AGW deniers deny World Vision children

By day Andrew Bolt pumps out AGW denial propaganda that has its genesis in a handful of Exxon-Mobil supported think-tank workshops. By any measure it's distasteful stuff, with Andrew regularly branding 9 out of 10 Australians as alarmist, pagan, lefty, earth-worshipping, green-fascists who have fallen for the great global warming hoax.

Then he takes his work home with him, teaching his ten year old child to teach his classmates the cheap tricks of the AGW denial trade.

ANOTHER week, and another student tells me of a teacher who’s turned preacher instead.

This student, a very honest boy, tells me he was asked on Tuesday to give a summary on global warming.

Naturally, he included one plain fact: the planet hadn’t warmed since 1998, according to satellite measurements.

Check with Britain’s Hadley Centre. Or with Dr Roy Spencer, US head of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer on NASA’s Aqua satellite.

No, no, no, said the teacher, brought in by the school to give a few lessons on learning techniques. You mustn’t believe such a thing. That was just put out by that Andrew Bolt, and, ha!, he was in a room of his own.

“Really?” replied my son.

If that not enough of a cynical use of children, starting with his own son, to peddle fossil-fuelled climate-change denial, then today's effort sets his high water mark:

I’ve been a donor to World Vision for more than a decade. I’ve helped to publicise its work and urged you to support it, praising above all its commitment to giving the poor the direct help they need.

That’s now over. When my current sponsorships end, I will not renew. I will not donate a dollar more than I’ve already promised. An organisation I once admired for pragmatism has now fallen for the giddiest ideology of all. Under Tim Costello, so ignorant and alarmist that he blames global warming even for tsunamis, donors’ money is now being wasted on a great sham. A once-Christian organisation is now switching its focus from saving people to saving Nature, as it follows a neo-pagan gospel.

The latest evidence? From World Vision’s jobs page:

What are these offending job vacancies that would cause Bolt to preach that more poverty-struck children must not be helped now? Strategic Technical Advisor (Carbon and Poverty Reduction Facility - Asia Pacific), Campaigns Leader - Climate Change, and Project Manager.

Open email to Wayne Swan, Federal Treasurer

To: Wayne Swan, Federal Treasurer
Cc: Tim Blair, Daily Telegraph
Bcc: Global Warming Watch

Re: Gettin' me some of that Global Warming Religion


Dear Mr Swan,

Firstly, thank you for organising with Tim to answer the questions raised by his thought-provoking article in Saturday's Daily Telegraph.

Any questions about this column should be addressed to wayne.swan.mp@aph.gov.au.

I wondered about the wisdom of your accepting the hospital-pass, and tacking the weighty climate change issues Tim aired for his knowledge-starved readership — you must be busy delivering my tax-cuts. But it soon becomes apparent how clever Tim is. You are the Treasurer after all (btw, congratulation your new job, and good luck).

As you know, Tim is considering switching his belief system — Capitalism, it seems — to "Join the Green revolution!", and his article is about his due diligence.

My questions, which I now raise to you, are:

1) What part of that bloody year long electoral assault did I sleep though to miss the news that global warming awareness is now a religion?

"Ditch your old ways of thinking," emailers urge. "Join the Green revolution!"

Very well. I'm game.

But first, some due diligence is required. Before signing any contracts, a fellow needs to know his new belief system is in sound working order, unburdened by internal contradictions and free of technical glitches that may end up causing frustrating warranty claims.

Now, I had always thought that climate science, like any science, was more about establishing the the absence of belief. But hey, if living green is somehow a new religion, so be it; You are the new Government. And Tim's a good journo.

So... I re-use, reclaim and recycle.

I offset. I vegetate with drought-tolerant natives. I pay extra for green electricity. I invest in energy-efficient lighting. Catch public transport, or I fill up on E10 at an indy petrol station, getting between 8-12 litres to the 100kms. I wear out more shoe leather than before. Often I don't travel, I Skype instead. I eat locally produced, and less meat now. I consume conscientiously. It's all going rather well, and it's a welcome change from the frenetic pace of before. My doctor is happier with me, and food tastes better. Well, I do some of these things.

So you can imagine my joy at the startling news that now Greed is Good Green is God, Tim's endorsement of you as Australia's first Treasure-Priest. He clearly understands that the acid test for any religion is not evidence of a creation myth, or ancient sacred-texts, or holy men and religious leaders, rituals, festivals, houses of worship, and land.

All that stuff is nice to have for your religion taxonomist, but Tim knows that a tax-free status is what's definitive. Which is why he referred me to you, no doubt: My second question is:

2) Where's my tax deduction for expenses occurred in all of the above?

It doesn't stop there. I don't want to go as far as Cate Blanchett's $1.5 million greenovation of her Hunter's Hill mansion, but I do want to throw a few squid on the solar panels BBQ.

Unless I see a fat little rebate in my tax-return, I'm forced to conclude that climate science is exactly that, science, not faith. And to look twice at the rest of Tim's claims.

Like his problem with your new prime minister appointing a petrol commissioner to monitor price-fixing among petrol companies.

But he also vowed to appoint a petrol price commissioner to monitor big oil companies, with the aim of keeping fuel prices down. Now, the purpose of ratifying Kyoto is to cut our carbon emissions; but the result of cheaper fuel will be to increase carbon emissions.

Tim's not really making a clear conversion from his Capitalism here, which clearly is Orthodox Cartel Capitalism, as distinct from Free-Market Capitalism. He's arguing against ratifying Kyoto, yet wants to limit emissions by ignoring the week-to-week evidence of oil-industry price-collusion.

But I like his argument that Green is the New Religion. I want a tax advantage for my carbon cuts since I am doing my bit.

Yours, in speaking truth to green power,

Wadard

Global Warning Climate Change Energy

David Hicks converts to new green religion

I can just imagine the headline of opinion writers like Andrew Bolt, "Hicks rejects Islam for environmentalism", or "Hicks trained in Greenpeace tactics - is nine months enough?" "Trrrist or Envirmntallist, what's the difference?". The glee with which they will wield that tarred brush will be unrestrained.

Hicks was described as the "worst-of-the-worst" during times of high political sensitivity, but his new interest in environmentalism seems to concur with previous evidence that he is an adventurer who takes up causes. Granted, some more misguided than others, but that is not a justification for holding and torturing someone for five years without laying charges until the end, like some pawn in the propaganda war.

clipped from www.smh.com.au Convicted terrorist supporter David Hicks was "overjoyed" when he landed in Australia this morning after a 24-hour trip from thenotorious Guantanamo Bay prison to his home town of Adelaide, his lawyer says. Hicks was friendly and in good spirits but was more reflective than talkative. He spent long hours looking out the window at the outside world, something he has not been able to do for years and enjoyed getting on and off the plane - the first time, Mr McLeod said, he'd been able to walk in a straight line for more than 10 metres in years. clipped from www.smh.com.au Hicks' US military lawyer, Major Michael Mori, was also on hand at Guantanamo to farewell his most famous client. Flying back into his home town of Adelaide, Hicks remarked that he was pleased to see the city so green - he had heard tales of Australia's drought and feared conditions would be worse. Environmentalism is a newfound interest and one he hopes to nurture from his cell as he serves the remainder of his nine-month sentence. Global Warning Climate Change Terrorism

UPDATE

As if on cue, Andrew Bolt proves how boringly predictable denialists are in their tactics, and that he is better at writing headlines than me:

clipped from blogs.news.com.au Trained to kill people, but wants to save trees Andrew Bolt – Monday, May 21, 07 (06:41 am) Once criminals sought redemption by announcing they’d found religion. Convicted al Qaida recruit David Hicks is no different: (Hicks’ lawyer David) McLeod said Hicks had reached Year 11 in his studies and now wanted to work towards becoming an ecologist. ”He has an interest in ecology, zoology and the environment, and he hopes to make a contribution in some way.” A symbol of our times. 38 comment(s) |

Gaia warns America, "Don't get me mad"

Those who accuse global warming realists of falling for a new green religious hysteria should take note of Gaia's power to smite their arguments, and everything else in Her path.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and scientists at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have reported their findings in the journal, Geophysical Research Letters, that shed light on the much debated question of whether global warming is increasing the frequency of hurricane and cyclone activity.

Not helping the debate was the fact that hurricane and storm records were scattered shipping reports and inconsistent up until the advent of weather satellite technology in the 1960s. And after that the technology developed so quickly that consistent standards in collecting and reporting data were not maintained. :::[Newswires]

Kossin and his colleagues realized they needed to smooth out the data before exploring any interplay between warmer temperatures and hurricane activity. Working with an existing NCDC archive that holds global satellite information for the years 1983 through 2005, the researchers evened out the numbers by essentially simplifying newer satellite information to align it with older records.

"This new dataset is unlike anything that's been done before," says Kossin. "It's going to serve a purpose as being the only globally consistent dataset around. The caveat of course, is that it only goes back to 1983."

Even so, it's a good start. Once the NCDC researchers recalibrated the hurricane figures, Kossin took a fresh look at how the new numbers on hurricane strength correlate with records on warming ocean temperatures, a side effect of global warming.

What they found surprised them; it seems global warming, let that read increasing ocean surface temperatures, did and didn't corelate with increasing hurricane frequency activity during this 24 year snapshot. It did in the Atlantic, it didn't anywhere else. Or rather, they "still can't make any global statements.", but can for the Atlantic.

Sea-surface temperatures may be one reason why greenhouse gases are exacting aunique toll on the Atlantic Ocean, says Kossin. Hurricanes need temperatures of around 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) to gather steam. On average, the Atlantic's surface is slightly colder than that but other oceans, such as the Western Pacific, are naturally much warmer.

"The average conditions in the Atlantic at any given time are just on the cusp of what it takes for a hurricane to form," says Kossin. " So it might be that imposing only a small (man-made) change in conditions, creates a much better chance of having a hurricane."

The Atlantic is also unique in that all the physical variables that converge to form hurricanes - including wind speeds, wind directions and temperatures - mysteriously feed off each other in ways that only make conditions more ripe for a storm. But scientists don't really understand why, Kossin adds.

It would seem that when Gaia made Herself in Her own image, She placed America on the shores of the Atlantic to remind them to pay their carbon-taxes, or risk her throwing the alphabet at them. Could this be Intelligent Design's missing link? Could Gaia be this Intelligent Designer?

Global Warning Climate Change Environment Science Energy

Good Style Watch

One of the things I want to do with Global Warming Watch is to pick out any good writing style and expression that I come across in my reading. If it is expression that delights, or something that I disagree with but is argued well, it will make the cut.

With this in mind, I came across a new site for me, Conscious Earth, and the following:

The Washington Times -
"Global warming has become
the catechism of a new-age
religion, with Mr. Gore as its
topmost prelate, entitled to cassock,
miter, incense and hot holy water.
Anyone who dissents risks a session
on the rack, as we have lately seen in
calls for punishing 'deniers'.".

Deniers of global warming are likely screaming in glee at the quotes above, as a sense of vindication and affirmation sweep over their science battered souls.

A good line. Comes with a good headline, too. Read the rest of the post, The Environment - A Religion of Fact.

After exposing the attempts by Denialists to paint the climate change concerned as irrational neo-pagan green religists (doesn't sound so bad), the poster snapped at the logical Achilles Heel in this argument.

If Al Gore does represent a new religion, then it is one founded on rationality over hysteria, on hope for humanity, on care for the planet, and concern for those who will come after us. That is a moral compass worth following and one that can create a better world for us all.

More to the point Gore's message - unlike the religious zeal of the National Post - is grounded in fact.That single point gives him credibility that the Post can't hope for, and it is the most tangible reason why millions are willing to listen to his message.

If Denialists thinks they can get traction by painting global warming understanding as a new green religious hysteria, let's oblige and come out. Repeat after me:

Our Gaia,
who art spinning in the heavens,
say hellow as you circle thy Sun.

Thy green kingdom come,
may natural law be done,
on earth
as it is in heaven.

Spin us this day, to make our daily bread,
and allow us to trade our trespasses,
but tax those who trespass against Thee.

Lead us not into CO₂ emissions.
and deliver us from Evil Fossil-Fuel.

For thine is the Katrina,
and the power
of Hurricane Glory.

Forever stay clever.

Amen

Global Warning Climate Change Environment Science

Michael Duffy: New green heresy hunter

SMH's Michael Duffy has a crack at painting the 80% or so of us who acknowledge the science of global warming as members of a new green religion. It's an old motif that is done the rounds of the fossil-fuel think-tank shills who pose as journalists, but Duffy's own brand of spin is good for a belly laugh: :::[SMH]

In my lifetime I've experienced two religious movements, Christianity and Marxism. Now there's a third, the belief our civilisation is doomed unless we take urgent and significant action to reduce our output of carbon dioxide.

He's light-on in justifying this outlandish claim, and it is painful reading his tortured logic.

Late last year World Economics, a reputable and mainstream British academic journal, published a lengthy rebuttal of the review by 14 experts. It's worth quoting from the abstract at some length because the rebuttal has been almost completely ignored. Google Australia gives it 10 references compared with more than 10,000, mostly adulatory ones, for the Stern review itself.

That's fundamentalism in action, too.

Google might be surprised to know their algorithm shows fundamentalist neo-green religiosity. Go, the Gaiagle Algorithm. But you have to get dragged to the last sentence of his concluding paragraph before we see the point Duffy has been labouring so hard to make:

The non-religious view of global warming is this: we know the world has warmed slightly over the past century, but we don't know how much of this was caused by humans and how much by the natural variations in temperature that occur frequently. We have no idea if the warming will continue or, if it does, whether this will be good or bad.

"No idea if the warming will continue... "? This sounds familiar; "no idea whether there is a link between cancer and smoking... ".

"... or whether this will be good or bad". No? Not the findings leading to the first IPCC in 1980 at the Rio Earth Summit? Not those resolutions of Kyoto Protocol in 1988? Not the entire corpus of climate modeling studies? Not the scientific consensus measured by Naomi Oreskes as total? Not the Stern Report conclustions which tell us that not doing something will cost us 20 times what we need to spend on combating global warming? Not the observed climatic effects of climate change events, like the collapsing of the Lars B iceshelf? Not the recent public conversion of the last hold-out politicians like Howard, and Bush? Not the cry by big business for a carbon price signal, so they can get on with the business of makeing business plans?

None of this dents Duffy's faith. What can you say?

Global Warning Climate Change Environment Science CO2 Carbon Sink Earth Australia Kyoto Energy

How do you tell Jesus you stuffed the climate?

At first glance it's hard to understand what the Exclusive Brethren religious sect has against the Greens political party? :::[SMH]

A MYSTERY Sydney businessman belonging to the Exclusive Bretheren sect spent $370,000 on advertisements and pamphlets during the 2004 federal election, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.

This finding follows a year-long investigation sparked by Senator Bob Brown into the funding of seven sets of advertisements and pamphlets in the last federal election. All attacked the Greens and called for the re-election of the Howard Government.

The Greens are interested in preserving the environment; I assume the Exclusive Brethren are across the Christian concept of Stewardship. The Greens are interested in social justice; I assume the Exclusive Brethren are also tuned into that key message of Jesus'.

So far they could seem natural allies. But a scroll down the NSW Greens policy page throws up a this clue: :::[The Greens NSW: Policies]

The Greens NSW Policy Summaries

Bushfires

Climate Change and Energy

Coal

Drugs and Harm Minimisation

Education

Electoral Funding, Donations & Disclosure

Firearms

Forests and Wilderness

Health

Housing

Indigenous Australians

Industrial Relations

Justice

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex

Marine Environment

Multiculturalism

Planning and Infrastructure

Public Ownership

Rural Land Use

Transport

Water (Rural and Agricultural)

Water (Urban)

Wetlands

For policies relating to Federal issues please go to the Australian Greens website.

I guess they just don't like anyone that's not heterosexual. Really, of all the issues to get you fired up enough to spend $370,000 to campaign against... someone's sexuality?

Why? There is very limited censure of homosexuality to interpret in the Old Testament, about as much as there is against eating shellfish or getting a tatoo. All three injunctions are found in Leviticus if my memory still serves. And there's bugger-all in the New Testament, so to speak. Ironically, if Judas hadn't kissed Jesus greatings in Gethsemane there would be no Exclusive Brethren in Australia today to secretly seek to outlaw same-sex kissing.

The Greens are the only party that seriously wants to fight climate change. Seventy percent of Australians seriously want to fight climate change.

If a Judas' kiss is to have implications on global warming in an Australian federal election 1,965 years later (how's that for chaos theory in action?) then let it not be motivated by homophobia, but by humanphilia. If Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for mankind, then surely it is not much for his believers to sacrifice little behaviours that we know are debilitating for the future of mankind's climate-dependent survival? Compared to Jesus' trials before his death, how hard is it to incrementally change from broad-base fossil energy to broad-base renewable energy?

These guys hate gays so much that, according to Electoral Commission records, only three other organisations spent more than Willmac Enterprises (the aforementioned mystery Sydney business owed by the Exclusive Brethren sect member Mark William Mackenzie) to campaign on their own behalf during the 2004 elections. Willmac outspent the Wilderness Society, private health lobbyists, leading trade unions, the National Union of Students and even the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania.

They are sneaky too. The Funding and Disclosure Report Election 2004 shows that Willmac Enterprises have not lodged a third party return of electoral expenditure in relation to the 2004 election.

I have a message for Mark William Mackenzie and his brethren (in the unlikey case one of you have sneaked out to find a Internet terminal): Until doomesday, your After-Life is very much dependent on your After-You. What in heavens are you going to tell Jesus when he says, "Mate, what did you do to my planet? Judgement Day is not scheduled for yonks and now, because you cooked the climate, I'll have billions of refugees to resettle soon. It's going to take an eternity. Look around you, do you see another habitable planet? Quality liveable climate is not easy to make."?

You know, you only got the gig because my Father saw that it was good in the beginning?"

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Gaia gets a gander on Bolt's Faith Festival

Andrew Bolt has posted rules for his blog which will hopefully take out the more shrill commenting that goes on. In all credit to him, he's becoming a good moderator given his workload. He's also offered to post sermons from all denominations, which seemed the appropriate time for the Green Religion of Gaia Worship to come out of the woods. Especially given Andrew has been so loud and long in warning about this neo-Pagan resurgence. So I jumped at the chance to proselytise:

I support the new rules and it will make for better commenting. In the spirit of the inclusiveness of the inter-faith dialogue you propose, would you accept a sermon from the Green religion - though you often rail against it?

I would be happy to drop into the nearest oak-grove, next full moon, and report my local druid's global warming sermon. I might plant a sapling for you. ;)

I hope he sees it as a bit of fun and gives me a go. Or I'll have to change the headline.

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