In the latest issue of Cosmos magazine, I have a piece on Bjørn Lomborg, who, as I write, shot to fame in 2001 with his first book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, a broad critique of the environmental movement that infuriated many ecologists and greens. The notoriety transformed the little-known Danish statistician into a globe-trotting public intellectual. Since then,…Continue Reading…
At the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media, I survey the landscape beyond mind-deadening gloom and doom.
I have a new post up at the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media that suggests Vice President Gore and like-minded allies are fighting their battle from a “defensive crouch,” which won’t get them where they want to go. Nor am I the only one wondering if Gore’s recent 24-hour mediathon is the…Continue Reading…
I’m not sure there is such a thing, but it’s probably good to know what your objective is. In this contentious thread, perspectives ran the gamut. One commenter observed: As difficult it is in this era of “Tea Baggers vs Marxists”, “Denialists vs. Warmistas”, “Conservatards vs. Mann-Made Glo-bull Warmists” or whatever other dumbass portmanteaus each…Continue Reading…
I never got around to writing about this recent essay from recovering scientist-turned filmmaker Randy Olson, so I’m glad that Andy Revkin has taken it up at Dot Earth. Do watch the 10-minute Skype video interview that Revkin also posts, where Olson says: The problem in the environmental and science worlds as far as I can…Continue Reading…
H/T: This meandering thread at Lucia’s, where the faucet scene in My Cousin Vinny was fondly recalled. Vinny Gambini: [Vinny hears a drip in the motel bathroom] Weren’t you the last one to use the bathroom? Lisa: So? Vinny Gambini: Well, did you use the faucet? Lisa: Yeah. Vinny Gambini: Then why didn’tcha turn it…Continue Reading…
Nothing seems to shake the climate rafters like a fierce debate over the labels that combatants use to smack each other around. Although this thread from yesterday is still going strong, I thought I would break out a comment that rises above the scrum: My belief is that those who are affected most negatively by the…Continue Reading…
Everything you need to know about this AAAS session, called “Why Climate Communication Continues to be Colossal Botch,” can be summed up by this famous 40 second clip: Yes, I made that title up, too, but really, that’s what it was about. Panelist Gavin Schmidt, echoing the sentiments expressed by Kerry Emmanuel in a session…Continue Reading…
That wily Frank Luntz. What’s he up to? Last week, the Republican pollster advised enviros on how to sell the congressional climate bill. (Don’t mention polar bears or cap and trade, the bill’s centerpiece. Instead, talk about energy security and jobs.) That’s quite a turnaround from the guy who, in 2002, counseled the Bush Administration…Continue Reading…
Let's Get It On
Okay, don’t get any wrong ideas here. I am just trying to set the mood for the new commenting system that I know will make our conversations flow much better. On the subject of comment threads, I suggest folks take a few minutes to read this excellent post by Bora Zivkovic, the blog maestro at…Continue Reading…