The ‘Galileo Movement’ must have scientific hero rolling in his grave

UPDATE – for more on this false scientific movement, Graham Readfearn has the details here.  Note how most of their ‘experts’ are unpublished in the expert literature and don’t believe that CO2 is a greenhouse gas!

By Douglas Fischer and The Daily Climate  | August 16, 2011, Scientific American 

A new group challenging the general consensus on climate science is getting significant air time in Australia, where uproar over a proposed carbon tax may topple the country’s minority government. Continue reading

Poll shows support for media regulation inquiry

Sydney morning Herald, Lenore Taylor, August 12, 2011
THE Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, and the Greens leader, Bob Brown, have discussed possible terms of reference for a parliamentary inquiry into media regulation, as a new poll shows 60 per cent of voters support the idea.The negotiation will continue when Parliament resumes next week, when the government is likely to make a final decision about whether to proceed.  An Essential Research poll commissioned by a GetUp!-linked activist group, Newsstand, suggests majority voter support for another media inquiry.  Sixty-one per cent of those surveyed ”agreed” or ”strongly agreed” with the proposition that ”a public inquiry into the Australian media is necessary so the public can better understand the relationship between politicians, corporations and media outlets.” Continue reading

Arctic ice melt could pause in coming decades

AGU Release No. 11–27
August 11, 2011
For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON—Despite the rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice in recent years, the ice may temporarily stabilize or somewhat expand at times over the next few decades, new research indicates.

A new computer modeling study reinforces previous findings by other research teams that the level of Arctic sea ice loss observed in recent decades cannot be explained by natural causes alone, and that the ice will eventually melt away during summer if the climate continues to warm. Continue reading

Climate change inaction risks international credibility: Rudd

Matthew Franklin, From:The AustralianJuly 29, 2011 12:00 AM
 

While much of the debate about Julia Gillard’s $23-a-tonne tax has focused on its effect on Australian firms and consumers, Mr Rudd used an interview with The Australian to warn that the developed world could not expect high-polluting developing nations, including China and India, to reduce their emissions if it refused to do the same.

“The inherent inequity of that is made plain at every single global negotiation,” Mr Rudd said. Continue reading

Australian media take note: the BBC understands balance in climate change coverage

Danny Kingsley, The Conversation, July 25, 2011

On Wednesday the BBC Trust released their report “Review of impartiality and accuracy of the BBC’s coverage of science”. The report has resulted in the BBC deciding to reflect scientific consensus about climate change in their coverage of the issue.

As a science communicator I applaud this decision. I understand and support the necessity to provide equal voice to political parties during an election campaign (indeed, I have done this, as an election occurred during my two years writing science for the ABC). Continue reading

Monckton and the Breivik manifesto.

Monckton recently threatened climate change scientists by saying “I am coming after you (scientists). We are going to prosecute you, and we are going to lock you up.”  ABC Background Briefing, July 17 2011.

Seems his extremist rhetoric has resonated in some very dark and tragic corners.  Here is a piece of investigative journalism by Graham Readfearn at Crikey.com, July 26 2011 Continue reading

The Australian’s war on science continues.

From Deltoid, July 22, 2011

Phil Watson, Team Leader of the Coastal Unit in the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water was probably pleased when The Australian‘s Stuart Rintoul asked to interview him about his work. Watson was the man who organised A snapshot of future sea levels: photographing the king tide. The photographs of the king tide in 12 January 2009 are intended to help prepare NSW to adapt to a possible 90cm of sea level rise this century. So I’m guessing he wasn’t too pleased when Rintoul’s front page story about his work claimed that “Watson has written a report stating that global warming is not affecting sea levels” and that this report showed that sea level would only rise about 15 cm this century. You can imagine that Rintoul’s story might make it a bit harder for Watson to get folks to prepare for a 90cm rise. Continue reading