The March of the Loons

As I wrote at the Washington Post-- The ratio of denier loons to those trying to inform them [on the comment thread] seems to be growing. That's a good sign. So is the Copenhagen Accord. The other treaties didn't work because we didn't join in, nor did China. Imagine if we compete to see who will contribute the least CO2 and to lose is to lose face? This is the future. It will happen so we can all have one.

Barbarians at the Climate Gate

Review: E-mails show pettiness, not fraud
Climate experts, AP reporters go through 1,000 exchanges.

E-mails stolen from climate scientists show they stonewalled skeptics and discussed hiding data — but the messages don't support claims that the science of global warming was faked, according to an exhaustive review by The Associated Press.

As was clear from the start. The break in and resulting smear attack worked as planned. I say subpoena Christopher Horner and make him sit in a corner wearing a dunce cap, eating his turds and ways. Follow the money to CEI.

Amazon Breakthrough Contest Adds YA Category, Reduces Advances

For the third year, Penguin Group is joining Amazon in their Breakthrough Novel Award contest--which will now add a second prize for young adult fiction. The contest, which starts January 25, will also now be open to novels that have been previously self-published (to not penalize all those existing CreateSpace customers). Alas in a less heralded change the promised advance to the winners has gotten smaller: originally promising a $25,000 advance, this new contest's two winners are assured $15,000 advances each. (Sales of the three contest-related books published so far by Penguin imprints--Bill Loehfelm's FRESH KILLS; BAD THINGS HAPPEN by Harry Dolan; and THE WET NURSE'S TALE by Erica Eisdorfer; have been quite modest to date.

They will accept up to 5,000 entries each in the fiction and young adult categories. The "professional" judges evaluating the three finalists (selected by Penguin editors) are author Tana French, agent Julie Barer, and editor Molly Stern for general fiction, and authors Sarah Dessen and Nancy Werlin, agent Amy Berkower, and publisher Ben Schrank for young adult.

And the cheapening of publishing continues. Quite modest results indeed. Look for less this round.

The "Decline" is in the journalistic Inquiry, Stupid

Boy as a science journalist myself I find this piece very disheartening, not only for the climate, but for journalism, which just about the only thing in decline on the issue.

"some scientists say the Earth hasn't warmed as predicted over the past 10 years --"

Who? Whoever they are they get more credit than NASA. Great work as propaganda. Reporting, not so much. "Cry me a river Pielke Sr," who is not a physical science professor to start with, simply wants a special pleading for conclusions that don't pass muster. That may work in journalism and for the partisan fuzzy social scientists, such as skeptic Bjorn Lomborg, but it doesn't in a hard science field like climatology. Sorry charlie. Life is tough.

This is a non scandal but has worked according to the plan's instigator, most likely a denial group such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute or the George Marshall outfit. It's a good bet the hacker got a paycheck. Go talk to Bob Woodward and follow the money. You'll find the real culprit. There's nothing that can wipeout the measurements and facts about global warming. And nothing has.