2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #31
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 26 through Sat, Aug 1, 2020
Editor's Choice
The four types of climate denier, and why you should ignore them all
The shill, the grifter, the egomaniac and the ideological fool: each distorts the urgent global debate in their own way
‘Serious debates about what to do about the climate crisis are turning into action. The deniers have nothing to contribute to this.’ Signs of global warming on the Mer de Glace glacier in the French Alps. Photograph: Konrad K/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock
Anew book, described as “deeply and fatally flawed” by an expert reviewer, recently reached the top of Amazon’s bestseller list for environmental science and made it into a weekly top 10 list for all nonfiction titles.
How did this happen? Because, as Brendan Behan put it, “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”. In an article promoting his book, Michael Shellenberger – with jaw-dropping hubris – apologises on behalf of all environmentalists for the “climate scare we created over the last 30 years”.
Shellenberger was named a hero of the environment by Time magazine in 2008 and is a loud advocate of nuclear power, but the article was described by six leading scientists as “cherry-picking”, “misleading” and containing “outright falsehoods”.
The article was widely republished, even after being removed from its first home, Forbes, for violating the title’s editorial guidelines on self-promotion, adding further heat to the storm. And this is why all those who deny the reality or danger of the climate emergency should be ignored. Obviously, I have broken my own rule here, but only to make this vital point once and for all.
The science is clear, the severity understood at the highest levels everywhere, and serious debates about what to do are turning into action. The deniers have nothing to contribute to this.
Click here to access the entire opinion piece as originally posted on The Guardian website.
The four types of climate denier, and why you should ignore them all, Opinion by Damian Carrington, Comment is Free, Guardian, July 31, 2020
Articles Linked to on Facebook
Sun, July 26, 2020
- Policy Can Clash with Affordable Housing by Jennifer Hijazi, E&E News, Scientific American, July 24, 2020
- Why low-end ‘climate sensitivity’ can now be ruled out, Guest Post by Piers Forster, Zeke Hausfather, Gabi Hegerl, Steven Sherwood & Kyle Armour, Carbon Brief, June 22, 2020
- Biden plots $2tn green revolution but faces wind and solar backlash by Oliver Milman, Environment, Guardian, July 25, 2020
- In the 21st century the most patriotic thing to do with fossil fuels is keep them in the ground by Adam McGibbon, Independent (UK), July 23, 2020
Mon, July 27, 2020
- Why the next president should establish a Department of Climate, Opinion by Allison Crimmins, Vox, July 21, 2020
- World Bank policy advice boosts oil and gas, undermining climate goals by Heike Mainhardt, Climate Home News, July 21, 2020
- In 100 days, the climate emergency may be even more serious. That's why we’re launching this series, Opinion by John Mulholland, Comment is Free, Guardian, July 27, 2020
- Climate Sensitivity: A new assessment by Gavin Schmidt, Real Climate, July 22, 2020
Tue, July 28, 2020
- This country regrew its lost forest. Can the world learn from it? by Nell Lewis, CNN, Jun 27, 2020
- It’s been a landmark year for investor action on climate change by Attracta Mooney & Patrick Temple-West, Financial Times/Los Angeles Times, July 26, 2020
- E.P.A. Inspector General to Investigate Trump’s Biggest Climate Rollback by Coral Davenport & Lisa Friedman, Climate, New York Times, July 27, 2020
- Scientists launch ambitious conservation project to save the Amazon by Shanna Hanbury, Amazon Conservation, Mongabay, July 27, 2020
Wed, July 29, 2020
- How the global climate fight could be lost if Trump is re-elected by Oliver Milman, Climate Countdown, US News, Guardian, July 27, 2020
- Rainn Wilson To Host Docuseries ‘An Idiot’s Guide To Climate Change’; Greta Thunberg Among Guests by Eric Pedersen, Deadline, July 28, 2020
- The curse of ‘both-sidesism’: How climate denial skewed media coverage for 30 years by Joseph Winters, Climate, Grist, July 28, 2020
- Killer heat: US racial injustices will worsen as climate crisis escalates by Nina Lakhani, Climate Countdown, US News, Guardian, July 27, 2020
Thu, July 30, 2020
- What is 'climate justice'? by Daisy Simmons, Article, Yale Climate Connections, July 29, 2020
- The US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord is a racist act, Opinion by Adrienne Hollis, Comment is Free, Guardian, July 27, 2020
- The surprising reasons why people ignore the facts about climate change by Kate Yoder, Climate, Grist,July 28, 2020
- The Trump EPA is vastly underestimating the cost of carbon dioxide pollution to society, new research finds by Dana Nuccitelli, Yale Climate Connections, July 30, 2020
Fri, July 31, 2020
- Microsoft’s astonishing climate change goals, explained by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, June 30, 2020
- MIT climate scientist Kerry Emanuel on energy and Shellenberger's 'Apocalypse' by Kerry Emmanuel, Article, Yale Climate Connections, July 29, 2020
- Rising Seas Could Menace Millions Beyond Shorelines, Study Finds by Brad Plumer, Climate, New York Times, June 30, 2020
- The four types of climate denier, and why you should ignore them all, Opinion by Damian Carrington, Comment is Free, Guardian, July 31, 2020
Sat, Aug 1, 2020
- Why Alarm Over Climate Change Is Not Alarmism by Gernot Wagner, Bloomberg News, July 31, 2020
- How Trump is emboldening other countries' 'bad behavior' on the climate crisis by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, July 30, 2020
- Inside Clean Energy: How Soon Will An EV Cost the Same as a Gasoline Vehicle? Sooner Than You Think. by Dan Gearino, InsideClimate News, July 30. 2020
- Scientists have ruled out the worst-case climate scenario — and the best one too by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, July 31, 2020
Posted by John Hartz on Saturday, 1 August, 2020
