve the label. It will certainly be revealing bad things to the readers of those publications in Germany, and presumably also parts of Austria and Switzerland. And the HSI ought to see a good boost to sales over there - the post says Bild has circulation of 16 million, and I suppose Der Spiegel has a decent number too. I still have little fine malt left over from New Year when I daren't touch it being loaded, myself, with some fierce antibiotic. But tonight, tonight it will all be gone in three toasts - to the Bishop, Bild, and Spiegel!
Achtungate, it is. :)
So "Bild" had an article yesterday "The CO2 lies" saying that climate catastrophe is political scaremongering and going on to talk about the importance of solar activity.
Today there's a second article in the series, "Global warming has stopped for the last 12 years" that goes on to discuss the importance of ocean cycles.
More in the series is promised tomorrow.
Bild is a tabloid with a quality level somewhere below the Sun as you can see from its website. But a lot of people read it (or at least look at the pictures), more than any UK paper, so it's quite influential.
It's interesting that Vahrenholt is a former 'environment senator' and has links to renewable energy.
And speaking of Mr. Delingpole...
'Germany's George Monbiot' turns climate sceptic
This morning WattsUp had a post about this which also included discussion of an article in a German tabloid. It now seems to have fallen foul of the Bermuda Triangle. Anyone know why it's gone?
Scratch that. Bermuda has coughed up the goods, or my eyes have decided to work again.
I've just read Hockey Stick Illusion, and even though I am ludicrously over-sensitive to typos, bloopers and poor proof reading, I think it is a truly astonishing book. I'm in awe of a mind that can gather so much information, sift and evaluate it and present it so well. Those "scientists" should be ashamed.
Hidden away in the article is the rather shocking news that:
"University of Osnabrück took the step of dis-inviting Professor Vahrenholt who was scheduled to give a speech on February 8. The University claimed that Vahrenholt’s skeptical views were provocative".
This is in sublime contrast to the debate at the Guardian, where they defend the right of free speech, and praise Penn State for refusing to dis-invite Mann to a lecture.
Penn State Debate
Of course the posters there are absolutely against the suggestion that a sceptical speaker be invited to put the alternate view.
I am very pleased to learn that HSI has been influential in the thinking of very important people and that those people give credit to HSI. I am at a loss for the words to express my gratitude to you for the work that you have done and are doing in defense of Enlightenment Ideals and other ideals. Thank You.
Rather depressing that a university (especially a German one, I would suggest) would object to someone being provocative.
On the other hand we have all had experience over the decades of what the SWP and its friends, cohorts, followers and useful idiots in the student population can do when they are "provoked" by somebody who doesn't toe the leftist line.
Rick bradford writes:
You are misinformed on this point. There is an active ice hockey league in Bangkok. One of my sons plays for the Flying Farangs.
Does anyone know what the reaction has been from the staff, students or alumni of the University of Osnabrück, after they banned the lecture from Professor Vahrenhol?
I think sales are going to go up in Germany...!
Talking of bad behaviour at the IPCC, I came upon this post about 'deniers' cherry picking data and using it to pretend that the warming trend has stalled.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/petergleick/2012/02/05/global-warming-has-stopped-how-to-fool-people-using-cherry-picked-climate-data/
The name Peter Gleick seemed to ring a bell. Am I right in saying that this is the guy who hurriedly posted a negative review of a book that was critical of the IPCC? As I recall, it became obvious from the comments of subsequent reviewers that he hadn't actually read it.
Stonyground
The same guy.
Peter Gleick didn't like the name of Dr Tamsin Edwards new blog..
http://allmodelsarewrong.com/all-blog-names-are-wrong/
which also led to this.
http://www.realclimategate.org/2012/02/clarifications-and-how-better-to-communicate-science/
Stonygound - ta for posting this. I am amazed that Glieck considers Hansen's GISS a superb dataset. He appears to be remarkably ill-informed to say the least.
"I am amazed that Glieck considers Hansen's GISS a superb dataset"
It is for his purposes. So much better than the raw data, which could 'confuse' the public.
Back on topic, this is great news and, like Richard Black's backsliding blog, yet another sign of the changing times. Add the current weather - yes, I know it is not climate unless it is warm - and the general mood in the EU and this could be tipping times indeed.
Congratulations to our host here for his great contribution to this and congratulations to Vahrenholt for having the courage to act on new information like this. There are many who know full well that this is bogus but lack the courage to stand up and say so. Many sheep, few shepherds.
Just want to join the chorus of congrats, bish!
It is very gratifying that your outstanding book seems to have been instrumental in clearing the fog from the mind of a German Greenie.
But then, we who've read The Hokey Stick Illusion and have handed it to friends and recommended it to alland sundry knew from the start what a gem of a book you've written!
Cheers!
I dislike 'piling on', but in this case I have to join the chorus: The superbly-written and researched HSI is my go-to book in discussions on the increasingly-obvious AGW hoax, but in my small circle of friends at least, the discussion is never an argument now and we are all waiting for the Meeja to catch up with public opinion.
Here in NZ, the Meeja don't seem to be aware of the con, except for one outspoken columnist in the NZ Herald who, some months ago, in an article about the demise of CAGW, made the point that MSM journos of every kind NEVER apologise for being wrong - instead, they change the subject and tip-toe away from their own past silliness.
I'm following a climate blog at the Guardian where posters are saying the only reason the Prof got banned from his Univ debate was because he changed the topic of his lecture at the last minute.
Apparently this couldn't be allowed without including a climate scientist in the debate for rebuttal purposes, and none could be found.
I had to laugh at that - warmists claim 97% of climate scientists agree that man made climate change is real blah blah..., but they can't find ONE, when they need one
Ah, memories of all those old B&W WW2 war movies. Delingpole - "For you, Monbiot, the war is over". Marched off at bayonet point to a life of incarceration and non-involvement in the Climate Change wars. Whether to a camp in the north of England or a Stalag Luft in Germany is irrelevant, the imagery is beautiful.
You can read the second part of the Bild article here:
http://www.bild.de/politik/inland/globale-erwaermung/seit-12-jahren-ist-erderwaermung-gestoppt-22486408.bild.html
Bild is like a better written Daily Mirror. With my fail in O-level German I can just about cope. I recommend anyone with a smattering of German to try. It’s an excellent example of how to get over the sceptic message in simple terms.
Andrew,
HSI is indeed a great work.
Congratulations.
Mr Bliss, any chance of a link (or an easily googleable search term)? Cheers
I think that the Germans might get very cross when, at the same time as being asked to bail out Greece, the extent of the scam becomes recognised.
The der Spiegel interview with Vahrenholt is now available in English at
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,813814,00.html
This is very significant. Der Spiegel shares content with major international media like the NYT. It’s as if the Guardian printed a long, fair interview with Richard Lindzen (no, I’m fantasising).
The third article in the Bild series is available now also, see here. Geoff, a chance for you to polish up your German still further. This (rather short) article is about the costs of alternative energy policy. He ends by saying (I paraphrase): "These policies are only followed because the fear has been put into people that whatever it costs, CO2 emissions must be stopped. It is time to change our mind on this." I don't know too much about this gentleman's background - casting him as Germany's George Monbiot as Delingpole did seems a bit inaccurate - but he does seem to be a respected commenter on energy policy, and it is striking to see him saying things like this.
less Blissful says:
Mr Bliss, any chance of a link (or an easily googleable search term)? Cheers
This is the link to the bloggers comment:
Guardian Debate
Rather conveniently, they dont supply a link to their source, but try this:
Lots of 'He said, They said'
and the Prof isn't too happy about the way he has been misrepresented.
Does Germany have a FOI act? :)
And speaking of Mr. Delingpole...
'Germany's George Monbiot' turns climate sceptic -Feb 7, 2012 at 2:17 PM | Jiminy Cricket
It's rather hard to imagine Monbiot as a Shell Oil exec, a job description somewhat predictably unmentioned by WUWT given that it forms a major part of Herr Vahrenholt's resume'.
The two seem about equally disinterested.