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The University-Environmentalist-Media Complex

by Paul Chesser, Heartland Institute Correspondent on September 16, 2008

in Politics

Paul Chesser, Climate Strategies Watch

I was not surprised when I received documents from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science this week that showed a cozy relationship with their publicity arm at the Baltimore Sun. To remind you, over a month ago a report (PDF) with alarming supermodeled conclusions about future global warming in the state was leaked to the newspaper. A day after the Sun's unbalanced (after all, critics are only fringe "deniers") and strategically limited article (the UMCES leakers, as well as four environmental activist groups, were not identified), I requested immediately from UMCES a copy of the report that they had provided for the news story. UMCES's Dave Nemazie denied my request, stating it would be released publicly in conjunction with the Maryland Commission on Climate Change's recommendations in a few weeks. As I wrote at the time, this information that is the citizens' property was withheld from all but UMCES's compliant mouthpiece.

Well, I decided then to request under Maryland's Public Information Act all correspondence between UMCES and the Sun's reporters with regard to the alarmist report. The documents provided consisted of a string of emails (PDF), mostly between the Sun's environmental reporter Timothy Wheeler and UMCES's communications director Chris Conner. They begin with a request (at the end of the day on July 31) from Wheeler for graphics information based on the report, which likely followed a phone conversation the two had. Excerpts:

Wheeler: I have 2-3 specific graphics we'd like more on.

Conner (answered toward the end of the business day): Still here. Which ones do you need?

(Wheeler explains what he needs)

Conner: Thanks Tim. I'll add them to the list. BTW – when do you think it'll run?

Wheeler: Looking at this [weekend].

Conner: Thanks…I"ll get our graphics folks crackin.' (Within a half-hour Conner had the graphics Wheeler wanted (PDF), and Nemazie delivered them to him the following morning)

Wheeler: Great, thanks again, Chris. Since you're off tomorrow, is there someone I can be in touch [with]?

Conner: Please feel free to try me first — I'll have my cell and blackberry on me most of the day.

If I don't get back to you quick enough, please try Dave Nemazie at [number redacted by me, although I don't know why I'm being so nice]…

Wheeler: I'll try not to be too much of a noodge. Enjoy your day off.

Quite a contrast between that friendly exchange and the one I had with Nemazie. Quite a difference between the obvious service-with-a-smile from Conner, who bent over backwards to deliver everything Wheeler wanted within hours so as to get their friendly story out, compared to how Nemazie responded to me when I simply requested a copy of the report. And it's quite impressive that the Sun published its story so quickly — on Sunday, August 3, following rapid-fire information exchanges that started only Thursday — and so helpfully (to UMCES) omitted the fact that far-left enviro groups both co-wrote (World Wildlife Fund and National Wildlife Federation) and funded (the Town Creek Foundation and the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment) the report.

The Axis of Weasels named in the title of this blog post have become so predictable that they make my job way too easy, but I do appreciate that they help keep me employed.

Update 5:10 p.m.: It was brought to my attention that Wheeler is president of the Society of Environmental Journalists, where the extent of reporting balance among their members is to track down those who fund global warming skeptics but ignore the overwhelming amount of government and leftist dollars that pay for alarmist research.

Henny Penny Goes Carbon Free

by William Yeatman on September 16, 2008

in Blog

Months had passed since we last talked with Ms. Henny-Penny, whose famous declaration — "the sky is falling!" — electrified the world. At the time, her barnyard colleagues quickly fell into line with her, save one, Chicken Little, who demurred. When last Ms. H-P and I talked, she scoffed at her former friend as a "denier."

Energy Bills Heating up in Congress

by William Yeatman on September 16, 2008

in Blog

Congress will attempt to pass a key energy bill this week, testing its ability to deliver on a promise of action on oil as the Sept. 26 deadline edges closer.

The Fallacy of Green Jobs

by William Yeatman on September 10, 2008

in Blog

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a great twofer pitch: "green jobs." It sounds like a winner. In one fell swoop he can promise to end unemployment and fix and save the planet from climate change.

GOP Embraces Drilling and Green Energy

by William Yeatman on September 5, 2008

in Blog

John McCain says nation must drill new oil wells now, while supporting innovative transportation technologies and "the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas."

Europe’s Reliance on Russian Oil, Gas and Coal To Deepen

by William Yeatman on September 5, 2008

in Blog

The International Energy Agency on Thursday warned EU nations to overcome divisions to secure their future energy supply — now heavily reliant on Russia — and reduce costs for customers.

We’re Losing Our Instruments!

by Paul Chesser, Heartland Institute Correspondent on September 4, 2008

in Science

Paul Chesser, Climate Strategies Watch

The Wilmington (NC) Star-News (a New York Times property) reports today about the meteorological community (as well as other folks) bemoaning the loss of ocean buoys and instruments that track hurricane strength and other impacts as they approach U.S. shorelines. The reason for the loss is attributed to a drop in federal government funding.

The buoys do more than help gauge storm impacts. The National Weather Service have found the proliferation of ocean-observing platforms useful in helping fine tune its maritime forecasts. The buoys fit in nicely between NOAA’s deep-sea buoys and shore-based monitoring stations and have helped improve rip-tide forecasting, storm tracking and storm surge modeling.

“As sparse as our marine observation platforms were, it was a big plus to have them out there,” said Steve Pfaff, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, ticking off their numerous uses, including validating and improving forecast model performance….

“It’s a shame because we’re not holding the line,” said Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Florida Coastal Ocean Observing Systems consortium. “We’re going backwards.”

With all the wailing you'd think the precisionist weather watchers and mainstream media would be equally indignant about the drop-off and poor placement of temperature measuring stations around the world, but that is not the case. Might mess up another agenda, you know.

 

Denying the Non-Denier

by Paul Chesser, Heartland Institute Correspondent on September 2, 2008

in Politics

Paul Chesser, Climate Strategies Watch

Newsbusters picked up on an exchange on MSNBC between Keith Olbermann and Howard Fineman in which the former ESPN sportscaster tried to take vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin down several notches:

Olbermann called her "the least experienced vice presidential candidate probably in American history," and repeatedly applied labels to her suggesting extremism, calling her "fanatically anti-abortion," "hard right," "global warming denying," a "rabid conservative," a "red meat conservative," and a "fire-breather."

In keeping with his well-documented cluelessness, Olbermann obviously did not bother to do any research or reporting, or he would have easily found Gov. Palin's Administrative Order #238, in which she created the Alaska Climate Change Sub-cabinet "to advise the Office of the Governor on the preparation and implementation of an Alaska climate change strategy." From her order:

"Scientific evidence shows many areas of Alaska are experiencing a warming trend. Many experts predict that Alaska, along with our northern latitude neighbors, will continue to warm at a faster pace than any other state, and the warming will continue for decades…."

As a result of this warming, coastal erosion, thawing permafrost, retreating sea ice, record forest fires, and other changes are affecting, and will continue to affect, the lifestyles and livelihoods of Alaskans. Alaska needs a strategy to identify and mitigate potential impacts of climate change and to guide its efforts in evaluating and addressing known or suspected causes of climate change…."

And so forth…let me know where you spot the "denying."

Keith Olbermann: Too smart for sports, not smart enough for news — but just right for MSNBC.

EU, Dependent on Russian Energy, Balks at Georgia War Sanctions

by William Yeatman on September 2, 2008

in Blog

European Union leaders refused to impose sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Georgia, acknowledging their reliance on Russian oil and gas at a time of faltering economic growth.

Climate Fight Hit by Global Slowdown, Russia Fears

by William Yeatman on September 2, 2008

in Blog

The fight against global warming is in danger of being downgraded on more urgent fears over energy security, heightened by a Russian war with Georgia, and a global economic slowdown.

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