Comments on: Randy Olson on Marc Morano, Who Was Featured in Sizzle

By: Joseph A Olson, PE

Joseph A Olson, PE — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:15:32 +0000

Climate is far more complicated that just blaming methane, CO2 and water vapor for ‘trapping heat’ and then blaming humanity for it’s tiny contribution to this atmospheric mix. ClimateRealist.com is not my website but I do have eight articles posted there which add an additional factor into the climate equation, Geo-Nuclear Reactions. Previously estimated at 6 terawatts it is now estimated at 60 terawatts of internal fission and daily solar is 84 terawatts. There is estimated 700,000 cubic miles of fissionable Uranium beneath our feet, under tremendous temperature and pressure and subject to constant bombardment from cosmic rays and neutrinos. There is no reason for this material to behave in a constant laboratory half-life decay cycle. Geo-nuclear energy is the only explaination for the huge climate swings that the geologic record seems to indicate. Carbon dioxide has always been a trailing factor, never a leading or causative force. Please be open minded. We all know less than we need to know.

By: Strider

Strider — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:16:10 +0000

Well, sorry Dr. Olson but who is Nick? Never heard of him. YOU, on the other hand, I’ve heard of, as have many people in “our” community, and I enjoyed “Flock of Dodos”. Why not turn your considerable skills toward combat rather than hand-wringing?

By: Randy Olson

Randy Olson — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:00:39 +0000

Strider – Rather than trying to attack me, the messenger, why don’t you try disagreeing with the points I made. Most scientists and environmentalists seem to know only how to belittle and diminish their opponents, as you can see above from Nick. But why don’t you contact Sam Parry at EDF and ask him about the newsletter blast he sent out on March 18 itemizing how formidable the forces against global warming action now are. This isn’t just me sounding this alarm. Among the many stats in his newsletter, he says 7 of 8 lobbyists on global warming are now anti-action lobbyists. Then take a look at “An Inconveniet Truth” from 2006 and see if you detect any warning that the opposition might be significant. It doesn’t sound like Sam Parry thinks the “ignore them and they will go away,” strategy (which is what Nick is advocating above) has worked.

By: Strider

Strider — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:53:00 +0000

So Olson’s pointed out what he considers to be a blunder on the environmental movement’s communication strategy. What’s he doing about it? Making a movie that very few people will see. Who’s wasting their time, again?

By: MadScientist

MadScientist — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:16:23 +0000

@LCforevah: Large corporations are funny – the left hand acts as though it has no clue what the right hand is doing. Corporations also do things only if they are profitable or if compelled by legislation. So say Company X spends a few hundred million investigating means of reducing emissions – they do this because they have convinced the board that it is of strategic value; if governments mandated emissions cuts they will be one of the world leaders in cutting emissions. Many people in Company X will be genuinely interested in developing technology.

On the other hand, it is possible (and sometimes the case) that managers in the very same Company X will also hedge bets by spending a few million to prevent governments from mandating emissions cuts – the wellbeing of the planet doesn’t matter at all, it is simply a question of money and the pretense of keeping the shareholders happy. If you think the Ferengi are vicious, they are harmless kittens compared with real world managers.

The short story is the sooner governments can get meaningful legislation into place and start processes down the right path, so much the better. There is still much work to be done and a lot of the work is being held up by wishy-washy governments which will not make decisions one way or the other.

By the way, no one on the planet has achieved any significant cuts to emissions yet; all over the globe emissions are increasing, not decreasing. There are a few large projects out there but they are absolutely dwarfed by the rest of the world.

By: Orson

Orson — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:52:05 +0000

LCforevah: “The rest of the world is already taking steps to mitigate climate change….”
Gee, and who has recently reduced their ‘carbon emissions’ – the US or the EU?

“….this cynical manipulation of American opinion.” Like, the inerrancy of meteorologists predictions? Blame the weather then – not E-VIL corporations!

By: Nick

Nick — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:46:02 +0000

“…a powerful and skilled communicator who is well suited to today’s media environment..” I think Randy needs to relax a little here, because though Morano and the mainstream media may be suited to one another, complexity doesn’t suit either of them. This is a complex issue unfolding over relatively long time frames and the movers and shakers of the senate,congress and the administration well know it, and I’m confident that they know where to go for information. So the important question is what’s the quality of in-house science communication, and how can it be sustained and strengthened, not what Morano may get up to on morning TV.

At this point in the electoral cycle Morano is gasping for oxygen; the NYT may have naively given him a free hit,but where’s his next breakthrough now that he’s out in the open world? When he was working within the senate structure he may have had the benefit of some slim legitimacy in the eyes of the more naive and time-poor in and outside of government, but he is now publicly on corporate money. Getting off the public teat,BTW,is the only honorable decision he ever made.

And I don’t think the public takes the media any more seriously than the media takes the public. So if Morano raises his profile and pops up on a few more conservative talk shows than before,he’ll still be seen as another brash entertainer preaching to the converted and pushing a book or the like. Most of his audience are already ideologically indisposed towards AGW .

There is never a position of ‘comfort’ for any campaigner on inter-generational environmental and social issues; these are unsexy issues with deeply complicated and exhausting detail attached. Morano always had it easy dumbing everything down. He’ll tire of it in a few years and become a shock-jock like his mentor….

By: Climate Consensus ‘Busted’? - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com

Climate Consensus ‘Busted’? - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:03:06 +0000

[...] to full-time purveyor of information questioning global warming. Chris Mooney posted an interesting interview with filmmaker Randy Olson about Marc Morano’s influence and flaws. [...]

By: LCforevah

LCforevah — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:24:16 +0000

The rest of the world is already taking steps to mitigate climate change. Both BP and Royal Dutch Shell have projects going on outside of the US.

What mystifies me is what these same companies and other like them, get out of bamboozling the American public and our politicians. Who gains from lying so blatantly, and why isn’t the American scientific community citing examples from the rest of the First World countries whose governments and companies are cooperating in their efforts?

This isn’t mere skepticism, there is a money trail to be found and followed that would explain this cynical manipulation of American opinion.