TWC founder and global warming skeptic advocates suing Al Gore to expose 'the fraud of global warming.'
By Jeff Poor
3/3/2008 6:11:04 PM

The Weather Channel has lost its way, according to John Coleman, who founded the channel in 1982. Coleman told an audience at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change on March 3 in New York that he is highly critical of global warming alarmism.

“The Weather Channel had great promise, and that’s all gone now because they’ve made every mistake in the book on what they’ve done and how they’ve done it and it’s very sad,” Coleman said. “It’s now for sale and there’s a new owner of The Weather Channel will be announced – several billion dollars having changed hands in the near future.

Let’s hope the new owners can recapture the vision and stop reporting the traffic, telling us what to think and start giving us useful weather information.” The Weather Channel has been an outlet for global warming alarmism. In December 2006, The Weather Channel’s Heidi Cullen argued on her blog that weathercasters who had doubts about human influence on global warming should be punished with decertification by the American Meteorological Society.

Coleman also told the audience his strategy for exposing what he called “the fraud of global warming.” He advocated suing those who sell carbon credits, which would force global warming alarmists to give a more honest account of the policies they propose. “[I] have a feeling this is the opening,” Coleman said. “If the lawyers will take the case – sue the people who sell carbon credits.

Business and Media Institute
complete article

You know it really pisses me off that the few bad scientists and companies that try to exploit this make the whole problem look like a "made up" problem.

It's not just a created scenario to scare the masses. Over hyped at times? Personally I'd say yes. But does that make it any less serious?

Ignorance isn't bliss on this subject. I think we all need to be seriously aware of the issues that this planet faces. But we also need to be grounded in the FACTS and evidence, and not the whims of political icons going around sharing the "truth" about climate change.

It's really easy to point at people like Al Gore and say he's a fraud or a hypocrite. And I'll agree he's certainly not the best poster boy for this issue. But don't drag the honest scientists down with him. Darwin wasn't popular in his day either. I've known several very ethical and honest scientists who believe without question the perils of our planet relating to climate change, and it really bothers me people who don't know jack about the subject just say it's all a bunch of hoop-la.

Coleman also insists that the moon is made of cheese.

phileysmiley wrote:

Coleman also insists that the moon is made of cheese.

phileysmiley wrote:

Coleman also insists that the moon is made of cheese.

It's not?

By the way this is what Coleman's rant was referencing. To recap, he was the founder of The Weather Channel and is now their harshest critic. This is why.

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The Weather Channel Position Statement on Global Warming

Introduction

The scientific issue of global warming can be broken down into three main questions: Is global warming a reality? Are human activities causing it? What are the prospects for the future?

Warming: Fact or Fiction?

The climate of the earth is indeed warming, with an increase of approximately 1 - 1 1/2 degrees Fahrenheit in the past century, more than half of that occurring in the past three decades. The warming has taken place as averaged globally and annually; significant regional and seasonal variations exist

Impacts can already be seen, especially in the Arctic, with melting glaciers, thawing permafrost, and rapid retreat and thinning of sea ice, all of which are affecting human populations as well as animals and vegetation. There and elsewhere, rising sea level is increasing coastal vulnerability.

Odds are now leaning toward increased frequency and intensity of heat waves in the warm season and warm spells in the cold season in parts of the world, as well as reduced frequency of low temperature extremes. There is evidence in recent years of a direct linkage between the larger-scale warming and short-term weather events such as heat waves.

In some regions there has been a tendency for an increase in precipitation extremes, both wet (including floods) and dry (droughts). These observations over the past several decades are consistent with what theory and global climate models would suggest.

The jury is out on exactly what effect(s) global warming is having or will have in the future upon tropical cyclones.

Human Influence

To what extent the current warming is due to human activity is complicated because large and sometimes sudden climate changes have occurred throughout our planet's history -- most of them before humans could possibly have been a factor. Furthermore, the sun/atmosphere/land/ocean "climate system" is extraordinarily complex, and natural variability on time scales from seconds to decades and beyond is always occurring.

However, it is known that burning of fossil fuels injects additional carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This in turn increases the naturally occurring "greenhouse effect," a process in which our atmosphere keeps the earth's surface much warmer than it would otherwise be.

More than a century's worth of detailed climate observations shows a sharp increase in both carbon dioxide and temperature. These observations, together with computer model simulations and historical climate reconstructions from ice cores, ocean sediments and tree rings all provide strong evidence that the majority of the warming over the past century is a result of human activities. This is also the conclusion drawn, nearly unanimously, by climate scientists.

Humans are also changing the climate on a more localized level. The replacement of vegetation by buildings and roads is causing temperature increases through what's known as the urban heat island effect. In addition, land use changes are affecting impacts from weather phenomena. For example, urbanization and deforestation can cause an increased tendency for flash floods and mudslides from heavy rain. Deforestation also produces a climate change "feedback" by depleting a source which absorbs carbon dioxide.

The Future

The bottom line is that with the rate of greenhouse gas emissions increasing, a significant warming trend is expected to also continue. This warming will manifest itself in a variety of ways, and shifts in climate could occur quickly, so while society needs to continue to wrestle with the difficult issues involved with mitigation of the causes of global warming, an increased focus should be placed on adaptation to the effects of global warming given the sensitivity of civilizations and ecosystems to rapid climate change.

Potential outcomes range from moderate and manageable to extreme and catastrophic, depending on a number of factors including location and type of effect, and amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Not every location and its inhabitants will be affected equally, but the more the planet warms, the fewer "winners" and the more "losers" there will be as a result of the changes in climate. The potential exists for the climate to reach a "tipping point," if it hasn't already done so, beyond which radical and irreversible changes occur.

The Weather Channel

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Also, for anyone who believes the arguments (they call them "Urban Legends") that any of the following are actually true:

# Solar Variations
# Plants Emission
# CO2 Cause-Effect
# Natural Variability
# Can't be CO2
# Blame Water Vapor
# Data Inaccurate
# Warming is Good
# Warming Not Fair

See: Debunking Urban Legends -- Some Frequently Heard Arguments from Climate Skeptics and Why They're Wrong (or Simply Irrelevant)
By Frances Moore, Research Associate, The Climate Institute

I love the Solar Variation excuse. If that were true, we'd have probably burned alive by now. The sun doesn't change THAT often. It's the scale that most folks seem to ignore. Climate changes, it always has and always will. But to change as MUCH as it has in the last century, and especially in the last few decades. It's just not natural. And there haven't been any major events to cause it... 'cept one thing. What suddenly happened about a century or two ago? Hrmm......

What's that you say? Industrial what?