Can Anybody Tell Me if Globalwarming.org...

[stepnw1f]

...is a legitimate source for information? I am very skeptical. Any meteorologists or science profesionals out there?

http://www.globalwarming.org/

[drm604]

1. Nope.

I'm neither a meteorologist nor a science professional but I think that I can safely say that no they are not legitimate. These things can usually be unravelled pretty quickly with a little scrutiny.
Start with their front page.
It states:

This site is a project of the Cooler Heads Coalition
Updates by the Competitive Enterprise Institute

If you click on the Cooler Heads link you'll go to a page which has, toward the bottom, some quotes including:

"It’s déjà vu all over again. First it was the bogus health care ‘crisis.’ Now it is the imaginary climate crisis. Then the solution was Hillarycare – a Rube Goldberg bureaucratic monstrosity dressed up in the rhetoric of markets, flexibility, and innovation. Now the solution is Climatecare – an even more audacious power grab decked out in the same deceptive rhetoric. I am confident the American people will see through and reject this latest assault on their freedom and living standards."

-- Marlo Lewis, vice-president of policy of the Competitive Enterprise

"President Clinton’s global climate change proposals will waste taxpayer money on pork-barrel corporate subsidies and will impose a ‘stealth tax’ through its emissions permit systems which will increase the cost of energy for every American."

-- Grover G. Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform

It's hardly even necessary to read the quotes. Just the fact that they're quoting Grover "drown it in a bathtub" Norquist says it all.

If you click on the link to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, you'll see that they advocate drilling in ANWR among other things.

Also check out this Sourcewatch page on the Cooler Heads Coalition and this Sourcewatch page on the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

If all that isn't enough, check out who they share their IP address with.

The first one is http://www.earthfarmfriendly.com which states:

The Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues (CGFI), in conjunction with independent academic, consumer and farm policy and practice experts, has designed a program of farm and process management practices that are independently verifiable as both farm and environment friendly. CGFI's "Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly" Seal will assure the public that all products that bear the Seal are produced in a manner consistent with the best available scientific, environmental and quality standards and technologies. Unlike other certification programs, like Organic or Humane Farmed, CGFI's Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly Seal is not based on restricting or eliminating farmers' production choices. Our certification program is based on farmer's adoption of environmentally sound and economically sustainable practices while not limiting their freedom to farm.

The Hudson Institute is discussed on this Sourcewatch page. (So now these bastards are issuing bogus seals of approval. :grr:)

The second one sharing a server with them is http://highyieldconservation.org. At the top of their website they have a very prominent link to the Center for Global Food Issues. Check out the Sourcewatch page for CGFI.

The next one is http://www.milkismilk.com, which also states its affiliaton with the Center for Global Food Issues.

The last one is http://www.rbstfacts.org which is a website which defends recombinant bovine somatotropin and is linked to by, for example, The Nation Dairy Council. which represents the dairy industry.

So they're associated with a number of conservative think thanks, industry groups, and bogus advocacy groups. So - as I said - no, they are not legitimate. They are part of what I'm starting to think of as the "web of deceit", which consists of a large number of websites which pretend to educate and advocate when in reality they represent special interests who have no interest in protecting the environment, the consumer, the voter, the poor, the sick, the facts, your children, your education, your rights, etc. etc. They all link to and endorse each other in order to create a false impression of a large consensus. Just as Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly et al manufacture outrage; these websites manufacture consensus. Somebody needs to do a major expose on this and educate the public as to how to evaluate these sites because there's a real danger that they may actually influence people. Not everyone is as skeptical and careful as Stepnw1f and I. I whish I had the time to do it myself. I suspect that enough research into all of the connections would reveal that one, or a very few, organizations are behind most of them.

[drm604]

2. Kick

:kick:

[stepnw1f]

3. Thanks...

I checked them out late last night and saw what you posted myself. They disguise themselves like an adult wearing kid's clothing.