Monthly Archives: July 2012

Like farting in an elevator…

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Rick Altman

David Archibald is wrong on so many levels..! (Thanks to Candian comedian Stewart Francis for the inspiration) On the 1 July 2012, Mr David Archibald (a well-known Australian climate contrarian) gave a speech to a public rally in Sydney organised … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Denial, Environment, Insanity, Scepticism | Tagged | 12 Comments

Is there intelligent life on Earth?

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Rick Altman

I have signed-up as part of Bill McKibbin’s 350.org Social Media Team and, as such, have received my first mission objective – to share with you some important facts (numbers) that Bill thinks we should all be aware of… But … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropocene, Carbon Capture and Storage, Civilisation, Climate Science, Economics, Energy Crisis, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Insanity, Mass Extinctions, Politics | Tagged | 7 Comments

Yet more Hockey Sticks to get rid of

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Rick Altman

Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere This is Figure 1.4 on page 6 of David MackKay’s book, Sustainable Energy: Without The Hot Air (2008). David MacKay has been criticised for a number of things including over-simplification but, as he makes clear … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, Climate Science, Consumerism, Denial, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Intergenerational Injustice, Scepticism | Leave a comment

Montford – forget Hockey. Stick to maths!

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Rick Altman

This is re-posted from my old Earthy Issues blog on the MyTelegraph website last year. ——— Andrew Montford, the author of Hockey Stick Illusion, is a Chemistry graduate of St Andrews University, a practicing professional Chartered Accountant, and the creator … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Cognitive Dissonance, Confirmation Bias, Environment, Hockey Stick Illusion, Palaeoclimatology, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Pythagoras and plate-spinning for fake sceptics

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Rick Altman

I could have called this post ‘Algebra and Art in the service of Anti-Science’ but, let’s be honest, you would not have had a clue what I was on about; and would have been much less likley to read on. … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Denial, Economics, Energy Crisis, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Politics, Renewable Energy, Scepticism | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Join the Shell Disloyalty Club

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Rick Altman

Greenpeace UK are organising public protests at Shell fuel stations all around the country and, yesterday, they even succeeded in getting a polar bear arrested in Edinburgh: Shell is about to start drilling for oil in the Arctic. They plan … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, Climate Science, Consumerism, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Greenpeace | Tagged | 5 Comments

“Population as a problem is over…” (?)

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Rick Altman

So said Tim Worstall (author of Chasing Rainbows: Economic Myths, Environmental Facts [2010]) on this bIog last October, after I dared to criticise his Prometheanism (i.e. the belief that human ingenuity – rather than nature’s bounty [Cornucopianism] – will enable … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Energy Crisis, Environment, Financial Crisis, Growthmania, Intergenerational Injustice, Limits to Growth, Politics, Sustainable development | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Unsustainable development on a grand scale

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Rick Altman

It was reported on the BBC News today that China’s growth has slowed from 8.1% to 7.6% over the last three months. Big deal. What does this matter? Either way, it is completely unsustainable!. I am afraid this prompted another … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Consumerism, Denial, Economics, Environment, Growthmania, Insanity, Limits to Growth, Sustainable development | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Will Cyprus unearth the truth?

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Rick Altman

… By succeeding in getting the EU’s new Transparency Laws enacted? With my thanks to all my old friends at Tearfund, I have already emailed my MP about the corruption in Africa that, along with all the evils of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Capitalism, Ethics, Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Conserving mass, water, and energy

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Rick Altman

I must admit that I am rather fond of quoting Sir Arthur Eddington as having once said, “…if your theory is found to be against the Second Law of Thermodynamics, I can give you no hope; there is nothing for … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon Capture and Storage, Climate Science, Denial, Economics, Environment, Financial Crisis, Fossil Fuels, Growthmania, James Delingpole, Limits to Growth, Politics, Scepticism | Tagged , , | 8 Comments