Meet James Powell, a geologist who says climate skeptics are being duped

[villager]

Meet James Powell, a geologist who says climate skeptics are being duped


There's little doubt that global warming (climate change, if you like) is the biggest environmental journalism story of our time.

There's also little dispute that it continues to be among the most controversial -- at least if the reader comments here on cleveland.com are any indication.

Nearly any story I've written over the last few years that even mentions either of those two phrases is certain to bring out skeptics as to whether the planet is warming at all (or in fact cooling) -- or if it is, whether the human-caused build up of greenhouse gases are to blame for it.

There were nearly 100 comments from readers in response to a story this week that reported on a study showing record high temperatures are now outpacing record lows in North America by a 2:1 ratio. That's a remarkably high number for a non-sports or crime story online.

Some remarks were thoughtful and intelligent. The vast majority, however, degraded into name-calling, political accusations and the unveiling of liberal conspiracies. James Powell has a theory about that -- and about the climate change skeptics who so often weigh in on the issue.

"He (the online commenter) is reading the deniers, the George Wills, the pseudoscientists who have abandoned science really to take up this cause," said Powell, a former Oberlin College geology professor and now executive director of the nonprofit National Physical Science Consortium. "He is accepting what they say about global warming, but has no original information.

"And because he believes this has been politicized, he thinks it's a liberal plot. And since so many other things are liberal plots or right-wing conspiracies -- depending on which side you're on -- this must be, too."

Powell was back in Cleveland this week to help open the Great Lakes Science Center's new exhibit, H2O: Water = Life. He spoke to a high school class and then the public Tuesday evening on the subject of skepticism in the face of ongoing and impending climate changes

"I've studied this a lot more than most anybody you're going to meet," Powell said in an interview prior to those appearances. "It's perverse and peculiar."

Perhaps surprisingly, Powell has some conservative cred that seems opposed to his current stance. He was an appointee to the National Science Board by former Republican presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

owell claims the 'denier movement' actually began around 1992 -- the year in which he said media more often began quoting politicians rather than scientists in their climate coverage. He said that's when large corporations began to pour money into conservative think tanks -- which he calls 'skeptic tanks.'

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http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/climate_skeptics_meet_james_po.html

[DebbieCDC]

1. "Septic tanks" is a better term for them, IMHO

[Speck Tater]

2. "Stink Tanks" instead of "Think Tanks"? nt