Sunday
Jun032012
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill The Australian Academy
Jun 3, 2012 Climate: other Royal Society Tony Thomas in Quadrant magazine has taken a look behind the scenes at the Australian Academy of Sciences - its involvement in climate change, its funding, and some of the (ahem) interesting characters it has elected as fellows.
Yours truly and Richard Betts are mentioned in passing.
Reader Comments (9)
It's all depressing reading isn't it. These people are so intelligent they can't see how dumb they are!
Mailman
They blew whatever credibility they might still have had when they elected that Tim Flannery as a Fellow.
The Shine Dome is a wonder to behold, though.
I see it includes the obligatory statement - "The modelling of global climate change is, the Academy believes, already dependable, so funds are needed to parlay the forecasting down to regional level,"
Strange how all those learned institutions say that the climate models are very good BUT we need a lot more money to make then even better.
I see the gravy train trundles along regardless of science!
As time goes on, credentialed ignoramuses' endorsement of their manifestly circular "models" (sic) on ad verecundiam bases will become ever more untenable.
Now that Railroad Bill Pachauri's latest IPCC delinquency has switched tracks from AGW, then "climate change," then "sustainability," to sociocrats' Killer Concept of "biodiversity" [spare us], how long before his lurking New World Order comes clean in advocating a 97% reduction in human populations via WMD assaults mounted by thanatist Illuminati (see especially Pentti Linkola)?
This is one of the 'prestigious' national scientific institutions often cited as proof that CAGW is beyond dispute, just like the RS. It is astonishing how they were all captured by the zeitgeist, and a salutary warning that science is not, and should never be, a servant of this year's political panic.
Tim Flannery is regarded as a buffoon in Australia, and those (like the doomed Federal Government) who have associated themselves with him are paying the price in credibility. It is no surprise that the AAS and the ANU are so closely linked. The scientific establishment, including former ANU Vice Chancellor and now Chief Scientist Ian Chubb, have been subjected to a coup like a third world country.
And yes, the Shine Dome is an awesome building. It will still be there after this virus afflicting the ANU and Australian science more generally has passed.
Please ; will somebody convince me that AGW is true. I have so little hair left to tear out when I read these articles. My hairdresser is particularly worried as he has numerous skeptical clients. His livelyhood (like the little hair that I have left) is threatened.
For the sake of Panarchy, give me the proof that will allow me to retain my whisps of hair.
This article is a good case study showing how "scientists" flock to money like bees to flowers. Anyone who has worked in R & D (government or private based) understands this. Scientists are susceptible to the same human frailties as everyone else. Strong checks and balances need to be put in place so that scientific output produced is actually worth anything.
Understanding that scientists will line up at the funding feeding trough is the first step in realizing that we need to rebalance some of these unconstrained organizations (e.g. AAS, NCAS, etc.). Reading this blog and others like Climate Audit, and WUWT make it clear that real peer review and freedom of information are anathema to these closed, well funded, self serving organizations.
Please ; will somebody convince me that AGW is true. I have so little hair left to tear out when I read these articles. My hairdresser is particularly worried as he has numerous skeptical clients. His livelyhood (like the little hair that I have left) is threatened.
For the sake of Panarchy, give me the proof that will allow me to retain my whisps of hair.
Jun 3, 2012 at 4:19 PM | pesadia>>>>>
There are PLENTY here at BH who will tell you quite forcefully that AGW is true, but they're a little too chicken to admit that the recent rise in the harmless trace gas CO2 is substantially man made. In other words, GW - Global Warming due to CO2 [just not too catastrophic] - But absolutely, definitely not AGW. They call themselves 'LukeWarmists' because they either haven't bothered to research, or cannot ascribe to any other major climate driver than CO2 - and perhaps because the term allows them to soothe their 'green' consciences a little.
And they don't think too much of me for reminding them of it - so what, that's what a public forum is for isn't it?
"Shine Dome" my a*se. It has been known to all Canberrans since it was built as "the Martian Embassy".