The Island of Doubt

ScienceBlogs Book Club: Inside the Outbreaks

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James Hrynyshyn is a freelance science journalist and communications consultant based in western North Carolina, where he tries to put degrees in marine biology and journalism to good use.

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Inspiration

The Demon-Haunted World:
Science as a Candle
in the Dark, by Carl Sagan
(A review)

The Doubter's Companion:
by John Ralston Saul (Excerpts)

Skeptic Magazine: www.skeptic.com

Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal: www.csicop.org

A poem by Yehuda Amichai:
The Place
Where We Are Right

The Meaning of the
Island of Doubt

Author's site: cyamid.net

Penetrating so many secrets, we cease to believe in the unknowable. But there it sits nevertheless, calmly licking its chops.
--- H. L. Mencken

By doubting we come to inquiry; and through inquiry we perceive truth.
--- Peter Abelard

Undisguised clarity is easily mistaken for arrogance.
-- Richard Dawkins

As for evolution, it happened. Deal with it.
-- Michael Shermer.

"There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving, and tiny blasts of tinny trumpets, we have met the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us."
--Walt Kelly

April 30, 2010

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The Island has been Lost

Category: climate

Remember how the island on Lost vanished, only to reappear somewhere else? Well, that's what's about to happen here. The phrase "Island of Doubt" has served its purpose, and is being replaced. This is the last post that will appear on that title.

The new blog "Class M," can be found here. It's still part of the ScienceBlogs collective. Its mission is to explore the science bearing on the Earth as a planet suitable for human habitation, which is pretty much what the Island of Doubt came to be all about. The only difference is I will no longer stray into unrelated matters.

My apologies to those will feel compelled to update their blog rolls. This is just something I have to do.

Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:31 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

April 29, 2010

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Who's being naive? Yet more from J. Curry

Category: climate

One last look at Judith Curry, before I shut down the Island of Doubt and launch my new blog tomorrow. I, and many other climateers, remain fascinated by what she has to say, largely because we've never seen a respected climatologist be so publicly critical of her peers and so tolerant of the pseudoskeptics, but also because what she's talking about goes straight to the heart of the battle.

The latest volley comes in the form a comment at Keith Kloor's Collide-a-scape blog:

Read on »

Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 9:43 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

April 27, 2010

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Judith Curry doesn't let up

Category: climate

Seeing as the comments function is still unavailable here, I'll continue to point y'all elsewhere. The problem will resolved by this weekend, at which time I'll resume posting more original content.

Judith's Curry's now (in)famous Q and A with Keith Kloor continues to fascinate the blogosphere. Today, Stoat provides a more detailed, and even more critical response to her take on Wegman vs. NRC reports and other controversial subjects, and Curry herself provides more insight into her evolution from a standard bearer of anthropogenic global warming into a critic of the IPCC. A disillusioned Joe Romm also weighs in.

It's hard to know just what to make of it all. William Connelley's analysis is, as usual, near-impenetrable unless you've had the luxury of reading everything he's been reading, It does seem clear enough, though, that Curry has conflated more than a few contradictory items in the library. Her explanation of her personal journey also leave many questions answered. Most perplexing are her uncritical references to the Wegman report, which few outside the denial community take seriously. Her record as as scientist is beyond reproach, but her ventures into the blogosphere are something else entirely.

Confused or not, Curry does seem sincerely concerned about where climate science is headed. Here's the parting words of her latest thinking:

So the Judith Curry .ca 2010 is the same scientist as she was in 2003, but sadder and wiser as a result of the hurricane wars, a public spokesperson on the global warming issue owing to the media attention from the hurricane wars, more broadly knowledgeable about the global warming issue, much more concerned about the integrity of climate science, listening to skeptics, and a blogger (for better or for worse). So should Joe Romm be puzzled by this? Probably, but I think part of his puzzlement arises from assuming that I and all "warmist" climate researchers share his policy objectives. People really find it hard to believe that I don't have a policy agenda about climate change/energy (believe me, Roger Pielke Jr has tried very hard to smoke me out as a "stealth advocate"). Yes, I want clean green energy, economic development and "world peace". I have no idea how much climate change should be weighted in these kinds of policy decisions. I lack the knowledge, wisdom and hubris to think that anything I say or do should be of any consequence to climate/carbon/energy policy.

Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 9:34 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

April 24, 2010

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Judith Curry sticks her neck out

Category: climate

There aren't too many working climate scientists out there arguing that the release of the University of East Anglia emails may end up being a good thing. But that seems to be what Judith Curry of the Georgia Institute of Technology is arguing. Over at Collide-a-scape, Keith Kloor has posted an email exchange with Curry, who lays out her problems with the state of climate science, the IPCC and a few individuals, ostensibly in hopes of generating some sincere soul-searching and reflection that results in improvements to both the climatology community and the way it communicates with the public.

Read on »

Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 3:48 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

April 23, 2010

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The challenge posed by coal

Category: climate

Renewable energy advocates like to trumpet the rapid growth rate of wind farms and solar power plants, and it's true. Installed wind capacity grew by almost 32 percent globally in 2009, according to on industry estimate. Capacity is now doubling every three years. That's a remarkable feat, considering how sluggish the world economy has been. But it's important to put such numbers in perspective.

Read on »

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April 22, 2010

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"Racing toward a cliff"

Category: climate

On the advent of this 40th Earth Day, nine climatologists from Germany take a look at the range of likely scenarios if we do nothing more to reduce the causes of global warming than is called for by what the world agreed to at Copenhagen last year. The bottom line:

"it is equivalent to racing towards a cliff and hoping to stop just before it."

Read on »

Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:59 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

April 21, 2010

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Earth Day Schmearth Day?

Category: climate

Nothing I could write on the subject of the corporatization of environmentalism can best this.

Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 4:30 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

April 20, 2010

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Global warming, loose women, volcanoes and earthquakes

Category: cetacea

The idea that deglaciation could affect vulcanism is not new. For anyone who thinks that linking climate change to volcanic eruptions is a prime example of over-the-top alarmism, consider this look at the subject in New Scientist in 2006:

Read on »

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April 16, 2010

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It's like shooting ducks in a barrel

Category: climate

Another critical mass of climate change pseudoskeptics will be gathering today for an D.C. lunch event titled "The Climategate Scandals: What Has Been Revealed And What Does It Mean?" It features: Pat Michaels of the Cato Institute and Joseph D'Aleo of ICECAP and is being hosted by Ben Lieberman of the Heritage Foundation and Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

More on the speakers and hosts later, but first, let's look at the description of the event, which appears on the invitation reproduced by invitee Sheril "Intersection" Kirshenbaum:

Read on »

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