Scientists threatened for 'climate denial'

[Barrett808]

Scientists threatened for 'climate denial'
By Tom Harper, Sunday Telegraph

Scientists who questioned mankind's impact on climate change have received death threats and claim to have been shunned by the scientific community.

They say the debate on global warming has been "hijacked" by a powerful alliance of politicians, scientists and environmentalists who have stifled all questioning about the true environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions.

Timothy Ball, a former climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg in Canada, has received five deaths threats by email since raising concerns about the degree to which man was affecting climate change.

One of the emails warned that, if he continued to speak out, he would not live to see further global warming.

(more)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/11/ngreen211.xml

[Coventina]

1. Death threats are illegal and should be prosecuted.

But I'm 100% in favor of the shunning.

[BonnieJW]

2. Are you serious?

I think it's a fig newton of his imagination.

[niyad]

3. uh huh

[ends_dont_justify]

4. It's easy to say they're getting threats or even falsify them

To gain sympathy on an entirely unscientific foundation for their current standpoint. I think they should definitely be shunned.

[Barrett808]

5. Welcome to DU, Ends!

:hi:

[BulletproofLandshark]

6. Some of these "experts" have proven they can be paid to lie.

This may be more of the same.

[luckyleftyme2]

13. HELL IT'S POSSIBLE

WE GOT A PRESIDENT,A VICE PRESIDENT,A YES MAN(LIBBY) WHO HELPED STAR A WAR LYING!
AND THEY'VE BEEN PAID WELL FOR IT!

[Zorra]

26. That's the first thing that popped into my head. n/t

[depakid]

7. Of course they're being shunned

and they're not publishing in peer reviewed journals, either because their opinions are a crock of shit and show an utter lack of scientific integrity.

[Cobalt-60]

28. its true

They're being paid to mislead the public.
They might be skilled shills, but they left science behind when the Exxon check arrived.
Perhaps they can earn a future living trashing evolution on the fundie circuit.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[salvorhardin]

9. Why would you turn to the Freeper Michael Rivero for any information?

The guy made his mark by being among the first and loudest spreading Vince Foster conspiracy theories.

[kestrel91316]

20. Here's your clue:

"...the loss of acedemic freedom has real!"

Please diagram and explain the meaning of the above 7 words. Come on, I dare you. And no laughing.

[redqueen]

10. I'm sure the police will sort out any alleged death threats.

As for the shunning, that's entirely reasonable.

[back2basics909]

11. This guys is a serial liar...

.. no reason to beleive the death threats are even true. He has lied about his degrees, his work experiance, being the firt PhD in Climatology and obviously about global warming.

[luckyleftyme2]

14. WELL SAID

I CAN CI BY UR SPELIN UR AN EXPURT!

[LiberalFighter]

12. Nothing about police investigating his claims of threats

He could just as easily have someone or himself email him a threat to make it look it too.

Just because someone is a scientist doesn't mean they are intelligent.

[Barrett808]

30. This is the Telegraph, after all.

Still a bastion of conservative reporting.

[NYCGirl]

15. That's what happens when Polar Bears learn to use email!

:evilgrin:

[greenman3610]

16. "Timothy Ball" is a fraud

astroturf scientist funded by big oil - you'll be seeing him a lot
quoted by Hannity.
It's too bad he's getting threats, those that do should
be prosecuted, and it just inflates his self importance.
---------
http://www.desmogblog.com/tim-ball-finding-new-ways-to-fudge-his-credentials

In a September 26, 2006 letter to the Royal Society, Dr. Tim Ball, the leading signatory, identifies himself as "Professor of Climatology, University of Winnipeg."
Not quite. From 1988 until his retirement in 1996, Dr. Ball was a Professor of Geography at that university. He has not, since, had any official position at U of W or at any university. So, he is not now a Professor of Climatology at the University of Winnipeg and, arguably, never was.

It raises the question: if he is this cavalier about the factual accuracy of his own record of employment and credentials, how could he expect us to believe any of the rest of what he says?

------
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/10/113157/62
In 1996, Dr. Ball left his job at the University of Winnipeg for the more lucrative pursuit of scientific gun-for-hire ("environmental consultant"). According to the Center for Media and Democracy SourceWatch, he found a home at the American National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative front group supporting whatever initiatives their financial backers want them to endorse. Since 1997, one of their principal mandates has been to fight the environment movement in general and in particular, shoot down any regulation to decrease the emission of greenhouse gasses.


"CFCs were never a problem... it's only because the sun is changing" and, "What's wrong with global warming ? There are lots of positive benefits to global warming."
It seems as though Tim Ball traded his professional pride and ethics for easy money and an invitation to play with the big boys.

[rodeodance]

24. Thanks, very informative.

[AlCzervik]

17. well how many haven't received death threats? Hmm?

why is the telegraph not reporting that huh?

color my skeptical on this one, i'm selling some bullshit.

[Whoa_Nelly]

18. Interesting FYI: Ball and Exxon

http://www.nationalcenter.org/2006/05/seven-degrees-of-exxonmobil.html

In this case, Dr. Tim Ball is attacked for giving a policy briefing to a Canadian think-tank, the Fraser Institute. That event brings out Mr. Gutstein's long knives.

First, the well-respected, 32-year-old think-tank that invited Dr. Ball, according to Mr. Gutstein, receives one percent of its funding from ExxonMobil. So, according to Gutstein's Theory (which holds that even slight connections to major U.S. corporations are inherently wholly corrupting), Dr. Ball's entire professional integrity is compromised by appearing -- after retiring from 28 years as a professor of climatology -- at a major think-tank with a one percent ExxonMobil link.

But wait, there's more evidence.

Dr. Ball also, says Mr. Gutstein, is "promoted by" The National Center for Public Policy Research (us), which, the critic says, has received $225,000 from ExxonMobil.

<snip>
I want to be fair, though. Donald Gutstein of Simon Fraser University has yet more evidence.

Dr. Ball, like Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame (and many others), has had some op-eds published on Tech Central Station. Tech Central Station lists ExxonMobil as one of eight corporations sponsoring its site. No claim is made by Mr. Gutstein that Dr. Ball received compensation from Tech Central Station for his op-eds published there.

But Mr. Gutstein is not done. The evidence against Dr. Ball continues to mount. Mr. Gutstein says, "He's a hot topic on the Coalblog Web site, www.coal.ca/blog/?p=134, sponsored by the coal companies." Coal=evil. (Darth Vader isn't the color of coal by accident, you know.)

[sakabatou]

19. And *who* are these scientists?

Are they bought?

[damntexdem]

21. They can't convince the scientific world, ...

so they play to public sympathy.

But anyone who might actually be making death threats against these quacks is not doing any favor for science, nor for the fight to avert the consequences of human activities.

[Barrett808]

22. Yes, of course they could always publish, but for some reason they're avoiding peer review...

...Kind of like how Bjorne Lomborg circumvented peer review to write The Skeptical Environmentalist.

[rodeodance]

23. Gosh, I hope this is NOT true (hard to believe it is true)

[Javaman]

25. Okay, lets see the letters...

I will believe it when I see them.

[kurth]

27. Timothy Ball is a liar and a nut

[xchrom]

29. this is a typical republick party tactic.

your message is shown to be shit -- so then accuse those who have dissected your lying ass of extreme measures.