Lord Monckton attacked from all sides... by climate sceptics
- 10 Feb 2011, 14:10
- Christian Hunt
Prominent climate sceptic and hereditary peer Viscount
Christopher Monckton has been attacked by fellow climate sceptics
who claim his "faux scientific certainty" and "over-inflated ego"
make him an 'easy target' for debunking.
But while some sceptic commentators are criticising the UKIP
deputy leader for his over-the-top arguments, another group believe
Monckton is vulnerable to ridicule because he accepts basic
physics.
The third Viscount of Brenchley recently failed to secure an
injunction to stop the broadcast of BBC4 Storyville
Meet the Climate Sceptics. The programme included extensive
criticism of Monckton's scientific claims by leading researchers.
This follows last year's
detailed refutation of Lord Monckton's arguments by 20 leading
scientists, and the publication of a dedicated "Monckton
Myths" section on the website Sceptical Science.
Now, in the fallout from the programme, Lord Monckton has been
left fighting a rearguard action against fellow sceptics. He
is attacked on Dr Richard North's EU Referendum blog for being
too over-the-top in his claims. Dr North is a former member of UKIP
where
Lord Monckton is now deputy leader, but there appears to be no
love lost between them. Dr North writes:
"Monckton is not the only climate
sceptic in town - he does not represent 'us', whoever 'us' might
be, and many people with sceptic views feel uneasy about his
bombast and his faux scientific certainty.
But it is classic BBC tactics to pick on the easiest target,
create a straw man and knock it down."
He adds:
"The BBC has an unerring ability to spot
the 'swivel-eyed loon' and build them up. The 'mark', usually with
an over-inflated ego, is invariably flattered and falls for it
every time. Monckton fitted the bill admirably, and the hatchet job
proceeded apace."
But ironically, Lord Monckton has also come under fire from
another group for not being sceptical enough about basic
physics.
In leaked emails circulated among climate sceptics including
Lord Lawson, Christopher Booker of the Sunday Telegraph and Andrew
Montford of the Bishop Hill blog,
Monckton is roundly attacked for conceding that carbon dioxide
emissions cause some global warming.
Hans Schreuder, of I
Love My Carbon Dioxide, claims carbon dioxide will cause
climate cooling. He lays into Monckton, saying: "Even more
luke-warmers will be borne from this man's incorrect views of
reality.
"Has he read the latest papers on the
extra cooling that is the only logical effect that can be ascribed
to atmospheric carbon dioxide?"
He then apparently argues that it's Monckton's acceptance of the
basic link between CO2 and warming which makes him easy to
debunk:
"Little wonder than that this man is
heralded by the BBC as the 'voice of climate scepticism' - it suits
them well as his arguments are easy pickings."
Lord Monckton finds himself caught in the middle - North
attacking him for being too over-the-top, Schreuder for not being
extreme enough.
Whether these spats will harm Lord Monckton's considerable
influence remains to be seen. He enjoys a devoted following in the
USA and Australia, has
given evidence to the US Congress about global warming, and
written for leading media outlets including
The Australian and
the Daily Telegraph.
But with friends like these…
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Updated Feb 14th - link fixed. Thanks Niel!