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Mon, 2010-01-18 17:22Kevin Grandia
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The wacky land of Amy Ridenour

From time to time we hear from a small DC group with the impressive sounding name: the "National Centre for Public Policy Research" (NCPPR). Their president Amy Ridenour takes a jab at DeSmogBlog yesterday with this strange sentence - obviously crafted to incite controversy:

"Kindness is not usually a term one associates with the anti-Holocaustglobal warming denier website DeSmogBlog, but its staff has made an exception today."

I am assuming that much like her friend Christopher Monckton, Ridenour has not heard of the Godwin's Law of Nazi Analogies. The basic point Godwin makes is that as a conversation online progresses, the likelihood of someone mentioning Nazis or the Holocaust becomes more likely.

I sent an email to Ridenour assistant, David Almasi, the other night asking for an explanation and also pointing out that in the four years I have managed the DeSmogBlog I have never used a Nazi analogy in an attempt to bolster an argument or discredit an individual. So far they haven't responded and I think they're silence is telling.

It is a stupid and useless means of making a point that only creates division and hate.

Read more: The wacky land of Amy Ridenour
Fri, 2010-01-15 15:00Kevin Grandia
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Antarctica is Losing Ice Quickly, Melting Away Another Climate Skeptic Myth

Two popular climate skeptic "facts" which are claimed to disprove anthropogenic global warming are:

1.  Surface ice melting on Antarctica is decreasing.

2.  Sea ice around Antarctica is increasing.

Despite what climate skeptics assert, neither of these arguments disprove global warming.  Actually, they highlight quite the contrary:  Antarctica is in fact losing mass (ice).  Even more, ice is melting and breaking away from the continent at an incredibly accelerating rate. 

This isn't opinion, there is data to prove it.

Read more: Antarctica is Losing Ice Quickly, Melting Away Another Climate Skeptic Myth
Tue, 2010-01-12 13:01Kevin Grandia
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Massey Energy running attack ads against "tree hugging extremists"

Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE), the 4th largest coal producer in the country is running political-style attacks in West Virginia claiming that "tree hugging extremists and self-serving politicians" are killing jobs, while the coal industry is "fighting hard for Appalachian jobs" and "what's right."

I am assuming that when Massey talks about fighting for Appalachian jobs they aren't referring to the fact that earlier in 2009 they cut employee pay by 6% and then recently increased the performance bonus for Massey's CEO, Don Blankenship, by $600,000.

And I think it's also safe to assume that when Massey talks about fighting for "what's right" they aren't talking about the major environmental violations over the years culminating in a record $20 million settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA stated that Massey had violated its Clean Water Act permits "... more than 4,500 times between January 2000 and December 2006."

Read more: Massey Energy running attack ads against "tree hugging extremists"
Mon, 2010-01-11 16:59Kevin Grandia
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Scientist hits back at Daily Mail's "global cooling" claim

An article over the weekend in the UK's Daily Mail titled The mini ice age starts here, is being refuted by the scientist whose research was used in the story to back the claim that global warming is nothing to worry about because we are entering a phase of "global cooling."

Mojib Latif, a Meteorologist at the Leibniz Institute at Kiel University in Germany, told the Guardian newspaper that:

""It comes as a surprise to me that people would try to use my statements to try to dispute the nature of global warming. I believe in manmade global warming. I have said that if my name was not Mojib Latif it would be global warming."

The Daily Mail is prone to publishing attention-grabbing stories on climate change. Most recently the newspaper claimed that Chinese hackers in league with Russians may be behind the leaked emails from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University.

No correction has appeared on the Daily Mail article yet, so I have emailed the correction and a link to the Gaurdian article to the Sunday editor here: news@mailonsunday.co.uk

Read more: Scientist hits back at Daily Mail's "global cooling" claim
Mon, 2010-01-11 14:22Kevin Grandia
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Government of Canada's Hidden Tar Sand Truths

Canwest Newspaper reported late last week that new documents have been uncovered showing a pro-industry bias in Government of Canada studies on the environmental and economic impact of Alberta's tar sands projects.

According to Canwest:

"Officials from Environment Canada who reviewed the original package, warned that it reflected the views of oil companies instead of the facts.

"The package should deliver neutral, balanced and factual information," said the analysis. "Currently, much of the language is too pro-industry, and would make the government to be perceived as bias and thus not credible or serving the public good."

Want the facts on the Alberta Oil Sands? Check our Top 10 Facts About the Alberta Oil Sands section.

Read more: Government of Canada's Hidden Tar Sand Truths
Mon, 2010-01-11 10:47Kevin Grandia
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Climate Change a Bigger Threat to Canadians than Terrorists

A new poll commissioned by the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute on "Threat Perceptions" [pdf] finds that climate change is perceived as the most "critical threat" to Canadians.

49% of Canadians rank climate change as a critical threat, while only 28% (down from 49% in 2004) say that international terrorism is a critical threat to the vital interests of their country.

All regions report high levels of concern with Quebec the highest at 62% and Alberta the least concerned at 28%.

The poll was conducted by the Innovative Research Group between December 22, 2009 and January 4, 2010. The weighted total sample included 1,229 responses eligible for inclusion in our analysis. There were over samples in BC, Alberta and Ontario which bring the total sample of 1,877.

An earlier poll by Innovative conducted after the Copenhagen climate conference found that half of Canadians disapproved [pdf] of the Canadian government's position at the international summit, but 44% said it would not make a difference on whether they were more or less likely to vote for the governing Conservative party.

Read more: Climate Change a Bigger Threat to Canadians than Terrorists

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