Meltdown : The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by ..... and the Media ( author on Foxnews)

Amazon ^ | Recent book | Patrick J. Michaels

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly This spirited critique challenges the conventional doom saying about global warming. Climatologist Michaels acknowledges that the earth is warming because of anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, but he insists that the warming will probably be modest and that nature and humanity will easily adjust to it. Writing in a lucid, engaging style supported by a mountain of data, he debunks such recent scare stories as melting ice caps and glaciers, intensifying storms and droughts, species die-offs and a Day After Tomorrow–style ice age. He argues that researchers and reporters mistakenly ascribe normal fluctuations in local weather to global warming and commonly ignore the facts (reports that the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is being submerged by rising sea levels, for example, ignored research demonstrating that sea levels in that region have actually been falling). Michaels, who is a fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, sometimes allows his own agenda to intrude. Advocates of the precautionary principle will note that he fails to demonstrate his claim that "there is no known, feasible policy that can stop or even slow these climate changes." And while he chalks up global warming alarmism to an unholy alliance of climatologists hungry for grants and media sensationalism, his remedy for biased science is not better science but a "wider source of bias" in the form of more funding of climatology by the fossil fuel industry. He also calls for the abolition of academic tenure—a crushing blow against an independent professorate that libertarians and their allies in the world of academia view as the intellectual wellspring of the regulatory state. Nonetheless, Michaels’s challenge to global warming orthodoxy should invigorate the debate over climate change. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description: An eminently readable and often humorous critique, Meltdown documents hundreds of exaggerations from scientists, politicians and the media, and ties them together with the common thread of rational self-interest.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Author appeared on the Britt Hume Foxnews show: Special Report and gave an excellent account of the "Global Warming Hoax" and why it is occurring. Basically the sponsoring organizations need to keep it at the top of the news cycle to continue the funding of their various enterprisis.....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Couldn't squeeze in full title , which is:

Meltdown : The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by Scientists, Politicians, and the Media

[Katya]

Crichton's new book "State of Fear" covers this PR campaign by the Global warming industry. Very un-PC book with a bonus....Hollywood actor is sushi'd and eaten.

[freeangel]

I was watching too. Unfortunately, we seem to live in a world where common sense is disappearing. How many liberals are willing to believe EVERYTHING goes in cycles? I heard today from a woman I work with that a teacher at her daughters school got a grant for putting fun into PE classes. She has implemented such things as sports related activities and a mini rock climbing wall. What on earth have they been doing for the last 25 years? Everything is new again sooner or later.

[martin_fierro]

More interesting (light) reading:

[martin_fierro]

HEY! NO SPOILERS!

[Bobber58]

oh my...you mean government bureaucrats holding the purse strings actually influence the outcome of the studies they fund???...I am shocked!...SHOCKED!!!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Author of the book was on the Foxnews show which will be replayed at 9 pm PST .

He is very credible !

The interview occurs in the first half hour in the slot where interviews are typically done.

[Dog Gone]

I'll have to get it.

[Future Useless Eater]

Global COOLING		Global WARMING
It's NATURAL... Has nothing to do with burning fossil fuels!

[LasVegasMac]

I am waiting for the day when they say that the VRWC is causing GW.

Don't laugh. Given the "expertise" you see / hear these days, someone is bound to figure it out.

This post will self-destruct in 5 election cycles.

LVM

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This post will self-destruct in 5 election cycles.

ROFL!

Stay dry!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the author

******************************************

Correction of "Publisher's Weekly" review, October 5, 2004

Reviewer:

Patrick J. Michaels (Waynesboro, VA) - See all my reviews

As the author of this book, I am compelled to correct a mis-impression that the Publisher's Weekly review leaves with the reader.

Their review states:

"...his remedy for biased science is not better science but a "wider source of bias" in the form of more funding of climatology by the fossil fuel industry"

My text is very clear on this. From Chapter 12:

"Environmental science funding should not derive from a single provider, but such a monopoly will inevitably develop as long as the political process provides the vast share of scientific largesse. In this environment, private sources, ,meaning indivuduals and foundations, have little incentive to fund basic science."

"One solution to the dilemma of predictable exaggeration is to take advantage of the relationship between science and its funders, recognizing that nothing is free. There is clearly a broad spectrum of interests on climate change, ranging from those who are threatened by regulations to th ose who will thrive from them".

Both the basic language and a long prior history of writing on this indicate that I surely am not confining this to the fossil fuel industry! I have written voluminously that breaking the problem of monopoly funding means getting ALL interests involved even if the total amount of support remains constant. That means the Sierra Club as well as Chevron-Texaco. That means Honda/Toyota (which probably benefit) as well as Ford (despite W.C. Ford's public protestations, they have a lousy track record on total corporate fuel economy).

I think that should have been very clear in the book and I apologize if it was not.

Publisher's weekly is also aghast that I think Academic Tenure should be abolished, but, as argued repeatedly in the book, the problem with tenure is that those who judge the applicants are those who must be in the monopoly stream in environmental science research, which make any assistant professor reluctant to work outside of that stream. In other words, in this case, tenure destroys, not fosters, diversity. Anyone who has ever sat on a Promotion Committee is painfully aware of this difficulty.

I gave this four stars because I suspect that's going to be the overall rating and I didn't want to bias the results.

Hope you all enjoy the read. It's worth it just for the cover, which is a beaut. It was fun to write.

PJM

[narby]

Hollywood actor is sushi'd and eaten.

Ah, yes. That was the Martin Sheen character I believe.

[MEG33]

The report on Brit Hume was understandable, calm and terrific..Yes we have global warming(very minor)yes, we can predict it into the future, yes the ocean rose 4 inches, no it is not panic time, yes it is big bucks to promote the fear...donations pour in.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the reply.

This was a new guy to me, and extremely credible...maybe we are starting to turn the corner on all of this hysteria.

[Conservative Goddess]

I read Michael's previous book, "The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air About Global Warming," and it was excellent. I also have, but have not read, Bjorn Lomborg's book, "The Skeptical Environmentalist."

It's bunk....all the global warming hysteria. You need look no further than the hyperbole that is used to sell the idea to determine that someone is hyping it, big time.

Did I mention that I LOVE MY SUV?

[narby]

Actually, it does look like there's a little global warming. But just not caused by CO2, since that's been going up continuously while temp went up till 1935, down till 1970, and up till now.

Obviously, there's something else at work with more effect than CO2.

My theory is the warming is caused by environmental regulations. Since the soot from coal plants and diesel has been reduced since the 70's, it's allowed the CO2 rise to effect warming. Had we not had the environmental rules of the 70's, the cooling caused by the particulates would have continued.

Environmentalisim causes global warming.

No wonder Kyoto excluded China and India. Their horrible polution is probably all that's preventing us from cooking. LOL.