National Post Disgraces Itself Again
Poland is a long way from New York, and the distance illustrates the vast gulf between truth and rhetoric in how many in the mainstream media continue to cover climate science.
Last year, not a single English language Canadian news reporter was sent to cover the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poznan in Poland (except Richard Littlemore of DeSmog Blog).
Yet even as they teeter of the edge of bankruptcy, the National Post felt it important to have a reporter covering the climate denier’s conference held this week at the swank Marriott Marquis in New York and sponsored by the notoriously unethical Heartland Institute.
The UN Conference featured actual scientists and had the potential to generate real news on how the world might come to grips with climate change.
The Heartland Conference is instead a retread of last year’s denialpoloza, featuring the same washed up hacks on the oil industry payroll.
Unlike a real scientific conference, this event is a Potemkin village constructed to give the appearance of scientific debate, when none has existed for at least five to ten years. Yet many in the media still eat it up.
On his way to New York, Peter Foster of the National Post gushed that the Heartland conference will: “feature dozens of presentations by…top scientists and other researchers who question the conclusions of the United Nations' highly-politicized Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).”
One can gather how much critical thought Mr. Foster will bring to this event. He does not seem to realize or care that media like himself are the real audience of this stunt - not the public or the scientific community.
Consider the plan hatched by the American Petroleum Institute in 1998—calling for a “campaign to recruit a cadre of scientists who share the industry’s views of climate science and to train them in public relations so they can help convince journalists, politicians and the public that the risk of global warming is too uncertain to justify”.
Even eleven years later, Big Oil is still getting much mileage out of their ruse, as evidenced by the giddy Mr. Foster.
If the industry shills in attendance in New York had important new insights and data to back it up, they would surely present their findings to their peers at an actual gathering of scientists, or in peer reviewed scientific literature.
Instead, like washed-up boxers who only pick fights in bars, these skeptics restrict their pugilism to industry funded fetes rather than the bearpit of real scientific debate. And supposed journalists like Mr. Foster are of course given a front row seat.
Other National Post staffers have fallen for Big Oil’s ploy and regularly spill buckets of ink trying to convince the public that the entire scientific community is wrong about our looming climate emergency. The immorality of this, I cannot begin to fathom.
As a writer myself, I don’t begrudge journalists the ability to hold forth on whatever subject they want. The important caveat of course is that sources be properly referenced and fact-checked. Climate denial news stories inevitably are not.
The fault for this lies with those editors and television producers acting as compromised gatekeepers of what information makes it into the public discourse. Many, such as the editors of the National Post, have failed so miserably to accurately communicate our evolving understanding of climate science that it called only be called journalistic malpractice.
So enjoy your stay at the Marriott Marquis Mr. Foster. I am certain that Big Oil will make sure you are well looked after – as long as you continue to deliver their message for them.
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'Climate denial' and 'fact-checking' are inevitably mutually incompatible. Either something is true or it isn't and since 'Climate Denial' faux-journalism involves falsely dismissing or even undermining a vast amount of world-class science as if it were a work of fiction, it is a lie.
There can be no such thing as a well researched climate denial article, because if it were accurate, the article wouldn't & couldn't exist!
Also:
On his way to New York, Peter Foster of the National Post gushed that the Heartland conference will: “feature dozens of presentations by…top scientists and other researchers who question the conclusions of the United Nations' highly-politicized Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).”
In Heartland's bizarro world, every one of the dozens (or hundreds) of 'scientists' who agrees with them is described as a "top scientist" or a "leading scientist".
Of course, in the real world where logic actually plays a part, it's impossible for all people to be "leading scientists" at the same time. But this is the Heartland Institute, where logic doesn't apply.
-- bi
Interesting that this made it onto the huffington post. it's smart of huff post to publish it because essay | essays it got a lot of attention and thats really the point. It may not be a debate exactly, but whatever it is, the battle goes on. essay writing | buy essay | custom essay
"As a writer myself, I don’t begrudge journalists the ability to hold forth on whatever subject they want. The important caveat of course is that sources be properly referenced and fact-checked."
George Will quoted from actual scientists and reported the data reasonably correctly on global sea ice, yet even at this website he was taken to task for deviating from global warming orthodoxy.
Skeptics will continue to question claims that can not be replicated nor proven by the science. And too many studies offered up to the public have 'facts' with confidence levels so low that their results remain open to dispute.
Skeptics will continue to question
Why do you keep talking about how you're "questioning" stuff, even though I've never, ever, ever heard you ask even a single question?
-- bi
Climate change denialism spans a range from; it's not happening, through it's a different mechanism, to it won't be that bad.
I hypothesise that these claims are promulgated by four types of denier.
The paid denier.
The troll
The fingers in their ears and singing “La La La “
The open minded sceptic.
I've never encountered a type 4!
I think the National Post is garbage. I tried reading it a couple years ago but it read a little like a tabloid. I tabloid per city and we already have ours.
Like last year, the Heartland Institute is making it clear that no Big Oil companies are behind this year's International Conference on Climate Change being held in New York in a couple of weeks.
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I don't understand that either, but maybe it will improve under the new administration.
In my sense Foster does not seem to realize or care that media like himself are the real audience of this stunt - not the public or the scientific community. Thanks for the valuable post. Games
Truly speaking, among the many conservative think tanks faithfully pushing the skeptic message in Washington, D.C., few are as prominent. Thanks for the share. Regards, free movie downloads
It is also illustrative to look at what media outlets parroted the Dapper story last week - minus of course any of the quick fact checking that I just did above. Thanks for the share. Regards, Insurance Leads
Truely speaking I don,t understan the reason disliking between poland & USA ?
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Maybe the National Post is looking to report the event from a different angle and not glorify the news that comes out of the event. Its possible they intend to report on the denials that are still holding back ignorant companies to start acting on reducing pollution and being part of the solution as opposed to the problem.
Of course, in the real world where logic actually plays a part, it's impossible for all people to be "leading scientists" at the same time. Merchant account are like this but this is the Heartland Institute, where logic doesn't apply.
Newspapers seems to be looking out for their own interest, and seeking where the advertising dollars are. The oil industry is flush with cash, and newspapers are probably trying to sell more news, by giving attention to those junk science and present them as facts. free advertising
I absolutely agree with you.
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I am thinking now about the national post which was disgraced itself and the reason for it to happen. Regards, free online games
I'm not surprised. The post tends to do things differently.. Its not the worst thing in the world though...
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I cannot believe they would not report from the climate change conference but would actually send someone to report from the climate deniers conference.
Hopefuly their readers can think forthemselves...
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It seems a shame that this has happened and there should be a great deal of soul searching to understand why and more importantly that this does not happen again. Regards
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Its hard to believe they would not report from the climate change conference but would actually send someone to report from the climate deniers conference.
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Climate changes report is one of the most discussed issue. So Mr. Foster enjoy your stay, I just hope for the best for you.
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What about this media regarding sports news?
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I can't believe the national post did that again. Oh well, what can you expect?
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The United Nations Climate Change Conference was in Poznań on Saturday 13 December, i planned to go there but i couldn't, many friends of mine were there.
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Lorne Gunter of the National Post disgraced himself yet again this weekend with another outrageously inaccurate column
about something he apparently knows nothing about: climate science.
Gunter held forward William Happer as his climate skeptic champion to put those hacks at the IPCC to shame. He crows that Happer "is hardly a climate change 'denier'", and is instead "one of the world's leading experts on the interactions of visible and infrared radiation with gases." Sincerely, Kopilka & Sildenafil Team.