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Climate Change Denialism

posted by [personal profile] purplecthulhu at 09:04am on 04/02/2009
I must say I'm getting a bit peeved with Charles Platt, guest blogger on boingboing at the moment (apologies to [livejournal.com profile] rosefox). He's just published four screeds arguing against anthropogenic climate change being real and dangerous. I suspect Cory is also getting a little peeved as he's just posted an article linking to Nature's rather more authoritative review of the issue.

I'm all for freedom of speech, but that goes both ways and I'm happy to see boigboing calling its own guestblogger out on this one.

However, if Charles Platt is coming to Montreal we may have a programme item to offer him...

ETA: And Cory seems to have continued throughout the day, posting links and extracts refuting much of what CP had posted. If they did this with [livejournal.com profile] major_clanger's criticisms of their coverage of UK IP law then we'd all be a lot happier.
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There are 15 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 

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posted by [identity profile] major-clanger.livejournal.com at 09:25am on 04/02/2009
Come on, does anybody take Charles Platt seriously any more? It seems to me that every reference to him I've seen or heard during my twenty years as an active sf fan has had an unspoken (or not so unspoken) 'infamous laughing-stock' prefixed to it.

Mind you, Platt's comments on global warming are about as well-informed as Cory's ones on UK law, so it's not as if BB's reputation for accurate and unbiased comment is about to fall off a cliff.
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posted by [identity profile] gnommi.livejournal.com at 09:45am on 04/02/2009
:D
/agree
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posted by [identity profile] purplecthulhu.livejournal.com at 10:29am on 04/02/2009
I think CP is perceived rather differently in the US. He regularly gets writing gigs from Wired for example (and some of his journalism is pretty good).
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posted by [identity profile] del-c.livejournal.com at 09:46am on 04/02/2009
If you need another denialist for the panel, and he's going to Montreal, you could put Neal Asher on as well. BSFA printed an article by him arguing against anthropogenic climate change being real.
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posted by [identity profile] gnommi.livejournal.com at 09:49am on 04/02/2009
I've just this minute finished ranting on someone else's journal about why I think freedom of speech is so important and why all evidence should be accorded the same rigorous examination before being discarded... and I totally agree that debate generally needs refereeing by someone impartial who actually DOES have a handle on all sides.

Nature have done a great job lately of tying a lot of standpoints together on climate change. Gosh that sounds patronising >_>

You know what I mean.
Sending meds please, I am die.
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posted by [identity profile] purplecthulhu.livejournal.com at 10:33am on 04/02/2009
I think 'patronising' is the allegation often thrown at people who've seriously looked at all sides of an issue, have reached a conclusion on it and who are then faced with retreads of counter-arguments they've already heard, understood and discounted. And yes - it's often thrown at scientists by those less well informed. (And yes, that sounds patronising too, but doesn't make it any less true).

Meds attached in userpic!
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posted by [identity profile] gnommi.livejournal.com at 11:56am on 04/02/2009
OMG STRAWBERRIES
<3
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posted by [identity profile] mevennen.livejournal.com at 10:04am on 04/02/2009
Every time I've heard anyone mention CP, whom I have never met myself, it has been in terms of the greatest disapprobation. Wasn't he involved in a cryogenics movement at one point?
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posted by [identity profile] nmg.livejournal.com at 11:07am on 04/02/2009
Cryonics, not cryogenics. Yes, he is one of the corpsicle loonies.
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posted by [identity profile] purplecthulhu.livejournal.com at 11:13am on 04/02/2009
I actually have a bit of a soft spot for Alcor and their compatriots. They're not making shit loads of money from the frozen (quite the opposite in fact) and their route to 'eternal life' is at least as well motivated as any of the world's religions.

I'm also influenced by the one time I was on the Kilroy programme, where cryonics was the subject. I, and others from icsf, originally went along aiming to play skeptics but the religious rent-a-mob railing against them just turned me right off and I ended up rather sympathetic.

I must also state for the record that I have been and am involved with cryogenics :-)
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posted by [identity profile] gnommi.livejournal.com at 12:01pm on 04/02/2009
It's an interesting concept, but having seen various Misadventures in Tissue Freezing I don't think I'd recommend anyone pay out for it. Tech isn't up to it right now as I understand. We were discussing the relative merits of coolant perfusion at work recently, given that fixation of dense tissue is only really possible using perfusion techniques, and that the best perfusion occurs BEFORE death...
It's a laugh a minute round our LN2 dewars I can tell you ;)
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posted by [identity profile] annafdd.livejournal.com at 10:56am on 04/02/2009
As long as the programme item allows for the throwing of rotten vegetables...

No - actually. Better idea. The special Charles Platt programme item is standing at one of the venue's cashiers for the five days and doing a summing-up of how working in retail at minimum wage is such a great thing after the dead dog's party.

And can I mention that what has made me REALLY lose it is the article in which he says he drives to work most days with his cat UNRESTRAINED in the car?
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posted by [identity profile] purplecthulhu.livejournal.com at 11:01am on 04/02/2009
I have other hopefully more interesting and informative, plans in store for him, don't worry :-)
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posted by [identity profile] gnommi.livejournal.com at 12:08pm on 04/02/2009



??
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posted by [identity profile] annafdd.livejournal.com at 01:38pm on 04/02/2009
LOL!!!
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