Finally, Tim Ball has found a room in which he is unquestionably qualified to speak: On Friday, Sept. 22, Canada's foremost climate change denier will be the main course at a Conservative Party of Canada "breakfast event" in Victoria, B.C.
The invitation heralds "Dr Timothy Ball Ph.D." the second reference to his strained academic credential apparently being there in case you missed the implication of the first.
Whether Dr. Ball was ever justified in passing himself off as a senior climate scientist (as opposed to a junior geographical historian) is a topic of justifiable debate, but there is no question that since his retirement 10 years ago, he has committed no act of science worth recording in a reputable scientific journal. It's also true that he has spent much of the last year as a pretty-much full-time campaigner against  the recognition of climate change as a matter of urgent public interest.
Much as he tries to insist that he is (still?) a scientist, this event ties a ribbon around a more accurate truth: Tim Ball has become a politician.
I happen to like politicians as a group; they tend to be passionate and committed. The best are also honest and forthright about who's paying their bills.
Alas, by that definition, even among politicians Tim Ball winds up being an also-ran.