The Amazing Mark Steyn

In a recent congressional hearing about climate change, Mark Steyn proved to be the star of the event as he knocked the Democrats and climate alarmists off their game. Usually these congressional hearings feature some climate alarmists distilling their propaganda and have the Democrats on the panel oh and ah at every pronouncement of the end of the world unless we give up all powers to them to save the planet.

Steyn, who recently authored a wonderful book on the Michael Mann research dealing with climate changes over the past millennial, turned the tables with the help of scientists on the panel including Judith Curry. His testimony on the alarmists' attempt to intimidate those that disagree with them was on target as he noted the attempt of a United State Senator to criminalize scientific differences by calling for the RICO act against those scientists who disagree with him and his allies as well as the New York Attorney General suing Exxon for “prior knowledge” of the damage their product was doing to the planet's climate. These acts are not about science but silencing their opponents. As Steyn and others have noted, if your science is so good, why go to this length? The answer is becoming more obvious every day that science is not that good.

But the fun part of the hearing was Steyn destroying Senator Edward Markey and making him look totally ignorant. Markey began his portion of the hearing by explaining the latest alarmist case complete with charts while using the pejorative science deniers to those who oppose him, but Judith Curry wouldn’t have it. She demanded a chance to respond but Markey simply quipped, “I didn’t ask a question,” making it clear that he had no interest, but Steyn refused to allow Markey off the hook. Steyn demanded that Curry be heard and Ted Cruz allowed Dr. Curry her day, and she made it clear that the real science denier wasn’t her but the esteemed Senator from Massachusetts. Steyn added his own final demolition to Senator Markey.

Steyn’s one advantage is that he is used to rough and tumble of political debate, and he is not intimidated by the left since he has been a victim of the left. In Canada, he was subject to investigation by the Canada “human Rights Commission” who attempted to silence him and now Michael Mann has sued him for telling the truth about Mann’s hockey stick data. Mann's lawsuit is part of a pattern set by climate alarmists to do what it takes to silent their critics, but Steyn is one of those activists who is willing to fight back.

His book, Disgrace to His Profession, is one of those books every individual who is interested in the truth about climate change research should have as Steyn exposes the underside of Climate Science research. When Mann initiated his lawsuit, Steyn noticed that not one scientist including many supporter of AGW climate warming step up to defend Mann’s honor or willing to even issue a brief on his behalf. So he collected the views of 100 scientists including many who would classify themselves as supporter of man-made climate change and found if there is a 97% consensus, it is that Mann’s hockey stick and his attempt to rewrite climate change was flawed.

As Professor Ian Plimer observed, “In the next IPCC {the report that followed the report that featured Mann’s hockey stick}, the Medieval Warming and Little Ice Age mysteriously reappeared. This suggests that the IPCC knew that the 'hockey stick' was invalid. This is a withering condemnation of the IPCC. The 'hockey stick' was used as the backdrop for announcements about human-induced climate change, it is still used by Al Gore and it is still used in talks, on websites and in publications by those claiming that the world is getting warmer due to human activities. Were any of those people who view this graphic told that the data before 1421 AD was based on one lonely pine tree?” Bottom line this study has been debunked and as climate researcher and blogger Anthony Watts observed, “So, this book shows the Hockey Stick is dead to all scientists on all sides of the climate debate.”

Steyn's book is the perfect rebuke to what passes as research in climate change and his testimony to Congress exposed the absurdity of climate alarmist politicians whose goal is less about saving the planet and more about adding more control over our daily lives.

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