Peter Sinclair, our favorite climate de-crocker, has taken on The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (TVMOB). I’d be interested in CP readers’ comments on the video, especially its framing, and will pass those on to Sinclair:
More on TVMOB here:
- Lord Monckton meltdown: “I’m not going to shake the hands of Hitler youth.”
- TVMOB hate speech shocker: Lord Monckton repeats and expands on his charge that those who embrace climate science are “Hitler youth” and fascists.
- TVMOB shocker: Activists decried as “Hitler Youth” for crashing Americans For Prosperity’s global warming event in Copenhagen
- Irony-gate: Viscount Monckton, a British peer, says his paper was peer-reviewed by a scientist.
- How to diss-a-peer: Real Climate Scientists take on TVMOB
- Deltoid at ScienceBlogs: Monckton’s triple counting and here.
- Irony-gate 2: Modern day Tea Partiers outsource denial to Lord Monckton “” a British peer!
Previous in TP Climate Progress
Language Intelligence: Lessons on persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga
In the spirit of Phillip K. Dick. “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
The Lord Mockton’s will have their stage, and willing believers, as long as Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and the Fox News stage show have the day. The dose of reality that we need is, unfortunately, too far into the future. It would take something of hugely catastrophic implications, such as a summer so hot as to ruin both the corn and wheat crops in the US to act as a wake up call. And then, they will all be asking why the government wasn’t doing anything.
Sorry to be so cynical but that I am beginning to think that my pessimism derives from experience.
As usual Peter does a very good job of getting the truth out, with a mix of humor and fact. Lord Monckton is arguably one of the worst of the group of unprofessional deniers. I’m not sure at what level anyone could possibly buy into his positions, yet many do. If he were alive, P.T. Barnum would be very envious of him.
A builder told me many years ago that the world has changed- it’s all about “presentation”. A nurse said that a doctor gets his reputation these days from his bedside manner, not from whether he is good at healing.
Lord Monckton is a really effective liar because, like most sociopaths, he believes his own fantasies. In his debates, his tone is one of conviction and moral outrage, and a flair for both humor and putatively factual details. He charms and dazzles the audience.
In the other corner, we have scientists or their defenders, who are staid and humorless, hedging every statement they make, even if it’s raw data.
In the public’s defense, climate science is a complex field, and they are seeking reassurance and faux certainty anyway. You can see this in the choir of places like WUWT and ClimateAudit, many of whose fans can actually write coherent sentences.
Peter Sinclair, you are an absolute treasure, and thanks especially for this Monckton takedown. You have more talent than any TV producer I know of, and you deserve a huge audience. We have to get this message out, since without the editing His Lordship sounds so persuasive. Have you talked to cable or public TV channels about this? Now that Moyers is retiring, they may allow a token truthteller.
Great piece.
The one thing I’d suggest re: framing is that people respond to a debunking better when they understand the reason a person or institution is distorting the truth …
A quick explanation of why TVMOB is doing what he’s doing — or even a few possible explanations — does he simply love the publicity? Is it because he’s an avowed enemy of government? Is he on the payroll of fossil fools?
Something like that would make a good piece even better.
Via Rabett,
More Monckton Madness at the Salt Lake City Tribune.
Monckton attempts to drag BYU into the gutter, fails, flings charges, is treated to some tasty sauce for the gander.
Once again, the House of Lords has to produce a form response:
“Christopher Monckton is not and has never been a Member of the House of Lords. There is no such thing as a ‘non-voting’ or ‘honorary’ member.”
More:
Monckton jumps the land shark. Gets eaten
Is there a transcript available somewhere?
Re both the Arctic sea ice and global temp issues, he should have mentioned that we do not expect monotonic trends in any case.
Re the ice sheet issue, he could have “McLuhaned” Monckton by emailing the lead author (or even better doing a web video interview of him) and asking him to comment on Monckton’s use of the study.
The Pirates of Penzance footage was nice, but this might have been even better to use.
Some great refuting of TVMOB’s ridiculous claims.
But we must not forget the other claim that Monckton repeatedly makes but rarely refuted – that is the claim that an ETS would destroy the economy. He made that claim in the debate with Tim Lambert (which is on a youtube video).
It is just as important to refute the claims about the economics as the claims about the science. Polluters have a two-pronged strategy for resisting climate action: they create doubt about the science; and they scaremonger about the risks of mitigation action.
Well that was certainly enjoyable! I had a few good laughs. And think it makes some points well.
My advice for further improvement:
* Make some of the science even more accessible: For example on the Greenland ice sheet, don’t bury the news of TVMOB’s dishonesty. Bring it out more in the beginning. (Tell them what you’re going to tell them…)
* More generally, looking at the previous video you also posted I’d note that a lot of rank and file global warming deniers don’t seem to understand what the greenhouse effect even IS. they also deny that, even after being told that’s a non-debated scientific fact. So the GE can be explained more and better than in the previous video. Talk more about the “heat trapping blanket” (which is getting thicker() and less about molecules.
* Another common objection is that humans can’t change the earth because it’s too big so this global warming stuff must be too far out there. I suggest emphasizing the changes to the atmosphere, which is a small slice in thickness compared to the earth. In my PPT I have a great profile photo of the earth sowing the atmosphere as a thin layer. This helps.
Thanks for all the good work!
Steve,
Script and resources at
http://climatecrocks.com/2010/04/11/debunking-lord-monckton-part-one/
btw, that’s a hilarious link.
Peter,
I have begun a series on Renewable solutions that should help refute the “destroy the economy” meme.
The first one is at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSdnycHfLnQ
unfortunately I’ve been delayed in getting back to it by the recent wave of denialist nonsense,
but will be starting the second installment this week.
One problem I’ve noted in the “debate” about Global Warming is that many people think they are getting both sides of the issue, but they are only getting the denialist version of both sides. It is very frustrating to argue with them, since they think they are looking at both sides of the issue, but are pretty much trained not to understand how much evidence there is that Global Warming is taking place.
That said, I really enjoy Peter Sinclair’s Climate Crock series and look forward to future episodes, especially if they blow Monckton’s lies and deceptions out of the water.
The Rabbet recounts how BYU geology prof Barry Bickmore takes Potty Peer Monckton to the wood shed:
http://rabett.blogspot.com/2010/04/monckton-jumps-shark-gets-eaten.html
And Tamino throws a few cords on top for good measure:
http://tamino.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/monckey-business/
I am interested in the ClimateTV.tv channel; I think it is a good idea to have a location for online video relating to climate change etc.
Parhaps that link can be enhanced (note that the current video is doomed to be out of date for that reference after Thursday March 15).
I think the debunking in this video is spot on, but perhaps too technical? Will some people be overwhelmed by the scientific language, and can the video be improved by adding ‘plain English’ summaries?
Good job, and thank you for the climate crock of the week videos.
A great video. More Gilbert and Sullivan references please!
Seriously though, I agree with Andy Olsen that you need to clarify even further the difference between area and volume of Arctic sea ice. Maybe with some snappy cross-sections of the the two.
BTW why is it that you Americans want to listen to British aristocrats when you celebrate your independence from them at every opportunity?
Really enjoyed this. Especially where it focused on the science that Monckton uses and not the sales ‘techniques’. And i agree with a comment made before about asking the authors of the papers that Monckton uses to reply. More please.
more coming.
trust me.
That’s him! That’s my favorite actor in the “Pirates” clip! The tall, black-and-white vested fellow on the right in the dancing-in-the-sand scene is Kevin Klein!
(see him with Meg Ryan in “French Kiss” and with Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, and Woody Harrelson in “Prairie Home Companion: The Movie”)
And if Kevin’s character offers not a pittance of protest to the Monckton mock-up’s
polysyllabic prancing prattle but instead dotes devotedly on the Lord’s loquacious
logic, then I too must offer my aggregate acceptance, much as does the phalanx of full-faith FOX followers, of the aristocrat’s academic authority.
Oh, Peter! And until now, such faith I had in your series!
Just as Andy Kaufman had his bizarre lounge singer alter ego Tony Clifton, I’d have to spend most of the day with both of them to be convinced that Monckton isn’t really John Cleese.
As always, Peter, great stuff!
Thanks for a great series, really appreciate it.
I’m thinking of using this episode in a course that I teach to high-school students.
A big point that I have to get across to the students is how distinguish experts from demagogues. I plan to outline this by explaining what the peer-review process is and why it is important. When watching this video with them I will highlight the fact that TVMOB is not a scientist, and (to my knowledge) has not published any papers in peer-reviewed science journals.
To that end, I’d echo John Atcheson’s comment on motives, as the students seem to really key in on that.
I’d also for making the science (volume vs area) more accessible, but that may have more to do with my target audience.
One small suggestion, Peter: A better narrative voice over. You have the voice of a thoughtful and serious person, but maybe someone with a more expressive bass and a little public speaking experience would be more effective, and do justice to the great writing, video, and editing.
I’m open for a tryout, and can send you an audio sample. My email is mike.greenframe@gmail.com. I had the lead in all my high school plays, and was on the convention circuit giving speeches and Congressional testimonies back in the 90′s, so am a decent amateur. I’ll do it for free, too. If my voice doesn’t please you, hey- try Kevin Kline!
Peter -
I second Mike Roddy’s suggestion (#20 above). Longtime readers of Climate Progress know Mike as an All-Star commentator. When the beginning of what could turn out to be catastrophic methane release from the Arctic was documented in a paper and there was appropriate concern here at CP but PC at RealClimate and Dot Earth, people pointing out how little was currently being released, on those blogs Mike was like a SuperNinja in his comments, taking on all other commenters even staid scientists and making better points than all of them combined about how dangerous this could become (it’s what Hansen and others had been waiting for and hoping not to see).
I know how simple it is to do stuff completely in-house by comparison, but try one with Mike and see what you think.
I think an expert narrator skilled in tonal inflection and modulation who also understands the science would be ideal, and in Mike you’d have someone with a great understanding of the science like your own.
I think all of us should be collaborating in just such ways. Another superstar commenter Leif Knudsen is coming down from Port Townsend to stay with me in Portland, coming to my NASA-Sponsored global climate change class when we’re flying in our good friend Bob Henson (author of “The Rough Guide to Weather” and “The Rough Guide to Climate Change”) and then we’re going to McKibben’s talk and everyone’s getting together.
This is exactly what we need to do.
And since Mike took the lead with this, I’m an award-winning screenwriter, went to UCLA film school for my BA and MFA (with Sean Pool’s Dad and Jeff Hughes’ friend Bob Pool), owned my own production company and have been field producer for Discovery segments about climate, etc. So if you want any free critiques for things you’re developing, you can e-mail me at rabrenne@hotmail.com.
The comments here are amazing as usual. One thing I haven’t heard from anyone else was calling the audience members “rubes” and “goobers”. It’s a potential achilles heel. One thing people who are not scientifically expert feel is the sting of being dissed as ignorant. The coming challenges to human civilization will require people with many forms of intelligence and wisdom. The last thing we “believers” need to do is reinforce any stereotype that were elitists.
My working class neighbors didn’t say a word about their deep concerns about looming climate catastrophe until they realized that there was a safe zone in my home. They’re all afraid but won’t say anything among their friends – groups generate their own social controls. We’ve got to make it safe for people to take little jabs at the Lord and poke fun.
Dan
P.S. I agree with the above posters who say it’s essential to point out the fallacy of the “hurt the economy” meme. To me it seems far more important to embrace a framework that is much broader and more descriptive of the massive changes we are experiencing in our economy (and politics thanks to the web). It’s simple – we are entering the 21st Century Energy Era (green, clean, renewable). We are at the end of the 19th Century Fossil Fuel Economy.
It’s easy to link the Lord to the 19th Century Fossil Fuel Economy. Not much needs to be said about his beliefs once it’s framed that way.
In addition it frames a vision of a positive future – clean, green, and as advanced as the I-Pad and Smart Phone.
The premise of the Crocks has always been that scientists are getting their clocks cleaned by deniers because they were bringing, not even knives, but white gloves and a tea set to a gun fight.
People said I shouldn’t call Deniers “Deniers” – but after having a few of these guys lie right to my face in debate, I know exactly who and what they are.
CDCTW is about cutting thru the fog, laying a digital two by four across virtual noggins, and serving up hard core, but clearly understandable, credibly sourced information about what is really happening.
Let ‘em scream.
If NBC, ABC, the NYtimes or CNN were doing their job, I wouldn’t have to do this.
If one of them wants to front me some money to do a bigger production, I’ll tone it down a bit,
but they haven’t called.
This ain’t PBS, this is the internet, — this is where an important part of the battle is being fought.
I appreciate the offers of help, lots of folks are pitching in, and it’s becoming a cooperative
venture, and I’m all for it. Mainly tho, what I appreciate is that people are linking to, embedding, and
emailing these vids around and making them part of the conversation.
And I’m hearing from former deniers, ok, former skeptics, that its changed their minds, introduced the first doubt, made them think that maybe they weren’t getting the whole story.
That’s all I get for this so far. And if that’s all I ever get, then so be it.
I’ve got kids, dammit.
Beautifully written and passionate response, Peter (#23), just like your videos!
And the typography and last line make it sound like a great (with some syllaballic leniency) haiku.
There is no better spokesman at shooting down the GWT deniers then Peter Sinclair. I love his videos!
Selective Science Disease (SSD) – A psychological disorder involving the mixing of peer reviewed scientific work product with fantasy for personal, political or financial gain, usually occurring when actual science conflicts too greatly with the patients world view or belief systems. This behavior often results in great risk to the patient and others not directly in contact with the patient.
The clips from Oz and HMS Pinnafore are inspired. The title ‘Lord’ is repeated alot for one not gained thru any merit. Monckton obtained it as commoners buy Kleenex and TP – over the counter. His theatre and pretensions of intelligence are a reoccuring career theme . His prized ‘Eternity Puzzle’ was solved in a year (not an eternity) yet he still profited from it.