The Canadian Free Press issues a grovelling apology to UVIC Climate Scientist Andrew Weaver:
On January 10, 2011, Canada Free Press began publishing on this website an article by Dr. Tim Ball entitled “Corruption of Climate Change Has Created 30 Lost Years” which contained untrue and disparaging statements about Dr. Andrew Weaver, who is a professor in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria, British Columbia.
Contrary to what was stated in Dr. Ball’s article, Dr. Weaver: (1) never announced he will not participate in the next IPCC; (2) never said that the IPCC chairman should resign; (3) never called for the IPCC’s approach to science to be overhauled; and (4) did not begin withdrawing from the IPCC in January 2010.
You can read the rest through the link; the extent of the mud-wriggling and self-abasement is quite astonishing. As a note to journalists: its always a bad idea to repeat material that is already subject to a defamation claim. As an aside to Dr. Weaver and any other climate scientist inclined to counter denialist lies with legal action: go for it, the beasts won't regulate themselves.
Great news - long overdue.
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad spectacle to see a chronic confuser try to lead the public down the garden path with so little reality-based material to go on.
When one has no particular standing on expertise in a field, but wants to paint a picture diametrically opposite to the view of most experts, one sad solution is to toss around claims that a leading expert is bailing out, turning on the rest, and imply that they secretly support your contrarian view.
An easy way to dispel that misconception in the case of Dr. Weaver would be to notice his prominent role in signing "alarmist" statements on the urgency of the climate crisis, like those issued by CMOS climate scientists in 2006 and 2008, as well as the Bali Declaration in 2007.
I've posted a listing of Canadian climate scientists who've signed statement on those lines, here:
http://www.eecg.utoronto.ca/~prall/climate/Canada_authors_table_by_clim.html
Dr. Weaver happens to hold the #1 spot on that list, but he's hardly alone among leading Canadian experts in supporting the CMOS statements, as my list makes clear.
No wonder Ball is hiding for his life on the outskirts of civilization.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYD-g-ocbyc&feature=watch_response
So will this encourage the National Post to seek a settlement of Weaver's lawsuit?
ReplyDeletewv = buries --- Ball? National Post? One can only hope
Holly. Probably not. I suspect CFP caved when Weaver's lawyers got in touch with them. Probably, the fact that Weaver was suing NP (and is still going through with it) convinced CFP to cut their losses as a precaution.
ReplyDeleteI say I suspect all this because when I read the origonal Ball piece I emailed Weaver's guys and let them know. Beyond that I can't really say anything.
Knowing NP, they'll almost certainly cave-in in the end though.
I am impressed by the CFP letter. I have never seen such reasonable and evidence-based language on that website before. Congratulations to whoever it was at CFP who brought this clear-headed moment. Too bad they cannot influence the Calgary Herald.
ReplyDeleteCanada Free Press can't influence anyone
ReplyDeleteHmm. TB might not win this one, either:
ReplyDeletehttp://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/climate-scientist-sues-skeptic-for-libel/?src=mv
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ReplyDelete