JENNIFER MAROHASY LAMBERTED
University of New South Wales computer scientist Tim Lambert was all hot for DDT back in May with four posts on the subject, promising on the 27th to do a follow-up revealing more on the sinister Roger Bate's connections to the even more sinister tobacco companies that want to poison the third world with DDT, or some such. Lambert hasn't yet delivered on his promise to post more on Bate but has taken the time to attempt to embarrass Jenifer Marohasy by faulting some of her utterances regarding Al Gore and global warming. Lambert has problems with this quote from Marohasy:
Anyway, what makes this funny is when Lambert writes:
In [Al Gore's] movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", he actually talks about how hurricane records show an increase in number and intensity and he talks about hurricanes since 1975 but there's actually good data that goes back 100 years and if he'd gone back to the 1940s he would have seen that there were more intense hurricanes then. Then there was a bit of a lull and then from the 1970s there had been an increase in hurricane intensity. So he was cherry picking the data. This was Al Gore.To which Lambert retorts:
This one is particularly easy to check -- you just have to watch the movie to see what Gore says about hurricanes. The closest he gets is (at 29 minutes in):Having failed to purchase An Inconvenient Truth I don't have a copy at hand and can't check what's in the movie but the trailer repeatedly shows hurricane images with Gore saying:When the ocean gets warmer that causes stronger storms.
Temperature increases are taking place all over the world and that's causing stronger storms.The movie then presents images of hurricane Katrina with this flashing across the screen:
DID THE PLANET BETRAY US... OR DID WE BETRAY THE PLANET?Gore is clearly linking global warming to increased hurricane strength and to hurricane Katrina as a particularly devastating storm.
Anyway, what makes this funny is when Lambert writes:
From past experience, I doubt that Marohasy will correct her false statements.Lambert expects Marohasy to correct her "error" when he refuses to address his multiple errors (many of them intentional). Lambert has very high standards for other bloggers that he refuses to meet. Pathetic behaviour for a science blogger writing at scienceblogs.com.
posted by J F Beck at 6:33 PM
6 Comments:
In the blue corner is a meteorologist and biologist. In the red corner is a palentologist and a radio announcer. The referee is a computer programmer. And the loser is.... science.
I'm someone that accepts the mainstream consensus on global warming, so I probably wouldn't agree with your conclusions in general on global warming matters.
I have to say, though, that after watching A.I.T. yesterday, Gore does attempt to convey to his audience that there has been an increase in hurricane activity.
28:53min "And, of course, when the oceans get warmer, that causes stronger storms.
"We have seen in the last couple of years a lot of big hurricanes.
[Shows satellite imagery of each hurricane]
"Hurricane Jeanne and Frances and Ivan were among them.
"And the same year that we had that string of big hurricanes, we also set an all-time record for tornadoes in the United States.
"Japan again didn't get as much attention in our news media, but they set an all-time record for typhoons.
[Shows string of satellite images of typhoons]
"Previous record was seven.
"Here are all 10 of the ones they had in 2004.
"The science textbooks have had to be re-written because they say that it's impossible to have a hurricane in the South Atlantic.
"But the same year the first one ever hit Brazil.
"Summer of 2005 has been one for the books.
"The first one was Emily that socked into Yucatan.
"Then Hurricane Dennis came along and it did a lot of damage, including to the oil industry.
"This is the largest oil platform in the world after Dennis went through.
[Shows collapsed oil rig]
"This one was driven into the bridge at Mobile.
"And then, of course, came Katrina.
I think it's clear that he is using anecdotal evidence and powerful rhetoric (including emotive visual imagery) to convince his audience that the world is seeing a dramatic increase in storm activity in recent years. He is using anecdotal evidence to try to prove a statistical point.
I agree with his conclusions (that man made global warming is a reality and it is crucial that we confront it immediately) but I do not agree with his methods. I'm not sure how you convince the public of the correct view of a complex scientific issue, but it's clear to me that Al Gore has concluded that you use the rhetoric of a politician.
Let me edit that please:
In the blue corner is a meteorologist and biologist.
In the red corner is a palentologist who admitted he was never good at maths and a radio announcer confessed he was once a communist. The referee is a junior computer programmer who hasn't published in his own area for a decade.
And the loser is.... science.
Al Gore majored in government in his BA. He may have done a minor in paleontology but that doesn't make him a paleontologist. He was only ever a journalist and politician.
This is elitism, many of life's successful movers and shakers didnt have a degree in their preferred professions eg; Frank Lowy (Westfield)
No problems jc , but we already knew that
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