Whether the ice caps are melting and by how much may be debatable, but the debate is over as to whether former Wall Street Journal weatherman Eric Holthaus, who now works at Quartz (qz.com), has had a meltdown.
In a series of tweets on Friday afternoon (scroll down at link; HT Twitchy), Holthaus told the world of his reaction to the latest wave of hot air emanating from the Intergovernmental Governmental Panel on Climate Change, and actions he plans to take to respond to it (most recent tweet is first; underlines are mine):
Oh, and there's this:
The IPCC's globaloney has moved Holthaus to tears and caused him to decide never to fly again. He has also agreed with another tweeter than having no children is a good idea and is considering having an operation to ensure that outcome. Twitchy's dry reax: "We have a feeling that’s not going to make a vas deferens."
Holthaus's latest post at Quartz, which bills itself as "a new kind of global business news outlet," leads with a huge picture of a wrecked oceanfront house, and is consistently hysterical (link is in original; bolds are mine throughout the rest of this post):
The world’s best scientists agree: On our current path, global warming is irreversible—and getting worse
In a landmark report, a global panel of leading scientists again called the evidence for climate change “unequivocal” and for the first time said humans are “extremely likely” to be the dominant cause.
... What makes the IPCC so important is simple: They are required to agree. Last night, the group pulled an all-nighter to ensure that representatives from all 195 member countries agreed on every single word of the 36-page “summary for policymakers”. That instantly makes the report the world’s scientific and political authority on what is happening to the climate, what will happen in the future, and what needs to be done to avoid the worst impacts. ...
For the first time, the report mentioned projections of climate change beyond 2100 and painted a picture of a bleak world, possibly unrecognizable to those living today, should fossil fuel use continue on its current trajectory.
But of course, Eric. They're trying to set themselves up to be relevant forever.
Holthaus, perhaps after a talk with Ms. Holthaus, has walked back his retweet on having no kids: "Despite what the HuffPost wrote, we haven't yet decided not to have kids. That's an incredibly personal decision." Actually, good buddy, that's what you retweeted.
In the hope of having Mr. Holthaus dry his tears, decide to fly again, and consider the wonders of being involved in bringing children into this world, I offer the following examples among many of rational reactions to the IPCC's latest histrionics:
(Andrew Montford, "author, pamphleteer, and one of the UK's best-known critics of the so-called global warming consensus," at Bishop Hill)
Ducking, diving, bobbing and weaving are the general themes of the Summary for Policymakers, just released this morning.
... The general theme of obscurantism runs across the document. Whereas in previous years the temperature records have been shown unadulterated, now we have presentation of a single figure for each decade; surely an attempt to mislead rather than inform. And the pause is only addressed with handwaving arguments and vague allusions to ocean heat.
From the questions asked by journalists at the press conference, few cared about the science and the contradictions in what they were being told. The press corps are, almost to a man (and woman) environmentalists and only interesting in decarbonisation. The exceptions were David Rose and the guy from the Economist. So it is very uncertain that the problems in the WGI report will make the mainstream of public discourse.
(Bob Tisdale, author of Climate Models Fail, at Watts Up With That)
Sorry IPCC – How You Portrayed the Global Temperature Plateau is Comical at Best
... They’re still misleading the public. Everyone knows (well, many of us know) their models can’t simulate the natural processes that cause surface temperatures to warm over multidecadal timeframes, yet they insist on continuing this myth.
(Dr. Judtith Curry, "Professor and Chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology and President (co-owner) of Climate Forecast Applications Network (CFAN)," at her Climate, Etc. blog)
IPCC diagnosis – permanent paradigm paralysis
Diagnosis: paradigm paralysis, caused by motivated reasoning, oversimplification, and consensus seeking; worsened and made permanent by a vicious positive feedback effect at the climate science-policy interface.
... Well, IPCC has thrown down the gauntlet – if the pause continues beyond 15 years (well it already has), they are toast.
Really, Eric, you need to read a broader cross-section of meteorological opinion and stop blathering about a non-existent "consensus."
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
