Bob Ward has a new piece at HuffPo UK detailing the latest in a long line of errors in the work of skeptical economist Richard Tol. As Ward explains, Tol has written several papers claiming that climate change will have some net benefit if kept under 2°C, but his papers are flawed. Turns out Tol improperly classified some of the papers as showing benefits, when they actually came to the opposite conclusion. This flawed result was then used by pundits to claim that warming would be good, despite all the other literature showing otherwise.
When it came time to issue a correction, instead of acknowledging his oversight and redoubling efforts to make sure he got the details right, Tol inexplicably wrote that, "Gremlins intervened in the preparation of my paper." But even Tol's correction wasn't enough to actually get everything right, and the Journal of Economic Perspectives had to publish a new Editorial Note pointing out that Tol's correction was ALSO flawed (and not just because he blamed gremlins for his errors).
In other skeptical economist news, the new Climate Feedback site has an evaluation of Bjorn Lomborg's recent WSJ oped. Its verdict? "7 climate scientists have evaluated the article and they estimate its overall scientific credibility to be 'very low' to 'low'." The page features a long quote from Gary Yohe, as well as a number of shorter critiques from other scientists.
Perhaps Bjorn's piece was also intervened upon by those pesky gremlins?
Top Climate and Clean Energy Stories:
White House: Climate Change Threatens More Americans Than Terrorism
Photos Of Mongolia's Desertification Reveal Shocking Effects Of Changing Climate
UK spent 300 times more on fossil fuels than clean energy despite green pledge
Yellowstone grizzlies exiting winter hibernation early amid mild weather
Obama seeks $2 billion in private dollars for clean energy
Apple's Biggest Project Ever Is A $850m Solar Farm
|
The Climate Action Hub
The 2014 People's Climate March accelerated civic momentum and successfully demanded world leaders to reach an adequate and just treaty at the December 2015 UN Climate Talks in Paris.
The Climate Action Hub is the fast track on the Road to Paris, featuring the latest news and actions from environmental activists, NGOs, scientists, reporters and Daily Kos bloggers on Sundays at 4:30 PM. The Hub also posts regularly at 8 AM weekdays. We encourage readers to utilize all posts to share related eco news and to promote other environmental diaries.
Our 'eco swat team' invites you to inform the community about campaigns in your local communities, to email us with story ideas, and to join The Hub to contribute your skills and experience.
It’s 2015! We need all hands on deck!
|