Honing his hypocrisy

Last week, Shell's climate change adviser David Hone issued a complaint that I had appeared on the BBC to discuss the Fifth Assessment Report.

[The BBC] explained the issue quite well, but then offered two contrasting views of the science. One was an interview with a leading UK climate scientist who is also a contributing author to the IPCC report, the other was with a blogger who lacks credible credentials and objectivity on the issue.

If only I could aspire to match Mr Hone's credentials (he is a chemical engineer) and objectivity (he is chairman of the International Emissions Trading Association).

Do these people have no sense of how foolish they make themselves look?

Friday open thread

In my absence, here is an open thread for any climate and energy news today.

Thursday open thread

In my absence, here is an open thread for any climate and energy news today.

Fast freeze

Isn't the Arctic refreeze quick this year? The extent figures are rapidly approaching the 2000s average, something that has only happened in the first half of recent years. Yet we're still in autumn.

Interesting times.

Wednesday open thread

In my absence, here is an open thread for any climate and energy news today.

Lords of topsy-turvy land

Shale? It's killin the ozone layer, innit?The House of Lords is also talking shale gas this morning. The Economic Affairs Committee is discussing the economic impacts  and, like their colleagues in the lower house, decided that the right people to speak to are a group of people who oppose economic development on principle (they took evidence from the experts a couple of weeks ago).

I have no objection to their lordships listening to Swampy et al, but the point has to be made again and again: where is the voice of the taxpayer and the consumer, the voice of those campaigning for economic development and jobs? What is it that members of both houses of Parliament have against ordinary people?

Welsh shale

The Welsh Affairs Select Committee is meeting today to discuss shale gas. As usual they have have a mixture of scientists (Hywel Thomas who was involved in the Royal Society report on shale and Richard Davies of Durham, a geologist specialising in the area) and people who campaign against economic development (Kevin Anderson, and bods from Friends of the Earth and WWF. As usual nobody speaks for the consumer.

The Welsh Affairs Committee will hold its first evidence session on Shale Gas in Wales on Tuesday 22 October at 10.00 am. The Committee will take evidence from academics and environmental groups.

Click to read more ...

Tuesday open thread

In my absence, here is an open thread for any climate and energy news today.

More battling - Josh 241

 

The post on Rob Wilson's lecture has certainly caused some seismic activity in the climate blogosphere.

Cartoons by Josh

Update on Oct 22, 2013 by Josh

Now added some mangled Shakespeare to the cartoon. Thankyou Phillip Bratby for the quote and for noticing the hockey stick. I have added Anthony's description of it, also noted by JJ over at WUWT. So a big Hat tip to all three of you!

Battle of Ideas: What is 'new environmentalism'? cartoon notes by Josh

On Sunday I went to a Battle of Ideas debate/seminar titled "What is 'new environmentalism'?" produced by Ben Pile who was also on the panel. This included Mark Lynas, Joe Smith and Casper Hewett with Timandra Harkness as the very able and amusing chair.

Click to read more ...

Wilson on millennial temperature reconstructions

Last week I attended a lecture given by Rob Wilson at the University of St Andrews. This was a two-hour marathon, a format that is excellent if your lecturer is good enough to carry an audience, as it enables issues to be addressed in much more depth than is the norm. In the event, the time shot by, and if you read on you will see why.

Rob was doing a review of the millennial temperature reconstructions, following the story from the First Assessment Report through to AR5. As readers here know, Rob is no kind of a sceptic (a point he repeated over lunch), but on the northern hemisphere paleo studies his position is not a million miles away from mine. In places our positions are identical, as you will see.

Click to read more ...

Diary date: Murry Salby

Murry Salby, who studies the carbon dioxide budget from his base in Australia, is visiting the UK at the start of November and will give a number of talks - two in London and one in Cambridgeshire.

Details are available at the link below.

Itinerary

Monday open thread

In my absence, here is an open thread for any climate and energy news today.

Light blogging

It's half term here, so blogging will be light this week. I have quite a few threads lined up to appear so there will be something to talk about.

Worst BBC programme of all time?

BBC Radio 4's Feedback programme looked at the space given to global warming sceptics in the period covering the release of the Fifth Assessment Report.

The programme was shameless, stupid and dishonest.

But you knew that.

Feedback